Keiji Hirose

Keiji Hirose

Date of birth	(1973-04-16) April 16, 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth	Osaka, Japan
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight	163 lb (74 kg; 11.6 st)
School	Shimamoto High School, Osaka
University	Kyoto Sangyo University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1989–1992 1996–1996 Shimamoto High School, Osaka Kyoto Sangyo University RFC[1] () Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 1996–2008 Toyota () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1994–2005  Japan 40 (422)

Keiji Hirose (廣瀬佳司, Hirose Keiji), born April 16, 1973, in Osaka) is a former Japanese rugby union player. He played as a fly-half. His club team was Toyota Verblitz. He was nicknamed Golden Boots (ゴールデン・ブーツ, Gôruden Būtsu).

Hirose was awarded 40 caps for Japan; he made his debut in a 26–11 1995 Rugby World Cup qualifier win over South Korea, October 29, 1994, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In his career, Hirose scored 5 tries, 77 conversions, 79 penalties and 2 drop goals, reaching a national record of 422 points in aggregate. He was the primary goalkicker for Japan during his international career.

He played in a single game at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the infamous 145–17 defeat to New Zealand. Hirose scored 2 conversions and 1 penalty in the game.

In the 44–17 win over Tonga, at 8 May 1999, in Tokyo, during the Pacific Rim Championship, he kicked a then record of 9 penalties from 9 attempts.

He played in all three of Japan's games at the 1999 Rugby World Cup. His 5 penalties and 4 conversions (a total of 23 points) led his country in scoring. Hirose again played only once at the 2003 Rugby World Cup, in a 32–11 defeat to Scotland, at 12 October 2003, scoring 2 penalties.

His last international game came was on 5 November 2005, a 44–29 win over Spain, in Tokyo. Hirose had a memorable farewell, scoring 19 points through 5 conversions, 2 penalties and 1 drop goal. He was 32 years old.

• Keiji Hirose at ESPNscrum