Saitama Wild Knights (formerly Panasonic Wild Knights) is a Japanese

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

team formerly based in Ōta city,

Gunma prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 Square kilometre, km2 (2,456 Square mile, sq mi). Gunma P ...

which plays 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 ...

. Inspired by Tony Brown at fly half (though he was not captain), it dominated the league in the fifth season and was the first team to be unbeaten throughout a Top League season. The team rebranded as Saitama Wild Knights ahead of the rebranding of the Top League to the Japan Rugby League One in 2022, with the team relocating to Saitama.

History

Early Years (1960 to 1975)

The Wild Knights were founded in 1960 by alumni of the Kumagai Industrial School and workers of the Tokyo Sanyo corporation. Initially an amateur company team, they competed in the Kantō Leagues during the 1960s, rising gradually through the ranks of the prefecture's rugby pyramid. In 1968 they undertook the first tour in their history when they travelled to South Korea to face a number of university and company teams there. In 1971 they won their first ever Kantō Rugby Championship, after arising from the 4th division only 9 years earlier. This success was followed the next season with a successive championship title, a testament to the increasing fortunes of the

Gunma is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima P ...

club.

Growth and Success (1975 to 2002)

After a few runners-up places, the club won seven back-to-back titles between 1976 and 1982, becoming the dominant rugby force in Kantō-chihō. Further titles were added in 1986 and 1987, before the Wild Knights were entered into the new

East Japan Rugby Championship East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

against other top clubs from Kantō and Tōhoku. Rugby in Japan was a growing sport, gradually gaining popularity and competitiveness outside of its normal strongholds in company break-rooms and college campuses. Although still nominally amateur, the Wild Knights nonetheless used their position in the Tokyo Sanyo corporation to hire talented foreigners to 'work' for the company with the real intention of playing for the rugby team. Known as "

shamateurism Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. The distinction is made between amateur sporting participants and professional sporting participants, who are paid for the time they spend competing ...

", it became rampant in rugby union, as well as football and baseball. Due to the merger of Tokyo Sanyo Electric with Sanyo Electric in 1986, the team name was changed to Sanyo Electric Rugby Team. The maiden season of the new East Japan league was captured in 1988, with further crowns captured in 1990 and 1991. Further titles were nabbed during the 1990s and in May 1997 the club's new ground at Ryumai-cho was officially unveiled.

Early Top League Era (2003 to 2012)

In 2003 the

Japan Rugby Football Union The Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU; ja, 日本ラグビーフットボール協会, ''Nihon Ragubi- Futtobo-ru Kyo-kai'') is the governing body for rugby union in Japan. It was formed 30 November 1926, and organises matches for the Japan nati ...

launched the

, Japan's first nationwide domestic rugby competition. Held annually between September and February, the Top League would mark a new future for the sport in Japan and a fully professional structure would help clubs like the Wild Knights to attract better players. Immediately prior to the launch of the Top League in 2003, the club renamed the name to "Sanyo Wild Knights". In the maiden season of the Top League, the club finished in 7th but did manage to win the Fair Play Award for 2003–04. The league that year was won by the Kobe Kobelco Steelers. The Wild Knights fans were also awarded the Japan Special Award for their support and atmosphere. The club's starting scrum-half

Wataru Ikeda Wataru is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Wataru can be written using several kanji characters. Here are some examples: *渉, "ford" *渡, "ferry over" *亘, "extend across" *航, "navigate" *和, "harmony" *亙, "extend acro ...

was also chosen for the league Best XV that year. The following season seemed to mirror the first, as the Wild Knights fans were again awarded the Special Award and the club finished in 7th. They exited the

Microsoft Cup The Top League Championship is Japan's highest-level knockout tournament for rugby union clubs. Held annually, the leading teams from the Top League regular season qualify for the playoffs to decide the Cup title. From 2018 onward, the All-Japa ...

in the first round. 2006 saw them finish runners-up in the league and see team-members Tony Brown and

Yamauchi Tomokazu Yamauchi or Yamanouchi (やまうち or やまのうち, lit. "inside mountains") is a Japanese surname. Either name is written in kanji as 山内 while Yamanouchi can also be written as 山ノ内. Notable people with the surname include: *Yamanou ...

selected for the league's Best XV. In 2008, the club was crowned Top League champions, managing to go on a 13-game unbeaten record on their way to the title. The club won their second Top League crown in 2010 only to lose out in the playoffs. However, the club's success was mirrored in the fact that

Naoki Kawamata (born 31 October 1985 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese rugby union player. Kawamata has played 18 international matches for the Japan national rugby union team The Japan national rugby union team, often known as the Cherry Blossoms, Sakura, ...

Shota Horie (born 21 January 1986 in Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese rugby union player. His preferred position is hooker although he can also play in the back row. He represents Japan at the international level. He has played for the Panasonic Wild Knights i ...

Seiichi Shimomura Seiichi (written: , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese karateka *, Japanese cult member *, Japanese politician *, Japanese photographer *, Japanese philosopher *, Japanese art di ...

Tomonori Kitagawa Tomonori is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Tomonori can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Some examples: *友則, "friend, rule" *友紀, "friend, chronicle" *友憲, "friend, constitution" *� ...

and

Atsushi Tatanabe Atsushi is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Atsushi (musician), Japanese singer and vocalist of the band Exile *, Japanese voice actor *, Japanese synchronized swimmer *, Japanese professional wrestler *, Jap ...

selected in the league's Best XV. Fullback

was also crowned the league's top scorer and best kicker for 2009. In 2011, despite finishing in 3rd during the regular league season, the club won the Championship play-offs by beating Suntory Sungoliath 28–23 in the final.

Akihito Yamada is a Japanese rugby union player who plays as a winger. He also plays for Top League side the Panasonic Wild Knights in his home country. Career Yamada has been a prolific try-scorer for the Wild Knights in Japan's Top 14 competition since ma ...

was named MVP for the entire season. The club were runners-up in the play-offs in 2012.

Panasonic Wild Knights (2012 to 2021)

Prior to the start of the 2012–13 season, the club was sold to

Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb ...

corporation and renamed the Panasonic Wild Knights, the name they currently bear. The team colours were switched from red and black to predominantly blue and black. In 2014, Head Coach Norifumi Nakajima left the club on the back of a historic double championship

and

All-Japan Rugby Football Championship The All-Japan Rugby Football Championship (日本ラグビーフットボール選手権大会 ''Nihon Ragubi- Futtobo-ru Senshuken Taikai'') is played at the end of the season and is doubling as the title playoff in the Top League. The first champ ...

during the 2013–14 season. On 21 April 2014, it was confirmed that former

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

and

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

Head Coach

Robbie Deans Robert Maxwell Deans (born 4 September 1959) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, currently the head coach of Japanese club Panasonic Wild Knights. He was head coach of the Australian national team between 2008 and 2013. Deans h ...

would become the new coach of Panasonic Wild Knights.Robbie Deans nouveau manager de Panasonic Wild Knights!
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Honours

winners: 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021 * Japan Rugby League One winners: 2022 * All-Japan Champions: 2008, 2011

Personnel

Coaching staff

Current squad

The Saitama Wild Knights squad for the 2023 season is: * * denotes players qualified to play for the Japan on dual nationality or residency grounds.

Past

Epi Taione Epi Taione (born 2 March 1979) is a former Tongan rugby union footballer whose last club was London Welsh. He normally played at centre but could cover the wing or back row. Rugby career He started his professional career at Newcastle Falcons. ...

- Tongan Centre/Wing/Flanker who has played for

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, Sale and more recently Super Rugby side * Semi Taupeaafe - former Wallabies sevens, New South Wales Waratahs and Tongan international *

Sinali Latu Sinali Latu (born in Tonga in 1965) is a retired Tongan-Japanese rugby union player.Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ), p70 He played in Japan for Sanyo and also played for the Japan national rugby union te ...

- now coach of Daito Bunka University R.F.C. * Murray Henderson - former Sanyo Wild Knights coach, Portugal National team forwards coach, current Oxford Uni OURFC Head Coach *

Jaque Fourie ''Jaque'' (Spanish for the Chess move '' check'') was a Spanish chess magazine, published twice a month in Valencia. It started in San Sebastian in 1970 and was the Spanish leading chess magazine since then. Some of the best chess players This l ...

- South African international centre * Sonny Bill Williams - former utility New Zealand international.

References

External links

* (Japanese)
Sanyo Wild Knights win 45th All-Japan Championship
- JRFU English website {{Panasonic Japan Rugby League One teams Rugby clubs established in 1960 Sports teams in Gunma Prefecture Panasonic 1960 establishments in Japan