Hitoshi Ono
Hitoshi Ono is a Japanese rugby player. He plays at lock for the Japan national rugby union team. He is nicknamed the "Iron Man".
Ono started playing rugby after converting from baseball at Nihon University where he was studying to become a firefighter. However, he changed careers and joined Toshiba Brave Lupus in 2001, with whom he has gone on to win the Top League four times.
He made his international debut for in 2004 against. He became a regular member of the national team from there onwards and represented his country at both the 2007 and 2011 Rugby World Cup. Since Eddie Jones took over as Japan coach in 2012, he has not missed an international match, and has become the most capped player for Japan of all time.
After the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, Ono's family dairy farm suffered greatly, and alongside prop Kensuke Hatakeyama who lost his home, he was named honorary captain for the Asian 5 Nations match with the by coach John Kirwan to mark the team's solidarity for the cause.
Ono is one of the 'Frontier Ambassadors' of his hometown Koriyama City.
He retired from professional rugby in 2020
