There's an old saying in sport that athletes are the only people who need to look for a job once they retire. Kobe Kobelco Steelers wing Daisuke Ohata, however, shouldn't have too many problems finding work after announcing his immediate retirement Sunday. The 35-year-old had originally said he would hang up his golden boots at the end of the season. But after picking up a knee injury in the final game of the regular season, Ohata admitted he was done. "It's the first time I have ever damaged a knee so it is time to stop," said Ohata, who bounced back from two ruptured Achilles tendons in 2006 and '07.
Ohata's retirement will no doubt reignite the debate about whether the Osaka native should be regarded as the world record holder for tries scored in test matches. Ohata finishes his career with 69 tries from 58 tests, five more than David Campese and 16 more than Shane Williams, who currently has 53 from his 79 tests for Wales and the British and Irish Lions. "I remember having many heated arguments on the IRB forum about the validity of his record," said Mardo Gray, who holds the distinction of having played rugby league for Japan and represented Australia in sumo. Gray, like many others, was incensed that there were some who thought Ohata's record should not be recognized.
The general line of argument from the anti-Ohata brigade was: "Imagine how many tries, Campese or Doug Howlett (49 tries in 62 tests) would have scored if they had played the likes of South Korea and Chinese Taipei?" Quite a few is the obvious answer. But imagine how many Ohata might have scored if he was playing outside the likes of Michael Lynagh and Tim Horan or Andrew Mehrtens and Aaron Mauger with the Wallabies or All Blacks pack providing plenty of good quick ball. "That's exactly how it should be summed up," said Japan coach John Kirwan, scorer of 35 tries in 63 tests for the All Blacks.
A look through Ohata's test record shows that while he did pick up a number of tries against sides ranked lower than Japan, he was also no slouch against teams ranked higher than the Brave Blossoms. Sadly for Ohata, Japan did not take on Australia, New Zealand, England or South Africa during his career, but other major test-playing nations know only too well just what a good finisher he was. "Dingo," as he was known following a spell in club rugby in Sydney, played three times against Argentina and scored two tries, and had a similar record against both Ireland and Fiji. He scored in his only appearances against Wales and France and scored one try in two games against Australia A, England A, Samoa and Tonga.
Adam Parker, who played alongside Ohata for Japan at the 2003 Rugby World Cup, had no doubt Ohata was worthy of his place in the history books. "He deserves the record for sure. He is a class player," the New Zealand-born lock said in 2006 when Ohata passed Campese's mark. "Japan loses more games than it wins and that has made it harder for Ohata. He has an amazing strike rate, no matter what level [he played at]." By comparison, Campese scored nine tries against Argentina, six against Italy and the United States and four vs Canada. Williams, meanwhile, has recorded nine against both Japan and Italy and three against Canada, proving that Ohata is not the only player to have bulked up his figures with some impressive performances against lower-ranked teams.
Ohata missed the 2007 Rugby World Cup after suffering a ruptured left Achilles, a year after doing the same in his right leg. As such he was unable to add to his record of three tries in seven RWC appearances. With his major weapons--superb acceleration over the initial 10 meters and a great outside step--no longer as potent, Ohata was never really the same player again. "Ohata was an outstanding player for Japan. I remember how incredibly quick he was before he did his Achilles. You can't score tries without having ability and his speed was incredible," said Kirwan.
"It's sad that it ended like this but I think I have had a good career," Ohata told reporters Sunday. "I feel I have left my mark as a rugby player."
You certainly did, Dingo.