| Date of birth | 26 July 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 90 kg (14 st 2 lb; 198 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Kokura High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Keio University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Akihito Yamada (山田章仁, Yamada Akihito, born 26 July 1985 in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture) is a Japanese rugby union player who plays as a winger.[1][2] He also plays for Top League side the Panasonic Wild Knights in his home country.[3][4]
Yamada has been a prolific try-scorer for the Wild Knights in Japan's Top 14 competition since making his debut during the 2010-11 season. He enjoyed a stand-out year in 2012-13 scoring 20 tries in 14 games to be the league's top scorer.[4]
Ahead of the admission of a Japanese franchise into Super Rugby, Australian sides were permitted to contract one Japanese player per season to aid their development. And so it was that the Perth-based Western Force signed Yamada to a one-year contract ahead of the 2015 Super Rugby season.[1]
Yamada made his debut for Japan on 15 November 2013 in a 40-13 victory over Russia in Colwyn Bay, Wales.[5] To date he has scored 8 tries in 10 international matches.[3]