Sabro Takahashi, Jim Parton, London Japanese captain Kentaro Koga and Reg Clark.

The Oku Memorial Trophy was played at the Richmond Athletic Ground for the fifth time in late November between London Japanese and the Kew Occasionals.

The game was played almost 6 years to the date and hour since Ambassador Katsuhiko Oku, a member of both of those clubs, was tragically killed whilst working for the international reconstruction programme in Iraq whilst on secondment from the Japanese Embassy in London. Two days before the game Ambassador Ebihara had invited both sides to a reception at the Embassy to thank them for their continued efforts to honour Oku’s memory.

Rugby Football Union Vice President Richard Appleby attended the reception at which Oku’s long contribution as a member of the international committee of the JRFU to Japan’s eventually successful bid to host the Rugby World Cup was recognised. For the game itself the London Japanese side was boosted by players from Paris, Dusseldorf and Budapest and having taken a 31-15 lead just after half time, they eventually went down 44-31 largely due to a desire to give every player in a very large squad a game. The Kew side was captained by Club President and former London Japanese member Jim Parton, who again had travelled from Poland for the game. He received the trophy afterwards from Oku’s close friend, match organiser and referee Reg Clark.