This past weekend, Rugby School Japan’s Junior pupils (Years 7 – 9) from across our elite sports programmes travelled to Harrow Appi for an exciting and memorable Junior Derby Day fixture. Across Badminton, Basketball, Football, Swimming, Tennis, and Touch Rugby, pupils represented the school with tremendous pride, determination, and sportsmanship, consistently demonstrating the RSJ values of Respect, Kindness, Integrity, and Aspiration throughout the trip.
The excitement began long before the fixtures themselves. On Friday morning, 86 pupils departed RSJ by coach for the long journey north to Appi. Despite the journey time, the atmosphere on the buses was full of energy, anticipation, and excitement.
Upon arrival at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, pupils enjoyed a relaxed evening together ahead of competition day. Pupils conducted themselves extremely well throughout the evening and showed real integrity and respect both in the hotel and in preparation for the following day. By 6:30 a.m. the next morning, pupils were already awake, eating breakfast, and mentally preparing themselves for the day ahead.
The first fixtures began at 8:30 a.m. with the Boys’ Football teams, where both the A and B teams produced confident performances and secured comfortable victories. The boys demonstrated real aspiration and teamwork throughout, playing with intensity whilst also showing excellent respect towards officials and opponents.
The Girls’ Basketball fixtures followed shortly after, with five highly competitive mini-games resulting in an overall draw between the two schools. Despite the close nature of the contests, the girls displayed resilience, positivity, and composure throughout, continuing to encourage one another from the sidelines regardless of the scoreline.
At 9:30 a.m., the Girls’ Football teams took to the field and continued the strong start to the day, with both the A and B teams recording impressive wins. The communication, energy, and collective spirit shown by the teams reflected the hard work and commitment they have demonstrated throughout the year.
The Boys’ Basketball fixtures were closely contested from start to finish, but both RSJ teams showed tremendous determination and composure under pressure to come away victorious. Particularly pleasing was the way the pupils supported teammates on and off the court, embodying the values of respect and integrity throughout the matches.
One of the standout moments of the day came during the Touch Rugby fixture. The hard work, perseverance, and commitment shown by the boys throughout the year were fully rewarded with a dominant display that demonstrated just how far the programme has developed in a short period of time. The pupils played with intensity and competitiveness, whilst also displaying excellent sportsmanship throughout.
Badminton produced several extremely close and competitive matches, requiring real resilience and concentration from the pupils involved. Tennis and Swimming also showcased some exceptional individual performances and technical quality from both schools. Across all three sports, RSJ pupils competed with aspiration and integrity, whilst consistently showing kindness and encouragement towards teammates and opponents alike.
A particularly proud moment came at the end of the event during the presentation of the Harrow Appi Values Medals, awarded to one boy and one girl from each school who best demonstrated leadership, commitment, positivity, determination, and sportsmanship throughout the day. Congratulations to Suzuno H. and Charles L., who were selected as Rugby School Japan’s recipients. Both pupils should be extremely proud of the way they represented RSJ and embodied the values of the school across the entire trip.
Pleasingly, Rugby School Japan were crowned overall winners of the Junior Derby Day fixture – a fantastic achievement and a reflection of the progress our sports programmes continue to make. Perhaps more importantly, however, the pupils represented the school with humility, respect, and togetherness throughout the weekend, both in competition and away from the sporting arena.
We thank Harrow Appi for being such gracious hosts, and we are already looking forward to welcoming them back to RSJ in November next academic year for the next chapter of this growing sporting tradition.
Following the long journey back to RSJ, pupils arrived home tired but elated after a memorable two days together. Pizza awaited the students upon arrival – a well-earned reward after such a demanding and successful fixture.
A huge THANK YOU must go to all of the teachers, coaches, nursing staff, and those working tirelessly behind the scenes to organise transport, accommodation, logistics, and safeguarding. Taking 86 pupils away is a huge undertaking and could not happen without the support and commitment of so many members of the RSJ community.
Well done to all pupils involved for the way they represented Rugby School Japan throughout the trip.
Written by Jordan Nwachukwu
Director of Sport
Head of Physical Education & Sports Science
