, formerly ''Fukuoka Sanix Blues'' and ''Fukuoka Sanix Bombs'', was a Japanese rugby union team based in Munakata,

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Founded in April 1994 (Heisei 6), the team rose rapidly through the Kyūshū leagues and was in the

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

for the first season (2003-4) as Kyūshū's sole representative, but lost a relegation battle with

Kintetsu Liners Hanazono Kintetsu Liners rugby team are a Japanese rugby union team owned by Kintetsu Corporation which was founded in 1929. They have won the All-Japan Championship three times as an amateur team. Their home is at Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Hig ...

42-45 and was demoted. But Sanix managed to return to the Top League for the 2005-6 season, beating

Secom Rugguts Secom Rugguts is a Japanese rugby union team founded in 1985 by SECOM. Its name is a portmanteau of "Rugger" and "Guts". The club was in the Top League for the first season of the league but was demoted at the end of the season. As the top team of ...

and Toyota Jido Shokki in the Top League Challenge Series 2005. In March 2022, Sanix Inc., the operators of the club, announced the disbandment of the team following the conclusion of the 2022 Japan Rugby League One season.

Current squad

The Munakata Sanix Blues squad for the 2022 season was:

Former players

Graeme Bachop Graeme Thomas Miro Bachop (born 11 June 1967) is a former rugby union footballer from New Zealand. He is of Samoan, Tahitian and Cook Islands heritage. Career Bachop made his All Blacks debut against Japan B in Tokyo on 21 October 1987, his firs ...

Jamie Joseph James Whitinui Joseph (born 21 November 1969) is a New Zealand-born Japanese former rugby union player and current rugby union coach. A flanker, Joseph represented Otago at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, ...

* John Leslie *

Matua Parkinson Matua may refer to: People * Hotu Matuꞌa, legendary first settler and chief of Easter Island and ancestor of the Rapa Nui people * Matua (priest) (fl. 1838), High Priest of Mangareva * Fred Matua (1984–2012), American football player * Henar ...

- blindside flanker *

Bad Luck Fale Simi Taitoko Fale (born 8 January 1982) is a Tongan-New Zealand professional wrestler and former rugby union player. He currently works for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as . In NJPW, he is a three-time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champio ...

* Damian Karauna - utility backuben Parkinson - centre *

Jacques Potgieter Ulrich Jacques Potgieter (born 24 April 1986 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player who last played for Munakata Sanix Blues in the Japanese Top League. Career Youth / Sharks / Eastern Province Kings He repre ...

- flank

Home ground

Global Arena The Global Arena is a sports venue in Munakata, Fukuoka, Kyūshū, Japan. The 10,000-capacity Sanix Global Arena Stadium is the main stadium at the Global Arena sports complex. It was set up by the President of the Sanix company Mr. Munemasa and ...

(The Sanix company is involved in the running of the Global Arena in Munakata, which is also the venue for the annual Sanix World Rugby Youth Tournament held in May between eight top Japanese and eight top foreign high school teams from various countries.) * Sanix Genkai Ground, Kamiminato,

Munakata, Fukuoka is a city in Japan, located in Fukuoka Prefecture, in the north Chikuzen region of the prefecture. The city was founded on April 1, 1981. As of April 30, 2022, the city has an estimated population of 97,098 and a population density of 810 perso ...

Mascot

*The former mascot's name was Bombee. He was a cartoon-style dog with floppy ears who wore the Sanix rugby kit and a scrum cap. He was no longer used when the team name changed from Bombs to Blues.

References

External links