Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi (also called Toyota Jido Shokki as distinct from Toyota, which was renamed

Toyota Verblitz Toyota Verblitz is a Japanese rugby union team in the Japan Rugby League One. Verblitz is a portmanteau of ''verde'' (Italian, Spanish and Portuguese for 'green') and ''blitz'' (German for 'lightning'). The team is owned by Toyota Motor Corporat ...

) is a Japanese rugby team owned by

Toyota Industries is a Japanese machine maker. Originally, and still actively (), a manufacturer of automatic looms, it is the company from which Toyota Motor Corporation developed. It is the world's largest manufacturer of forklift trucks measured by revenues. ...

. They were promoted to Japan's top-flight league

Top League Japan Rugby League One (), formerly known as 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 ...

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 known as 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, b ...

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 weaving, weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the Warp (weaving), warp threads under tension (mechanics), tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of ...

(for weaving fabrics), invented by

Sakichi Toyoda was a Japanese inventor and industrialist who founded Toyoda Automatic Loom Works (later Toyota Industries). The son of a farmer and sought-after carpenter, he started the Toyoda family companies. His son, Kiichiro Toyoda, would later establis ...

, 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

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 , formerly ''Fukuoka Sanix Blues'' and ''Fukuoka Sanix Bombs'', was a Japanese rugby union team based in Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Founded in April 1994 (Heisei 6), the team rose rapidly through the Kyūshū leagues and was in the Top ...

in a promotion-relegation match in 2013 to gain entry to the 2013–14 Top League.

Stadium

Toyota Industries Corporation Kariya ground 2013-08

Toyota Shokki play their

home games at

Mizuho Rugby Stadium due to a naming rights deal with gas heater construction company ''Paloma'', is a rugby stadium in Nagoya, Japan. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches. The stadium holds 11,900 people and was built in 1941. Overview It was formerl ...

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

. 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 is a city in central Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 153,162 in 66,751 households, and a population density of 3,040 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kariya is situated in central Aic ...

Current squad

The Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi squad for the 2024-25 season is:

Former players

* Tusi Pisi * Freddie Burns * Anthony Monahan *

Dion Waller Dion Alan George Waller (born 6 January 1974 in Tūrangi) is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer. He played for the Wellington Lions, Hurricanes, New Zealand Maori and All Blacks. He was one of the leading locks in New Zealand rugby at ...

* Ben Gollings * Ellis Young * Daniel Turner * Rowan Varty * Ifereimi Rawaqa * Tyson Wulf

Notes

References

External links

* (Japanese) {{Toyota Japan Rugby League One teams Sports clubs and teams in Aichi Prefecture Toyota 1984 establishments in Japan Rugby clubs established in 1984