Toyota Verblitz
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 Toyota Industries 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.
| 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(es) | Ben Herring | ||
| Captain(s) | Kaito Shigeno | ||
| League(s) | Japan Rugby League One | ||
| 2022 | 5th | ||
| |||
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 2023-24 season is:[1]
| Toyota Verblitz squad | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Props
Hookers
Locks
|
Flankers
Number 8s Scrum-halves
Fly-halves
|
Centres
Wingers
Fullbacks |
| (c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes player is internationally capped |
- * denotes players qualified to play for the Japan on dual nationality or residency grounds.
Former players
- Troy Flavell - lock (now in France with Bayonne)
- Tamaiti Horua - No. 8 (formerly Brumbies), now Western Force in 2008 season
- Orene Aii
- Filo Tiatia - No. 8 (now in Wales with the Ospreys}
- Dominic Day 2016 - Lock (Now playing for Saracens in the (English Premiership)
- 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)
- Wycliff Palu (2016-17, 14 games) Loose forward, Wallaby (2006–16, 58 caps)
- Lionel Cronjé (2017–22, 48 games) Fly-half
- Kieran Read (2020-21, 10 games) Loose forward, All Black (2008–19, 128 caps)
- Michael Hooper (2021, 10 games) Loose forward, Wallaby (2012–, 121 caps)
Stadium
- Gallery
References
- "Toyota Verblitz: The Team" (in Japanese). Toyota Verblitz. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
External links
- Toyota Verblitz - official site