Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi (also called Toyota Jido Shokki as distinct from Toyota, which was renamed

Toyota Verblitz Toyota Verblitz is a Japanese rugby union team in the Japan Rugby League One. Verblitz is a portmanteau of ''verde'' (Spanish and Portuguese for 'green') and ''blitz'' (German for 'lightning'). The team is owned by Toyota Motor Corporation and is ...

) is a Japanese rugby team owned by

Toyota Industries is a Japanese machine maker. Originally, and still actively (as of 2021), a manufacturer of automatic looms, it is the company from which Toyota Motor Corporation developed. It is the world's largest manufacturer of forklift trucks measured b ...

. They were promoted to Japan's top-flight league

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 time in the 2010-11 season. Its home base is Kariya City. The team rebranded as Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi ahead of the rebranding of the Top League to the

Japan Rugby League One 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 ...

in 2022.

Name and colours

The team name "Shuttles" derives from a part used in the Non-Stop Shuttle Change Toyoda Automatic

Loom A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but th ...

(for weaving fabrics), invented by

Sakichi Toyoda was a Japanese inventor and industrialist. He was born in Kosai, Shizuoka. The son of a farmer and sought-after carpenter, he started the Toyoda family companies. His son, Kiichiro Toyoda, would later establish Japan's largest automaker, Toyo ...

, the founder of Toyota Industries. The team and plays in a sky blue jersey with white shorts and sky blue socks.

History

The Toyota Industries rugby team was founded in 1984. In the late 1990s, the team played in the Kansai League and competed in the Companies National Tournament. From 2003–04, Toyota Industries competed in the West Regional League. Toyota Industries gained promotion to the

for the first time in 2010-11, but only stayed up for one season. Under Australian coach

Tai McIsaac Tai McIsaac (born 19 March 1975, in Brisbane) is an Australian rugby union football coach, and a former professional player. He is currently the head coach of the Perth Spirit team in Australia's National Rugby Championship. McIsaac played as a h ...

, Toyota Shokki defeated

Fukuoka Sanix Blues , formerly ''Fukuoka Sanix Blues'' and ''Fukuoka Sanix Bombs'', was a Japanese rugby union team based in Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Founded in April 1994 (Heisei 6), the team rose rapidly through the Kyūshū leagues and was in the Top ...

in a promotion-relegation match in 2013 to gain entry to the

2013–14 Top League The 2013–14 Top League was the 11th season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. It kicked off on 30 August 2013. The final was held on 9 February 2014 and won by Panasonic Wild Knights. Teams The Top League expanded fr ...

Stadium

Toyota Industries Corporation Kariya ground 2013-08

Toyota Shokki play their

home games at

Mizuho Rugby Stadium due to a naming rights deal with gas heater construction company ''Paloma'', is a rugby stadium in Nagoya, Japan. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches. The stadium holds 15,000 people and was built in 1941. Overview It was formerly ...

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

. The stadium holds 15,000 people and was originally built in 1941. It has also been used to host international rugby matches, including for the 2014 Asian Five Nations. The team trains at the Toyota Industries ground in

Kariya is a Cities of Japan, city in central Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 153,162 in 66,751 households, and a population density of 3,040 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kariya is situat ...

Current squad

The Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi squad for the 2023 season is:

Former players

Tusi Pisi ''Tusi'', often translated as "headmen" or "chieftains", were hereditary tribal leaders recognized as imperial officials by the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties of China, and the Later Lê and Nguyễn dynasties of Vietnam. They ruled certain e ...

Freddie Burns Freddie Spencer Burns (born 13 May 1990) is an English professional rugby union player who plays fly-half for Super Rugby side . Burns played over 100 times for Gloucester between 2007–2014, and over 100 times for Leicester Tigers across tw ...

* Anthony Monahan *

Dion Waller Dion Alan George Waller (born 6 January 1974 in Tūrangi) is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer. He played for the Wellington Lions, Hurricanes, New Zealand Maori and All Blacks. He was one of the leading locks in New Zealand rugby at ...

Ben Gollings Ben Gollings (born 13 May 1980) is an English former rugby union player who currently works as a rugby coach for Fiji sevens team. Gollings is best known for his time with the England national rugby sevens team. He is the career leader in poi ...

* Ellis Young * Daniel Turner *

Rowan Varty Rowan Varty (born 20 March 1986) is a British-born Hong Kong rugby union player. He plays for the Hong Kong Cricket Club in the HKRFU Premiership. Rowan has also captained the Hong Kong national rugby union team, Hong Kong Sevens team and bee ...

Ifereimi Rawaqa Ifereimi Rawaqa (born September 20, 1980 in Vuda, Lautoka, Fiji) is a Fijian rugby union player. He plays as a lock or flanker. Career In 2002, when he was still 21 when he made his test debut in the victory over Samoa, in Apia. After four matc ...

Tyson Wulf Tyson is a male given name of old French origin meaning 'high-spirited', 'fire'. It is from this that a surname arose 'son of Tyson'. Surname *Alan Tyson (1926–2000), British musicologist * Barbara Tyson (born 1964), Canadian actress *Bill Tyso ...

References

External links

* (Japanese) {{Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi squad Japan Rugby League One teams Sports teams in Aichi Prefecture Toyota 1984 establishments in Japan Rugby clubs established in 1984