Toyota Verblitz
| Full name | Toyota Verblitz | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | Japan Rugby Football Union | ||
| Founded | 1941 | ||
| Location | Toyota, Aichi, Japan | ||
| Ground(s) | Toyota Stadium Mizuho Rugby Stadium (Capacity: 45,000 15,000) | ||
| Director of Rugby | Steve Hansen | ||
| Coach | Ben Herring | ||
| Captain | Kazuki Himeno | ||
| League | Japan Rugby League One | ||
| 2023 | 7th | ||
| |||
| Official website | |||
| toyotatimes-sports | |||
Toyota Verblitz is a Japanese rugby union team in the Japan Rugby League One. Verblitz is a portmanteau of verde (Italian, Spanish and Portuguese for 'green') and blitz (German for 'lightning'). The team is owned by Toyota Motor Corporation and is not to be confused with the Aichi Shuttles rugby team, owned by Toyota Industries. It shares Toyota Stadium in the city of Toyota, Aichi with the football club Nagoya Grampus which also used to be owned by Toyota Motors.
Honours
- All-Japan Championship
- Champions: 1969, 1968, 1987
- Runners-up: 2007
Results
Verblitz (surprisingly given the team's pedigree) failed to make the cut for the first season of the Top League (2003-4) but entered the Top League in the second season and were a contender for the second Microsoft Cup. They lost the Japan Championship final on February 27, 2005, to NEC Green Rockets 13–17.
Current squad
The Toyota Verblitz squad for the 2025-26 season is:[1]
| Toyota Verblitz squad | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Props
Hookers
Locks
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Flankers
No8s Scrum-halves
Fly-halves
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Centres
Wingers
Fullbacks
Utility Backs
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| (c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes player is internationally capped |
- * denotes players qualified to play for Japan on dual nationality or residency grounds.
Former players
- Orene Ai'i - Blues (Super Rugby) and New Zealand national rugby sevens team representative[2]
- Lionel Cronjé (2017–22, 48 games) Fly-half
- Dominic Day 2016 - Lock (Now playing for Saracens in the (English Premiership)
- Troy Flavell - lock (All Blacks 2001-08, later in France with Bayonne)
- Michael Hooper (2021, 10 games) Loose forward, Wallaby (2012–23, 125 caps)
- Tamaiti Horua - No. 8 formerly played for Brumbies then Western Force
- Takashi Kikutani (2004–13, 114 games) Loose forward, Japanese International (2005–14, 68 caps)
- Toshizumi Kitagawa (2004-19, 102 games) Lock, Japanese International (2005–13, 43 caps)
- Joe Launchbury Lock, England International (2012–, 65 caps)
- Wycliff Palu (2016-17, 14 games) Loose forward, Wallaby (2006–16, 58 caps)
- Kieran Read (2020-21, 10 games) Loose forward, All Black (2008–19, 128 caps)
- Filo Tiatia - Hurricanes and 2 test All Black No 8. Later played with the Ospreys in Wales.
- Steven Yates - New Zealand national rugby sevens team representative 2007-08[3]
Stadium
- Gallery
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Notes
References
- ^ "Toyota Verblitz: The Team" (in Japanese). Toyota Verblitz. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
- ^ www.vcsnet.co.nz, VCS Websites (NZ)-Lower Hutt and Wellington. "Orene Ai'i | New Zealand Rugby History". www.rugbyhistory.co.nz.
- ^ "Rugby Database: Steven Yates Player Profile & Stats". www.rugbydatabase.co.nz.
External links
- Toyota Verblitz - official site