Leitch pushes through his opponents to break through. He made his presence felt amid the large number of departures from the Japanese national team due to the COVID-19 crisis (Photo: AFRO)A number of members of the Japanese national rugby team have tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus. The team was facing a crisis before their second straight match against the world-ranked French national team. On the other hand, Michael Leitch is appealing his recovery. He had suffered from a series of injuries for a while, but he has improved following the example of his colleagues at his club.   Perhaps it is because the atmosphere in the stadium is now such that people are not afraid to cheer for him. When that man holds the ball, the fans sing in unison. “Leeeitch!” It was a popular chant among fans during the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. It has been a long time since it was revived after the viral plague. On July 2 at Toyota Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan’s national team took on France eight places above them in the world rankings, on a hot day with a maximum temperature of 35 degrees celsius in the vicinity. The team’s main candidates, Shota Horie, Naoto Saito, Takuya Yamasawa, and Ryuji Noguchi, had all left the team by this day. The reason was that they tested positive for COVID-19. The registered members were not changed until the morning of the day before the match.   Even so, some of the players made their scheduled appearances and showed their strengths. One of them was Leitch. Around seven minutes into the first half, he and a teammate made a strong double tackle in the right center of the 10-meter area. Another fellow got involved in the ball at that spot, increasing the sharpness of the next defense. The Japanese team eventually got a penalty kick. Around the 21-minute mark at 10-10, Leitch was again involved in a double tackle and jackal combo. He escaped a pinch in front of his own goal. In the next 33 minutes, he also won the ball back in an aerial lineout. In a circle, he inspired the group. Although the team lost 23-42 in the end, they kept on running until the moment of no-side. Due to team policy or a decision by the Japan Rugby Football Union, Leitch was not available for interviews on the day of the match. However, Leitch had been feeling good about his performance for some time. “My physical condition is not bad.” Looking back, he has struggled to get back into shape over the past few years. In the 2019 World Cup in Japan, he struggled with a hip injury sustained just prior to the tournament. His performance in the first game against Russia was severely underrated, and he was omitted from the starting lineup in the following second game. In the end, he made an appearance in the middle of the match, and the Irish team, ranked No. 2 in the world before the tournament and a favorite to win the tournament, beat the Irish team. However, it was not all smooth sailing for the team until they reached the top eight for the first time in their history. In the fall, he stepped away from the captaincy he had held since 2014 for a total of four and a half years.