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| Union | Japan Rugby Football Union | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames |
| ||
| Emblem | Fūjin | ||
| Founded | 1941; 85 years ago (1941) | ||
| Location | Toyota,Aichi, Japan | ||
| Region | Aichi Prefecture | ||
| Ground(s) | Toyota Stadium (Capacity: 45,000) | ||
| Director of Rugby | Steve Hansen | ||
| Coach | Ian Foster | ||
| Captain | Kazuki Himeno | ||
| League | Japan Rugby League One | ||
| 2024–25 | 10th of 12 | ||
| |||
| Official website | |||
| verblitz.toyotatimes-sports.toyota | |||
Toyota Verblitz (Japanese:トヨタ自動車ヴェルブリッツ), often known asToyota Verdy,[a] is a professionalJapaneserugby union team that compete in theJapan Rugby League One (JRLO) competition. The team was established in 1941 as theToyota Motor Corporation Rugby Club. The team was rebranded into its current name in 2004 before their inclusion into the2004–05 Top League season.
The team name:Verblitz is aportmanteau of theSpanish,Italian andPortuguese language word forgreen,verde, and theGerman language word forlightning,blitz.[1]
Toyota Verblitz were established in 1941[2][3] byToyota Motor as Toyota Motor Rugby Club.[1] After theToyota Motor andToyota Sales merger and subsequent executivereforms in the 1980s,[4] Verblitz changed its name to Toyota Motor Corporation Rugby Club. Following the creation of theTop League in the early 2000s, the club's name formally change toToyota Verblitz ahead of their inclusion in the competition in2004.
Verblitz (surprisingly given the team's pedigree) failed to make the cut for the first season of theTop League (2003-4) but entered the Top League in the second season and were a contender for the secondMicrosoft Cup. They lost the Japan Championship final on February 27, 2005, toNEC Green Rockets 13–17.
The Toyota Verblitz squad for the 2025-26 season is:[5][b][c]
| Toyota Verblitz squad | ||
|---|---|---|
Props
Hookers
Locks | Flankers
Scrum-halves Fly-halves | Centres
Wingers
Fullbacks |
| (c) Denotes team captain,Bold denotes player is internationally capped |
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