The Rugby Star
MovieTitle | ラクビー野郎 |
User score | 10 |
Release date | May 15, 1976 |
Genre | Action, Comedy |
Director | Akira Shimizu |
Production country | Japan |
Production companies | Toei Company |
Run time | 88 min. |
The success of Truck Yaro (1975-1979) initiated a whole load of movies that put "Yaro" in their title, including this semi-bonkers sports comedy/drama. Sonny Chiba's brother Jiro Chiba stars as a Rugby player whose team must find a way to beat the opponent. It's a standard storyline without any major surprises, but works surprisingly well. Training scenes are relatively nuts; much better than the actual matches actually, which tend to go on forever. There is no sex, nudity or graphic violence, making this a family friendly affair. Sonny Chiba appears for about 7 minutes during the last third as a truck driver who comes to Jiro's rescue.