Honda Heat

Honda Heat is a Japanese rugby union team based in Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan. The owner of the club is Honda Motor. (Suzuka is known for the Suzuka Circuit and the presence of car companies.)

Honda Heat
ホンダヒート
Full nameHonda Heat Rugby Football Club
UnionJapan Rugby Football Union
Founded1960
LocationSuzuka, Mie, Japan
Ground(s)Honda Active Land and Suzuka Sports Garden
ChairmanTakanobu Ito
Coach(es)Danny Lee
League(s)Top League
2018–199th
1st kit
2nd kit

They play in the Top League, the top tier of the Japan's rugby union hierarchy.

In 2011–12, Honda Heat were relegated to regional events for 2012–13. Winning 2 and drawing 1 of their 13 games in the regular season.

History

Honda Motor Co. established its rugby club in 1960 at the Suzuka Factory. The team gained promotion to the Kansai A-League for the 1978 season, and then finished sixth in the seven-team competition in for that year. Honda remained a fixture in the Kansai A-League, being demoted only once (for the 1985 season) before it was renamed the Top West A-League in 2003-04 with the introduction of Japan's Top League.

Honda did not qualify for inclusion in the Top League for inaugural season—that had to wait for another six years—but the team continued to play in the Top West A-League. After winning the league in 2008-09 under New Zealander John Sherratt, Honda Heat was promoted. The team played one Top League season in 2009–10 before being demoted and another in 2011–12 before being demoted again to Top West A, where they remained for three seasons.

Honda won the Top West A-League in 2014–15, and was promoted once again for the 2015–16 season of Top League, finishing at 11th place.[1] So the team stayed for another term, this time ending the tournament at place 16th of 16 and being relegated to the newly introduced second-tier Top Challenge League.[2]

The season 2017–18 was played as a round-robin tournament, the Heats managing to win and become promoted automatically for the 2018–19 Top League season, back to first tier status.[3]

Current squad

The current Honda Heat squad for the 2020–21 season is:[4]

Honda Heat squad

Props

  • Hayato Akahira
  • Takumi Fuji
  • Miwasuke Go
  • Koo Ji-won
  • Syori Koshida
  • Shota Takizawa
  • Tatsuhiko Tsurukawa
  • Taiki Yoshioka

Hookers

  • Akito Fujinami
  • Kienori Go
  • Akito Kawamata

Locks

  • Yoji Akiyama
  • Josh Bekhuis
  • Akihito Doi
  • Masaki Kondo
  • Tetuhi Roberts

Loose Forwards

Scrum-halves

  • Hisayoshi Ito
  • Ryota Kayama
  • Shogo Nezuka
  • Kenta Yamaji

Fly-halves

Centres

  • Masaki Fujisaki
  • Ku Ji-yoon
  • Clynton Knox
  • Kaito Morikawa
  • Gwangtee Oh
  • Shaun Treeby
  • Soki Watanabe

Wingers

Fullbacks

(c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes player is internationally capped

Coaches
  • John Sherratt: April 2008 – March 2010
  • Danny Lee: May 2017-present
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See also

References
  1. Rugbyarchive.net, Top League season 2015–16
  2. Rugbyarchive.net, Top League season 2016–17
  3. Rugbyarchive.net, Top Challenge League season 2017–18
  4. "Player Profiles" 選手紹介. Honda Heat. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
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