Toyota Industries Shuttles

Toyota Industries Shuttles (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.

Toyota Industries Shuttles
豊田自動織機シャトルズ
UnionJapan Rugby Football Union
Nickname(s)Shuttles
Founded1984
LocationAichi, Mizuho
Ground(s)Mizuho Rugby Stadium (Capacity: 15,000)
ChairmanJun Matsuda
Coach(es)Masaya Niu
League(s)Top Challenge League
2018–1915th (Top League)
(relegated)
Team kit
Toyota Sports
Football Basketball (Men's) Basketball (Men's)
Basketball (Men's) Basketball (Men's) Basketball (Men's)
Basketball (Women's) Basketball (Women's) Basketball (Women's)
Volleyball (Men's) Volleyball (Men's) Baseball
Volleyball (Women's) Volleyball (Women's) Sailing
Handball Handball Handball
Handball Rugby union Rugby union
Wrestling F1 Racing

Name and colours

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

Stadium
Toyota Shokki Kariya ground

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 team trains at the Toyota Industries ground in Kariya.

Current squad

The Toyota Industries Shuttles squad for the 2020–21 season is:[1]

Toyota Industries Shuttles squad

Props

  • Hikaru Ishizawa
  • Ken Mizuno
  • Yusuke Nagae
  • Yuki Namioka
  • Nobuhisa Takahashi
  • Hyosuke Watanabe
  • Yusuke Yamada

Hookers

  • Shota Hirono
  • Tomoki Minami
  • Hiroki Murakawa
  • Tomoya Watanabe

Locks

Loose Forwards

Scrum-halves

  • Keita Fujiwara
  • Keisuke Ishida
  • Ryoya Shimohira

Fly-halves

Centres

Wingers

  • Naoto Kubo
  • Kento Matsui
  • Takashi Toyomae

Fullbacks

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

Former players

See also

References
  1. "Toyota Industries Shuttles: The Team" (in Japanese). Toyota Industries. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
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