Full name | Hayden Keith Hopgood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 30 July 1980 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 231 lb (105 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hayden Keith Hopgood (born 30 July 1980) is a New Zealand-born Japanese former international rugby union player. [1]
Hopgood, educated at Christchurch's Shirley Boys' High School, was a forward and played his provincial rugby for Canterbury, which he sometimes captained. [2] He played Super 14 rugby for Hurricanes in 2007 and Chiefs in 2008. [3]
Relocating to Japan in 2009, Hopgood spent five seasons with Toyota Verblitz and made 11 capped appearances for the Japan national team across 2014 and 2015, scoring four tries. He made the training squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, but didn't make the final cut for Eddie Jones's team to travel to England. [4]
The Japan national rugby union team, often a.k.a “Cherry Blossoms”, or a.k.a “Sakura”, and more a.k.a “The Brave Blossoms” is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia and has enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years. Rugby union in Japan is administered by the Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU), which was founded in 1926. They compete annually in the Pacific Nations Cup and previously in the Asia Rugby Championship. They have also participated in every Rugby World Cup since the tournament began in 1987.
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