Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers

Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers
神戸製鋼コベルコスティーラーズ

Full name	Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers
Union	Japan Rugby Football Union
Nickname(s)	Kobelco Steelers
Founded	1928
Location	Kobe, Japan
Ground(s)	Nadahama Ground
Coach(es)	Seiji Hirao
1st kit 2nd kit

Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers (神戸製鋼コベルコスティーラーズ Kobe Seiko Koberuko Suti-ra-zu) are a Japanese rugby union team owned by Kobe Steel, Ltd., and based in Kobe. They were the first ever Top League champions when the League started in the 2003-4 season. They were coached by Terunori Masuho a former Waseda and Steelers player but he resigned after the 2006-7 season when the team was placed 6th in the Top League. For now Seiji Hirao is the coach.

The team plays its home games at Home's Stadium Kobe (formerly Kobe Wing Stadium).

Honors

• Top League:
  • Champions: 2003-04

2011-12 Squad

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under IRB eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-IRB nationality.

Player Position Union Yuji Matsubara Hooker Japan Kenichi Konishi Hooker Japan Masayuki Murakami Hooker Japan Yoshimitsu Yasue Prop Japan Hisateru Hirashima Prop Japan Tsubasa Yamamoto Prop Japan Masanobu Yamauchi Prop Japan Hiroshi Yamashita Prop Japan Eiko Yoshida Prop Japan Keisuke Tanaka Prop Japan Wang Sibo Prop China Yoshitaka Hayashi Lock Japan Scott MacLeod Lock Scotland Hiroyuki Kondo Lock Japan Hikaru Okubo Lock Japan You Shimizu Lock Japan Takahiro Suzuki Flanker Japan Yoshinobu Arai Flanker Japan Hajime Uemura Flanker Japan Daiki Hashimoto Flanker Japan Josh Blackie Flanker New Zealand Hrishikesh Pendse Flanker India Shoji Ito Number 8 Japan Takeomi Ito Number 8 Japan Pasuka Mapakaitolo Number 8 Tonga Itaru Taniguchi Number 8 Japan

Player Position Union Shota Goto Scrum-half Japan Nathan Anderson Scrum-half New Zealand Saturo Sawatari Scrum-half Japan Takahashi Sato Scrum-half Japan Kyohei Morita Fly-half Japan Kenji Syomen Fly-half Japan Waku Kikuchi Fly-half Japan Daisuke Yamamoto Centre Japan Ryo Oishi Centre Japan Yuta Imamura Centre Japan Satoshi Takagi Centre Japan Fraser Anderson Centre New Zealand Jason Kawau Centre New Zealand So Noda Wing Japan Jin Ogasawara Wing Japan Yoshikazu Ohashi Wing Japan Shinya Jinkawa Wing Japan Daisuke Ichiki Fullback Japan Yusuke Hamashima Fullback Japan

Past players

• Ron Cribb
• Dave Bickle
• Mark Egan
• Kensuke Iwabuchi
• Daisuke Ohata
• Andrew Miller
• Simon Wensley
• Pierre Hola
• Ian Williams
• Yuya Saito
• Peter Grant
• Thinus Delport

External links

• Steelers upset Green Rockets in Microsoft Cup - Japan Times, January 24, 2005
• Kobelco Steelers official site
• Top League official site