Keita Inagaki

Keita Inagaki (稲垣 啓太, Inagaki Keita, born 2 June 1990) is a Japanese professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for Japan Rugby League One club Saitama Wild Knights and the Japan national team.[1][2][3][4][5]

Keita Inagaki
Date of birth (1990-06-02) 2 June 1990
Place of birthNiigata, Japan
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight116 kg (256 lb; 18 st 4 lb)
SchoolNiigata Technical High School
UniversityKanto Gakuin University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Prop
Current team Saitama Wild Knights
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013– Saitama Wild Knights 124 (10)
2015 Melbourne Rebels 1 (0)
2016–2018 Sunwolves 24 (0)
Correct as of 28 August 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2009 Japan U20 3 (0)
2014– Japan 49 (5)
2023 Japan XV 1 (0)
Correct as of 28 August 2023

Club career

Inagaki started his professional career with the Panasonic Wild Knights where he lifted the Top League title in each of his first two seasons and was named in the Top League team of the year for 2014–15.[6] Such was his impact in his first two seasons as a professional that when injuries struck the Melbourne Rebels two Japanese players Shota Horie and Male Sa'u, Inagaki was signed up as a concessional signing on a one-year deal ahead of the 2015 Super Rugby season.[1][2]

International career

Inagaki featured in all four of Japan's games during the 2014 end-of-year rugby union internationals with the first two matches being non-cap internationals against the Māori All Blacks. His official test debut came against Romania in Bucharest on 15 November 2014 and he won his second cap a week later against Georgia in Tbilisi.[1][7] Inagaki was selected in the Japanese squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England. He played in all five games for Japan which included their big upset over South Africa 34–32 in Brighton.[8] Japan finished the 2015 World Cup with 3 wins out of 5 games but failed to reach the quarterfinals. Inagaki was also selected in Japan's squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup which was to be held in Japan. Inagaki helped Japan reach their first ever quarterfinals where they went on to lose to eventual winners South Africa 26–3. Inagaki scored a try in Japan's pool match against Scotland which was his first ever test try and also helped push Japan to a 28–21 win.[9]

References
  1. "Keita Inagaki Melbourne Rebels Player Profile". Rebels Rugby. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  2. "Panasonic prop Inagaki finalizes deal with Melbourne Rebels". Japan Times. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  3. "Keiga Inagaki Panasonic Wild Knights Player Profile". Panasonic Rugby (in Japanese). Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  4. "Keita Inagaki Top League Player Profile". Top League (in Japanese). Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  5. "Keita Inagaki itsrugby Player Statistics". itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  6. "Top League Awards 2014". Top League (in Japanese). Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  7. "Keita Inagaki ESPN Scrum Player Profile". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  8. "Japan beat South Africa in greatest Rugby World Cup shock ever". the Guardian. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  9. "Japan vs Scotland - Match Statistics - Rugby World Cup 2019 - 13 Oct, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
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