Daisuke Ohata


Daisuke Ohata is a former Japanese rugby union player. He usually played on the wing, and sometimes at centre, for the Japanese national team. He made his name internationally as a speedy ace in the World Rugby Sevens Series, and went on to become a regular member of the national team. He first played for Japan on November 9, 1996 and scored three tries that day. He is the leading rugby union test try scorer of all time. In November 2016, Ohata was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame at the opening ceremony for the Hall's first physical location in Rugby, Warwickshire.

Life and career

Ohata is from the Kansai region and speaks with a strong Kansai accent. He attended rugby nurseries Tokai Dai Gyosei High School with Koji Uehara and Yoshinori Tateyama, where the three were classmates, and Kyoto Sangyo University.

World record holder

On 14 May 2006, Ohata scored three tries for Japan against Georgia at Hanazono Stadium, in doing so claiming the world record for tries in rugby test matches. This gave him 65 tries for his country in 55 tests; he has since extended his record to 69 tries from 58 tests. The record was previously held by David Campese of Australia, who scored 64 tries from 101 tests. Unlike Campese, however, only a quarter of Ohata's tries were scored against major rugby union playing nations, causing controversy in some media.
Ohata did not take part in the Rugby World Cup 2007, as he had ruptured his left Achilles tendon in an August practice match against Portugal. He had only just returned that month to the national side, having recovered from a right Achilles tendon rupture in January.

Retirement

On 10 January 2011, Ohata's retirement was announced due to a knee injury.