The Dragons host the 2025 Japanese Rugby Festa
As every year, the Düsseldorf Dragons hosted the Japanese Rugby Festa on Saturday 6th September.
The players of the Düsseldorf Japanese community invite Japanese players living in neighbouring countries (France, UK, Netherlands, etc) to form a team and challenge the Düsseldorf Dragons on their pitch.
The day started with a game of touch rugby for the older generation of players. During a 3 times 10- minute game, both teams fought hard under the heat to try to overpass their opponent. The "old" Dragons thought they were going to end the game with a win, but in the last action of the game, the team of "old" Japanese players managed to find a break in the Dragons defence line and score a try, bringing the final result to a draw.
The day continued with the main event, the game of Rugby between the Düsseldorf Dragons and their Japanese guests. The first part of the game was really tight. The Japanese players delivered a very fast moving game forcing the Dragons to defend a lot, which they did well.
The Japanese players managed to cross twice the try line, but the Dragons with their more extensive bench and higher level of fitness took the lead in the second part of the game and finished it with a solid lead of 38 points. The game was great opportunity for the Dragons' trainers team to try various players combinations and give some game time to all available players, a great way to prepare the team for its season start.
The third half was the opportunity to share some great time with all players involved and their families in the club house. The team of Japanese cooks made it very special with their offer of very tasty Japanese specialities.
For some of the participants, the day ended in our sponsor Irish pub, the Mc Laughlins where it was reported that some rugby players can also sing.
Thank you to all persons who made this event a success for all its participants and for the club.
We are looking forward to hosting the next Japanese Rugby Festa.
Some photos of this event are available in our photo gallery.
Some photos of the event are available in our Photo gallery on our website.