Nathan Hirayama

Nathan Hirayama

Hirayama at the 2015 Rugby World Cup
Birth name	Nathan Hirayama
Date of birth	(1988-03-23) 23 March 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth	Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
Height	183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	88 kg (13 st 12 lb; 194 lb)
School	McRoberts Secondary School
University	University of Victoria
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half / Fullback Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2009–2013 University of Victoria () 2007– British Columbia () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2008 Canada U20 5 (27) 2008–2015 Canada 23 (47) Correct as of 9 September 2021 National sevens team Years Team Comps 2006–2021 Canada Sevens 272
Medal record Men's rugby sevens Representing  Canada Pan American Games 2011 Guadalajara Team 2015 Toronto Team 2019 Lima Team

Nathan Hirayama (born 23 March 1988) is a Canadian former rugby player. His primary position was fly-half, however, but he also played fullback. He played for both the Canadian national team and the Canadian sevens team. At club level, Hirayama played for the University of Victoria in the British Columbian Premiership and the BC Bears in the Canadian Rugby Championship.

Hirayama was selected for the Canadian national team to attend the 2007, 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups, although he did not play any games in 2007. He appeared as a substitute two of Canada's four 2011 World Cup group stage matches. He was Canada's starting fly-half for the 2015 World Cup, playing in all four group stage matches and recording 20 points.^[1]

Hirayama debuted for the Canadian sevens team in the 2006 Dubai Sevens in the IRB Sevens World Series at age 18. Two years later he debuted for the Canadian national men's team against Portugal in Lisbon. He was selected for the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Russia helping Canada to win the Plate competition and finishing as the tournament's top scorer with 49 points.^{[citation needed]} Hirayama was a part of Canada's rugby sevens team at the 2010, 2014, and 2018 Commonwealth Games. Hirayama has also competed at the Pan American Games, winning gold in 2011 and 2015, and silver in 2019.

In June 2021, Hirayama was named to Canada's 2020 Summer Olympics team.^[2][3] He will be Canada's flag-bearer at the opening ceremony games alongside Miranda Ayim.^[4][5] He announced his retirement from all forms of rugby in September 2021.^[6] At the time of his retirement, he was ranked third on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series all-time points-scoring list, with 1859 total points.^[6]

Hirayama is of Japanese Canadian descent and was born in Richmond, British Columbia, as were both his parents.^[7][8] Hirayama's father, Garry Hirayama, also represented Canada in both codes of the game in the 1980s, winning 12 caps as fly-half for the national team,^[9] and was also part of Canada's first sevens team to travel to Hong Kong.^[10] Together they are the first-ever rugby-playing father-son duo for Canada.^{[citation needed]}

• Nathan Hirayama at Rugby Canada
• Nathan Hirayama at the World Rugby Men's Sevens Series (archived)
• Nathan Hirayama at Team Canada
• Nathan Hirayama at ESPNscrum

Olympic Games
Preceded by Tessa Virtue Scott Moir	Flagbearer for  Canada (with Miranda Ayim) Tokyo 2020	Succeeded by Marie-Philip Poulin Charles Hamelin