Sunwolves · History

The Sunwolves were a professional rugby union franchise based in Tokyo that competed in Super Rugby from 2016 to 2020. They were the first Japanese team in the southern hemisphere's leading club competition. They played most of their home matches at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Tokyo and took some fixtures to the National Stadium in Singapore. Across five seasons the franchise won nine matches, before it was dissolved on 1 June 2020.

A Japanese licence for Super Rugby

Japan was granted the 18th Super Rugby licence in October 2014. SANZAR's executive committee formally approved the expansion the following month, and the country's selection as host of the 2019 Rugby World Cup counted in its favour. In April 2015 the Japan Rugby Football Union set up the Japan Super Rugby Association to run the team, with Yoshitaka Tashiro as chairman, Yuichi Ueno as chief executive and Eddie Jones as director of rugby. Jones left that role in August 2015. On 5 October 2015 the club unveiled its name and logo. The name had been picked from 3,320 entries and joined the Land of the Rising Sun with the wolf, chosen to stand for bravery, strength and teamwork. In January 2016 the team took the sponsor's name HITO-Communications Sunwolves.

Debut season and a first win in 2016

With New Zealander Mark Hammett as head coach and hooker Shota Horie as captain, the Sunwolves played their first Super Rugby match on 27 February 2016 at Chichibunomiya, losing 26-13 to the Lions. Three of the early home fixtures were played in Singapore: a 32-31 defeat by the Cheetahs on 12 March, a 30-27 loss to the Bulls on 26 March and a 17-17 draw with the Stormers on 14 May. The first win came on 23 April 2016, 36-28 against the Jaguares in Tokyo, at the eighth attempt and with fly-half Tusi Pisi kicking four penalties and three conversions. It was their only victory of the year. The Sunwolves finished 18th of 18 with one win, one draw and 13 defeats.

Filo Tiatia and Jamie Joseph, 2017-2018

Filo Tiatia took charge in 2017, with Ed Quirk as captain. The team won two of its 15 matches and finished 17th, ahead of one other side. The second of those wins came in the closing round of the regular season, on 15 July 2017 in Tokyo, when the Sunwolves beat the Blues 48-21 in temperatures that went past 40 degrees. Timothy Lafaele scored a hat-trick, and it was the franchise's first win against a New Zealand team. In 2018, with Super Rugby cut to 15 teams, the national team coach Jamie Joseph also ran the Sunwolves, working alongside Tony Brown, with Willie Britz and Yutaka Nagare sharing the captaincy. The team won three matches, its best total in a single season, but still finished bottom of the overall table.

Exclusion and the win in Hamilton, 2019

In March 2019 the Japan Rugby Football Union confirmed that 2020 would be the Sunwolves' farewell Super Rugby season, after contract negotiations failed for financial reasons. That same month, on 2 March 2019, the team won 30-15 against the Chiefs in Hamilton, its first away win in Super Rugby, at the 25th attempt. Flanker Shuhei Matsuhashi and lock Uwe Helu scored tries in a first half the visitors controlled. Under Tony Brown, with Michael Little and Craig Millar as captains, the Sunwolves won two of 16 matches and again finished 15th of 15.

The final season and the end of the franchise in 2020

For the final campaign, Naoya Okubo was head coach, with Keisuke Moriya and Jake Schatz as captains. On 1 February 2020 in Fukuoka the Sunwolves beat the Rebels 36-27. It was the first time they had won the opening match of a season and the ninth win in their history. The season was suspended in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their farewell match had already been played on 14 March 2020 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, where they lost 49-14 to the Crusaders in a fixture moved out of Japan. The team was refused entry to the domestic Super Rugby AU competition that Australia organised to replace the suspended tournament.

Records and dissolution

In five seasons the Sunwolves played 68 Super Rugby matches, winning nine, drawing one and losing 58. Takuma Asahara made the most appearances for the franchise, with 43 caps. Hayden Parker was its top points scorer, with 248, and Semisi Masirewa scored the most tries, with 13. The franchise was officially dissolved on 1 June 2020.