Shimizu Blue Sharks

Shimizu Rugby Football Club – nicknamed the Blue Sharks – are a Japanese rugby union team, currently playing in the country's second tier Top Challenge League competition.[1] The team is the rugby team of architectural, civil engineering and general contracting firm Shimizu, based in Chūō in Tokyo.

Shimizu Blue Sharks
ブルーシャークス
Full nameShimizu Rugby Football Club
UnionJapan Rugby Football Union
Nickname(s)Blue Sharks
Founded1976
Coach(es)Steve Jackson
League(s)Top Challenge League
2018Champions
(Top League East)

The team was created in 1976 as the rugby union team for Shimizu Corporation. When rugby union in Japan was restructured in 2003 with the introduction of the Top League, Shimizu Blue Sharks was allocated to the second tier Top East League. They were relegated after the 2007–08 season, and played in lower leagues for a decade. They won promotion back for the 2017–18 season, where they secured a fourth-place finish. The following season, they won the competition, and also won their promotion play-off match against Chugoku Red Regulions to be promoted to the Top Challenge League for 2019.

Squad

The Shimizu Blue Sharks squad for the 2021 season is:[2]

Mazda Blue Zoomers squad

Props

  • Ryo Chennohara
  • Pekahou Cowan
  • Miyake Harukai
  • Kazuki Kanazawa
  • Ikuya Mato
  • Yuto Sato
  • Taiki Shimura
  • Takatoshi Sugawara
  • Kota Takahashi

Hookers

  • Teppei Akiyama
  • Ando Daiki
  • Yuya Furuta
  • Kunpei Onishi
  • Naomichi Tachikawa
  • Jun Takeuchi
  • Ryoto Yamakawa

Locks

  • Josh Bekhuis
  • Kainatsu Goto
  • Shun Hidaka
  • Eri Nakata
  • Takuro Ogawa
  • Ryota Sakino
  • Hiroto Watanabe

Loose Forwards

  • Taiyo Ando
  • Haruki Matsudo
  • Wataru Niimoto
  • Latuira Repha
  • Hiroki Sato
  • Ryo Sato
  • Yutaro Shirako
  • Jano Venter
  • Kento Yasunaga

Scrum-halves

  • Kenji Harada
  • Taishi Sakurai
  • Tomohiro Sakurai
  • Keiki Shigeno
  • Shuto Takashima

Fly-halves

Centres

  • Takuya Kanamura
  • Johnny Kôtze
  • Keisuke Masuda
  • Sumi Morita
  • Ryota Noda
  • Ryoji Nonaka
  • Filimona Waqainabete
  • Dick Wilson

Wingers

  • Miyaji Eiya
  • Daichi Ito
  • Nicholas Kraska
  • Takahiro Morikawa
  • Shuhei Sasaki
  • Kazuyoshi Takayama

Fullbacks

  • Toru Kanazawa
  • Naoki Moriya
  • Tatsuhiro Ozaki
  • Tadanobu Taka
(c) denotes team captain.

References
  1. "2019年度ジャパンラグビートップチャレンジリーグ チーム編成について" (PDF). Japan East Rugby Football Union (in Japanese). 5 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  2. "Shimizu Blue Sharks Member List". Shimizu Blue Sharks. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
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