The scores are level in the showpiece rugby final with just thirty seconds remaining. The scrum-half throws the ball back to the fly-half who drops for glory in dramatic late fashion. The ball sails between the posts and the fans of that player’s team celebrate wildly as victory is sealed. The full time whistle blows just moments later and one of the greatest moments in English rugby is born.

You’d be forgiven for thinking I was talking about Johnny Wilkinson slotting it for England against Australia in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final but I am actually referring to the 2022 Premiership rugby final in England where Leicester Tigers defeated Saracens. The player behind that magical moment was the one and only Freddie Burns.

Before that defining moment in his career, he had played in Japan during the Covid_19 era when games were played behind closed doors or advanced tickets had to be purchased via a rather complicated online system. However, when it was announced last year that he’d be returning to the same team (Toyota Shuttles) in Nagoya I set my heart on watching him in action.

That would not be so easy though as Aichi Prefecture is quite far from Tokyo. Also, the second tier in Japan consists of just six teams with only two of them being located in the Greater Tokyo area. Furthermore, working on Saturdays restricts my options but thankfully their away match in Chiba against NEC Green Rockets was scheduled for a Sunday in late March. I had to bide my time but eventually that day came round last weekend.

12 months ago I made my return to Kashiwanoha Park Athletic Stadium for the first time in 19 years. To be honest, I really wasn’t expecting to go back so soon but limited chances to see Burns’ team play meant I had no choice. The location is a really pleasant one but it is not so easy to get to and involved an overly packed bus ride from Kashiwa station for 20 minutes on this occasion.

Every spectator was given a free shirt on entry with the home club’s slogan for 2024 emblazoned not so subtly on the front and back of it. It says “We were born to play this game. This is our time” which I’d usually make some ironic remark about but as the Green Rockets are riding high at the top of the second division I can’t say too much against it. As for the shirt, well it really is quite awful isn’t it?!!

My ticket was for the main stand but with kick off about 30 minutes away I decided to walk round to the other one to see if there were a group of Shuttles fans to watch the match with. I couldn’t spot any though so returned to the main stand where I later saw on Instagram that there was a very small contingent of about eight fans in blue on the opposite side to me. My plan was to join them at half time to increase my chances of meeting my hero but when I saw the Shuttles players exit the pitch right beneath me I thought my present position may have been better so I stayed put.

Before all of that though there was the first half action. Green Rockets got off to a flier with an early try on four minutes before Shuttles replied five minutes later thanks to the ingenuity of Burns who duly converted. It was an exciting start to the game.

However, it was a nightmare for Freddie just a minute later as his attempted try line clearance kick was charged down and caught by the Aussie Nick Phipps who touched it down to put the home side in front, and there was no looking back after that.

The score was 27-21 at half time with both teams still in it. I may have been cheering for the home time whilst wearing that awful-looking shirt but inside I was hoping for an away win as my chances of meeting a player on the losing team would be reduced.

The second half didn’t quite live up to the first as Rockets increased their lead with a couple more tries and there was even an attempted drop goal which is quite a rarity in Japanese rugby. Shuttles got a late consolation try on 67 minutes with the conversion placed right in front of me. Sadly, he missed it and moments later the home side did convert a penalty as the final whistle blew.

Unless the scores are neck and neck, I am usually long gone by that stage in these rugby matches. However, I stayed around in the vain hope of meeting Freddie but it was a long wait as he took the defeat badly and sat on the bench for ages as the fans all cleared out around me.

30 minutes after full time and he was still there whilst the post-match interviews and celebrations continued for the Green Rockets players and staff. I was the very last person in that part of the stand and absolutely desperate for the toilet by this stage but kept my position.

I was spotted by another Shuttles foreign player who looked up and saw my Tigers shirt and England flag. I asked if Freddie was in bad mood and he confirmed so but ensured me that he would (eventually!) come and see me. Moments later he picked himself up (both literally and mentally!) and came up the metal steps in front of me to shake my hand and we actually talked for 5-10 minutes which was a real thrill for me.

We chatted about many things like the match itself, the aforementioned Leicester Tigers final, the style of the domestic game, his recent appearance on the Big Jim Show podcast, his injury, the lack of drop-goals in Japanese rugby, life in Japan and so on.

It certainly wasn’t his greatest game, and after such a loss and feeling so down I was so thankful that he gave me the time of day to come and chat. I absolutely loved it. Thank you Freddie.

Final Score: NEC Green Rockets 42-26 Toyota Shuttles

Bonus: Seven days before that I met a couple of NEC Greeen Rockets players at the Green Ireland Festival 2024 which took place in Yoyogi Park over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The players were fly-half Ko Yoshimura and hooker Ren Osawa. I really enjoyed chatting to both of them, particularly the former whose English is pretty good. Sadly, neither of them were present during the aforementioned match against Toyota Shuttles.

Two days prior to that I met up with my friend Hiromi to watch a thrilling end to a match between Yokohama Canon Eagles and Kubota Spears which saw the away team come back to snatch victory at the death. It was a heartbreaking end for the Eagles who paid the penalty for their dissent which saw them finish the game with two players less than Spears.

Rewinding back a couple of weeks before that and I was at Chichibunomiya Rugby Ground for the first time this year when Yokohama Canon Eagles were the away team as Mie Honda hosted a game. Many Honda employees working in Tokyo were at the game and given free tickets so I was probably a rarity as I actually paid to see this game!

Click here to read ‘The Good, The Bad & The Rugby! My Return To Kashiwa’s Secondary Stadium After 19 Years!’

Click here to read ‘We Watched Japan Play An International Rugby Match Last Weekend!’

Click here to read ‘Japan’s Sakura 15 Rugby Team Host Ireland In Tokyo: My First Ever Women’s Match!’

Click here to read ‘Rugby World Cup Fever Grips Japan For Six Memorable Weeks Of Action’