The Rugby Star

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.

• Akira ShimizuDirector
• Motohiro ToriiScreenplay
• Shizuo NonamiScreenplay

• Jirô ChibaCast
• Koji NanjoCast
• Kentaro MakiCast
• Gō IbukiCast
• Shiro KishibeCast
• Rinichi YamamotoCast
• Seizō FukumotoCast
• Masataka IwaoCast
• Yōko KoizumiCast
• Akane KawasakiCast
• Momoko IkedaCast
• Yumi KatsuradaCast