Andrew McKirdy is a sports writer for The Japan Times. His main beat is soccer, but he has also covered rugby, tennis, volleyball, golf and even tug-of-war. A native of the Scottish Borders, he has written for The Scotsman newspaper and organized filming for a program on Japanese soccer for ITV television.
For Andrew McKirdy's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
South Africa ended Japan's phenomenal run at the Rugby World Cup with a 26-3 win in Sunday night's quarterfinal. Japan, which was playing a World Cup knockout match for the first time ever, fell behind to an early Makazole Mapimpi try at Tokyo Stadium before ...
New Zealand star Beauden Barrett paid tribute to his team's ability to shake off the cobwebs in Saturday's Rugby World Cup quarterfinal demolition of Ireland, as the All Blacks returned from a two-week layoff to set up a semifinal showdown against England. The All Blacks ...
Two-time defending champion New Zealand cruised into a Rugby World Cup semifinal matchup against England after dismantling Ireland 46-14 on Saturday night. Ireland had beaten the All Blacks in two of their previous three encounters heading into their quarterfinal at Tokyo Stadium, but New Zealand ...
Japan head coach Jamie Joseph has warned his players to expect a brutal onslaught from South Africa's forwards when they go head to head in Sunday's Rugby World Cup quarterfinal. But the New Zealander also hinted that the Brave Blossoms could have a trick up ...
If you look at a map of Kitasenju in Tokyo's Adachi Ward, you will see that it's almost entirely surrounded by water. The Arakawa River to the north and the Sumida River to the south come together and run side by side, just a few ...
Japan's Rugby World Cup heroes on Wednesday vowed to go for broke in their historic quarterfinal against South Africa on Sunday, insisting the Brave Blossoms have "nothing to lose" after reaching the knockout round for the first time. "The goal for the Japan team was ...
Japan's players allowed themselves a moment of satisfaction after beating Scotland to reach the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals for the first time on Sunday, but warned their next opponent, South Africa: "we're not finished yet." "We're not packing our bags and saying 'that's enough,'" said ...
Japan beat Scotland 28-21 on Sunday night to claim a place in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals for the first time ever, winning Pool A with a perfect record of four wins from four. In a game that was only given the green light to ...
Rugby World Cup fans on Friday expressed mixed feelings as they contemplated a weekend of canceled games due to Typhoon Hagibis, with ticket-holders praying that Japan's crucial match against Scotland on Sunday still goes ahead. Tournament organizers on Thursday called off two games originally scheduled ...
Japan head coach Jamie Joseph on Friday blasted suggestions his team is running scared ahead of Sunday's Rugby World Cup showdown against Scotland, insisting the Brave Blossoms are ready to prove they belong in the quarterfinals if the typhoon-threatened match goes ahead. Japan is preparing ...
