is a Japanese former rugby union player and currently coach. He played as scrum-half. He is the current coach of Hosei University RFC. He is nicknamed "Son".

Career

Before becoming a rugby union player, Sonoda played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

, but he started rugby union while attending Hirakata Daisan Junior High School, playing initially as centre. He later became a scrum-half playing for Josho Keiko Gakuen High School. Three years later, he won the

National High School Rugby Tournament The National High School Rugby Tournament is held annually since 1917 at Higashi Osaka Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Higashi Osaka, Japan, from the end of December to early January. All 47 Prefectures of Japan are represented, with four extra teams ( ...

in Hanazono. Sonoda also was selected as high school representative for Japan. Since his first year at Hosei University, he was a regular player in the

All-Japan University Rugby Championship The All-Japan University Rugby Football Championships (全国大学ラグビーフットボール選手権大会 – ''Zenkoku Daigaku Ragubi- Futtobo-ru Senshuken Taikai'') have been held annually since 1964 to determine the top University Rugby ...

s. Two years later, Hosei was runner-up in the tournament. Sonoda was named as captain four years later and would be selected as a university representative for Japan. After his graduation from university, Sonoda joined

Kobe Steel Kobe Steel, Ltd. (株式会社神戸製鋼所, ''Kabushiki gaisha Kōbe Seikō-sho''), is a major Japanese steel manufacturer headquartered in Chūō-ku, Kobe. KOBELCO is the unified brand name of the Kobe Steel Group. Kobe Steel has the lowe ...

. Since joining the team, Sonoda suffered injuries such as left wrist fractures and left knee ligament injuries, and Masami Horikoshi was already the starting scrum-half, so Sonoda could not have the opportunity to participate in the match. In the 1999 season, he played an active role in filling the place of Horikoshi after the latter left the team, and played as a regular. From the 2002 season, Sonoda served as the captain for Kobe Steel. In the 2009 season, Sonoda served the team as player-coach and retired as a player after the season. From the 2010 season, Sonoda was appointed as head coach for Kobelco Steelers. He left the team after the 2013 season. From 2016, Sonoda became the head coach of Hosei University RFC.

International career

Sonoda received his first cap for

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

during the test match against

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

in Tokyo, on 20 May 2000. He was also part of the Japanese squad coached by

Shogo Mukai , (born Iyo, October 2, 1961) is a Japanese former rugby union coach who coached the Japan national rugby union team from 2001 up to the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Mukai played as a full back and won 13 caps for the Japan national rugby union team bet ...

for 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 ...

, playing four matches at the tournament, with the pool stage match against

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, in

Gosford Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of Sydney and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern extre ...

, on 27 October 2003 being his last international test cap.

References

External links

Yuji Sonoda international stats2019 ALL FOR JAPAN TEAM
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonoda, Yuji 1973 births Hosei University alumni Japanese rugby union players Sportspeople from Osaka Kobelco Kobe Steelers players Japan international rugby union players Rugby union scrum-halves Living people