Yoshikazu Fujita (藤田慶和, born 8 September 1993 in Kyoto) is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. After impressing the coaches with his form playing for the Japan sevens team, Fujita was selected for 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 ...

and became the youngest ever player to play for Japan when he took the field against the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

in May 2012 at the age of 18 years and 210 days in his hometown of

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

. On his debut as Japan youngest ever player he scored 6 tries. However soon after his debut later that month he suffered a serious injury where he tore the ligaments in his left

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

and was ruled out of action for 10 months. He returned to play in the

Pacific Rugby Cup The World Rugby Pacific Challenge, formerly the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup, is an annual rugby union football tournament held in Oceania since 2006. It is contested by national 'A' teams (formed from the best locally based players, with most not alre ...

for Junior Japan in March 2013, and then returned to the Japan national team after an injury to

Hirotoki Onozawa is a rugby union player who plays at wing or occasionally full back for Canon Eagles. He previously played for Suntory Sungoliath and the Japan national rugby union team. Nicknamed "the eel" for his sharp sidestepping ability, Onozawa is the sec ...

and scored tries on his return in all three of the matches he played in the

Asian 5 Nations The Asia Rugby Championship, or ARC, is an annual rugby union competition held amongst national rugby sides within the Asia Rugby region. The competition was originally known as the Asian Rugby Football Tournament when founded in 1969, and was call ...

. After scoring his 11th try for Japan against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in June 2013, Fujita broke the record of

George North George Philip North (born 13 April 1992) is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays for the Ospreys in the United Rugby Championship and the Wales national team. He has also represented the British & Irish Lions and currently has th ...

for most tries scored as a teenager in international rugby.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fujita, Yoshikazu 1993 births Living people Japanese rugby union players Japan international rugby union players Waseda University Rugby Football Club players Rugby union fullbacks Saitama Wild Knights players Sportspeople from Fukuoka (city) Rugby sevens players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic rugby sevens players for Japan Sunwolves players Rugby union wings Mie Honda Heat players