, (born Iyo, October 2, 1961) is a Japanese former rugby union coach who coached the

Japan national rugby union team The Japan national rugby union team, often known as the Cherry Blossoms, Sakura, and more recently The Brave Blossoms (''ブレイブ・ブロッサムズ - Bureibu burossamuzu'') is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia and has ...

from 2001 up to the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...

. Mukai played as a full back and won 13 caps for the

between 1985 and 1988 and played at the

1987 Rugby World Cup The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches (17 pool stage matches, two quarter-finals, the third-place play-off and the final) while Australia hosted 11 ...

. After retiring from his playing career in 1994, he became coach of the

Toshiba Brave Lupus Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo is a Japanese rugby union team in the Top League. They are based in Fuchu, Tokyo, as is their local rival Suntory Sungoliath. They won the second ever Top League championship in the 2004-5 season and the Microsoft Cup i ...

whom he led to three consecutive national titles from 1997 and 1999. His success with

led to him to be appointed as coach of the Japan national team in December 2000 after

Seiji Hirao was a Japanese rugby union footballer and coach. He played as a fly-half, and was one of the most popular Japanese players of his time, earning the name of "Mr. Rugby". Biography Hirao first played rugby at Fushimi Kogyo, in Kyoto, who won the n ...

resigned. He led the side up to the

, where Japan put up some credible performances against and but ultimately finished the tournament winless. He stepped down after the tournament to spend more time with his family. He finished his time as Japan coach with a record of 9 wins in 24 matches. After leaving his post with Japan, he became coach of the

Coca-Cola Red Sparks The Coca-Cola Red Sparks ( ja, コカ・コーラレッドスパークス) was a Japanese company-owned rugby union team based in Fukuoka city, Kyūshū. The team was initially founded as Kitakyushu Coca-Cola and then changed its name to Coca- ...

in 2004. He led them to promotion to the

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

in 2006 where they stayed until they were relegated in 2012. This was Mukai's last season in charge as he handed over the reins to new coach Satoshi Yamaguchi and moved into a directors role at the club. During his time as a coach, Mukai was renowned for employing an attacking game plan.

References

External links

Shogo Mukai
on the Coca-Cola West Japan website {{DEFAULTSORT:Mukai, Shogo 1961 births Living people Tokai University alumni People from Iyo, Ehime Sportspeople from Ehime Prefecture Japanese rugby union players Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo players Japanese rugby union coaches Japan national rugby team coaches Japan international rugby union players Rugby union fullbacks

See also

References

External links