Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi (also called Toyota Jido Shokki as distinct from Toyota, which was renamed Toyota Verblitz) is a Japanese rugby team owned by Toyota Industries. They were promoted to Japan's top-flight league Top League 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, 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 Top League for the first time in 2010-11, but only stayed up for one season. Under Australian coach Tai McIsaac, Toyota Shokki defeated Fukuoka Sanix Blues 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 Top League home games at Mizuho Rugby Stadium in Nagoya. 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 2014 Asian Five Nations, known as the 2014 HSBC Asian 5 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the HSBC, was the 7th and final series of the Asian Five Nations rugby union tournament, before it shrinks to only include the top 3 Asian ...

. The team trains at the Toyota Industries ground in Kariya.

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 * Ben Gollings * Ellis Young * Daniel Turner * Rowan Varty *

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

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