Ryohei Yamanaka (山中 亮平, Yamanaka Ryohei, born 22 June 1988 in Osaka Prefecture) is a Japanese rugby union player who plays as a fly-half or centre.He currently plays for Japanese club Kobelco Steelers. [1][2]

In 2011, Yamanaka received a 2 year ban from the IRB for rubbing a cream on his upper lip - in an attempt to promote moustache growth - which contained a banned steroid, either methyltestosterone or methandriol.[3]

In his home country he plays for the Kobelco Steelers whom he joined in 2013.[4][5] He was also named in the first ever Sunwolves squad which will compete in Super Rugby from the 2016 season.[6] Yamanaka is a Japanese international who debuted against the Arabian Gulf in 2010, but did not make the squad for either the 2011 or 2015 Rugby World Cups.[1]

On 19 September 2023, Yamanaka was called up to Japan's Rugby World Cup squad as an injury replacement for Semisi Masirewa.[7][8]

References

  1. ^ a b "Ryohei Yamanaka ESPN Scrum Player Profile". ESPN. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Ryohei Yamanaka Top League Player Profile". Top League (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Japan's Ryohei Yamanaka banned for two years over drug use despite moustache claims". The Telegraph. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Ryohei Yamanaka Kobelco Steelers Player Profile". Kobelco Steelers (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  5. ^ "Ryohei Yamanaka itsrugby Player Statistics". itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  6. ^ "Sunwolves reveal squad, Hammett to coach". Sanzar Rugby. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  7. ^ "UPDATED: Yamanaka replaces injured Masirewa In Japan squad". Rugby World Cup. 19 September 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Ryohei Yamanaka Called into World Cup Squad as Injury Replacement". Japan Rugby Football Union. 19 September 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
No tags for this post.