Toyota Verblitz

Toyota Verblitz
トヨタ自動車ヴェルブリッツ

Full name	Toyota Verblitz
Union	Japan Rugby Football Union
Founded	1941
Location	Toyota, Aichi, Japan
Ground(s)	Toyota Stadium
Coach(es)	Eiji Kuchiki
Team kit 2nd kit

Toyota Verblitz is a Japanese rugby union team in the Top League. Verblitz is a conflation of verde (Italian for 'green') and blitz (German for 'lightning'). The team is owned by Toyota Jidosha (Toyota Motors) and is separate from, and not to be confused with, the Toyota Industries Shuttles rugby team, owned by Toyota Industries. They share Toyota Stadium in the city of Toyota, Aichi with the football club Nagoya Grampus which also used to be owned by Toyota Motors.

Slogan for 2006 season: 克己　Kokki (Self-Control)

Honours

• All-Japan Championship
  • Champions: 1969, 1968, 1987
  • Runner-up: 2007

Results

Verblitz (surprisingly given the team's pedigree) failed to make the cut for the first season of the Top League (2003-4) but entered the Top League in the second season and were a contender for the second Microsoft Cup. They lost the Japan Championship final on February 27, 2005 to NEC Green Rockets 13-17.

In August 2005 Verblitz beat Newcastle Falcons at home. On February 12, 2006 they lost to Waseda University RFC in the Japan Championships, 24-28. This was the first time a Top League team had lost to a university team.

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 Ryuta Ueno Hooker Japan Katsuyuki Takayama Hooker Japan Yoshiki Nakamura Hooker Japan Masahito Yamamoto Prop Japan Masayuki Yachimura Prop Japan Shinji Nakano Prop Japan Junichi Nagao Prop Japan Daniel Quate Lock New Zealand Toshizumi Kitagawa Lock Japan Tomoaki Taniguchi Lock Japan Kota Makihara Lock Japan Takashi Kikutani Flanker Japan Yoshitaka Nakayama Flanker Japan Ryota Abe Flanker Japan Masatoshi Endo Flanker Japan Angus Macdonald Number 8 New Zealand

Player Position Union Ippei Asada Scrum-half Japan Yosuke Kasagi Scrum-half Japan Wada Kouji Scrum-half Japan Tsuyoki Jyo Scrum-half Japan William Ryder Fly-half Fiji Stephen Brett Fly-half New Zealand Kenji Shomen Fly-half Japan Mikio Banba Fly-half Japan Yusuke Kuromiya Centre Japan Keisuke Arita Centre Japan Hideki Nanba Centre Japan Genta Akanuma Centre Japan Sekove Leawere Wing Fiji Kenichiro Iwamoto Wing Japan Hiroki Mizuno Wing Japan Tatsuya Kusumi Wing Japan Kosuke Endo Wing Japan Shinpei Naito Fullback Japan Steven Yates Fullback New Zealand Dustin Cooper Wing Australia

Former players

• Troy Flavell - lock (now back in New Zealand with the Blues)
• Tamaiti Horua - No. 8 (formerly Brumbies), now Western Force in 2008 season
• Orene Aii
• Filo Tiatia - No. 8 (now in Wales with the Ospreys}

External links

• Toyota Verblitz - official site