Tokyo Sungoliath (formerly known as Suntory Sungoliath) is owned by the

Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and makes Japanese whisky. Its ...

beverage company and is one of the Japanese

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

teams in the

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly 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 absorbing the ...

. The team is based in

Fuchū, Tokyo 260px, Fuchū City Hall is a city located in western Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. Fuchū serves as a regional commercial center and a commuter town for workers in central Tokyo. The city hosts large scale manufacturing facilities for Toshiba, NE ...

, as is their local rival

Toshiba Brave Lupus Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo is a Japanese rugby union team in the Top League. They are based in Fuchu, Tokyo, as is their local rival Suntory Sungoliath. They won the second ever Top League championship in the 2004-5 season and the Microsoft Cup ...

. The team rebranded as Tokyo Sungoliath ahead of the rebranding of the Top League to the

Japan Rugby League One Japan Rugby League One (formerly 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 absorbing the ...

in 2022. Suntory coached by Katsuyuki Kiyomiya won the

Microsoft Cup The Top League Championship is Japan's highest-level knockout tournament for rugby union clubs. Held annually, the leading teams from the Top League regular season qualify for the playoffs to decide the Cup title. From 2018 onward, the All-Japa ...

on February 24, 2008 by defeating

Sanyo Wild Knights Saitama Wild Knights (formerly Panasonic Wild Knights) is a Japanese rugby union team formerly based in Ōta city, Gunma prefecture which plays in the Top League. Inspired by Tony Brown at fly half (though he was not captain), it dominated the l ...

in a close and exciting game, 14-10. Suntory therefore became the champion of the

for the 2007–08 season. On June 18, 2008 it was announced that

George Gregan George Musarurwa Gregan AM (born 19 April 1973) is a retired Australian rugby union player, and is currently Australia's most capped international player. Gregan was born in Lusaka, Zambia. He played Super 12 (now Super Rugby) for the Brumbies ...

, the most-capped player in the sport's history, had joined the club on a two-year contract.
Daily Yomiuri
June 19, 2008) Gregan remained with the club until he announced his retirement at the end of the 2010–11 season.

Honours

* All-Japan Championship ** Champions: 1995, 2000, 2001, 2011, 2012 ** Runner-up: 2008 *

** Champions: 2007–08 ** Runner-up: 2005–06, 2006–07 * All-Japan Company Championship ** Champions: 1995, 2001, 2002 * Top League Championship ** Champions: 2011–12

History

The club was established in 1980, and since then they have won the All-Japan Championship on numerous occasions. They have also compete in the recently formed

since its founding in 2003. The team has been improving in the League over the past few years. Suntory Sungoliath famously beat Wales 45-41 on Saturday 3 June 2001 whilst they were on tour in Japan.

Top League Results

In the first season of the Top League, 2003–04, Suntory finished 4th. In 2004–05 they finished 8th. The team was 6th in the 2005–06 season and jumped up to 2nd in the 2006-7 season under new coach Katsuyuki Kiyomiya and assisted by Michael Jones. In 2006 Suntory Sungoliath lost the final of the Top League and

title to

by a score of 33-18. Then in February 2007, Suntory Sungoliath again lost the final of the Top League and Microsoft Cup to Toshiba Brave Lupus before a crowd of 23,076 at Tokyo's Chichibunomiya Stadium (home to Mark Secker), the first sellout at the ground in 10 years, with the final score being just 14-13 to Toshiba Brave Lupus. In the first Top League game of the 2007-8 season Suntory gained revenge over Toshiba with a 10-3 win on October 26, 2007. At the end of the 13-game season Suntory was second behind

, having lost to Sanyo and by just one point to

Coca-Cola West Red Sparks The Coca-Cola Red Sparks ( ja, コカ・コーラレッドスパークス) was a Japanese company-owned rugby union team based in Fukuoka city, Kyūshū. The team was initially founded as Kitakyushu Coca-Cola and then changed its name to Coca-C ...

, and drawn 31-31 with

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

in the final round. Sanyo and Suntory met again in the

final on February 24 to decide the 2007–08 Top League champion. Suntory won that game 14-10 with a very strong mauling attack.

Top League Table

The table begins with the first season of the

, 2003-04.

Current squad

The Tokyo Sungoliath squad for the 2023 season is: * * denotes players qualified to play for the Japan on dual nationality or residency grounds.

Notable former players

Tusi Pisi ''Tusi'', often translated as "headmen" or "chieftains", were hereditary tribal leaders recognized as imperial officials by the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties of China, and the Later Lê and Nguyễn dynasties of Vietnam. They ruled certain et ...

– Manu Samoa international fly-half *

Schalk Burger Schalk Willem Petrus Burger Jr. (born 13 April 1983) is a South African former professional rugby union player. He played as a flanker for Saracens in the English Premiership and has won 86 caps for South Africa. He was a member of the 2007 Ru ...

– South African flanker *

Fourie du Preez Petrus Fourie du Preez (; born 24 March 1982) is a South African former professional rugby union player. He played as a scrum half for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup competition and the Bulls in Super Rugby between 2002 and 2011, and for Japan ...

– South African scrum half * Uche Odouza – winger, England (England 7s) *

– Australian scrum-half and the 2nd most-capped player in international rugby history * Rocky Havili – Tongan centre * Toru Kurihara – Japan fullback or wing * Simon Maling – former All Black lock from 2001 to 2004 *

Beauden Barrett Beauden John Barrett (born 27 May 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays as a First five-eighth (fly-half) and fullback for Taranaki in the Mitre 10 Cup, the Blues in Super Rugby and New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks. He ...

- All Black five-eighth, 2015 Rugby World Cup Winner *

Jamie Washington Jamie is a unisex name. It is a diminutive form of James or, more rarely, other names. It is also given as a name in its own right. People Female * Jamie Anne Allman (born 1977), American actress * Jamie Babbit (born 1970), American film and t ...

* George Smith – former Australian flanker 2000-2009, 2013 * Norm Hadley – lock, former Canadian captain, Barbarian * Glenn Ennis – former Canadian No. 8, Barbarian

Coach

* Katsuyuki Kiyomiya (2006–09) *

Eddie Jones Edward, Eddie, or Ed Jones may refer to: Architecture * Edward Vason Jones (1909–1980), American neoclassical architect * Edward Jones (English architect) (born 1939), English architect who designed the Saïd Business School * Edward Jones (Wel ...

(2009–12) * Naoya Okubo (2012–14) *

Andy Friend Andrew Friend (born 24 April 1969) is an Australian rugby union coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of Irish province Connacht. He was previously head coach of the Australia Sevens team, the Brumbies in Super Rugby, English ...

(2014–16) *

Keisuke Sawaki is a Japanese former long-distance runner who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: Mü ...

(2016–2019) *

Milton Haig Milton Haig (born 6 February 1964) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He was the head coach of the Georgian national team that annually competes the European Nations Cup. Playing career Haig, a former half back in his play ...

(2020-)

References

{{Tokyo Sungoliath squad Japan Rugby League One teams Rugby in Kantō Rugby clubs established in 1980 Sports teams in Tokyo Suntory Fuchū, Tokyo 1980 establishments in Japan