Hirotoki Onozawa is a rugby union player who plays at Wing or occasionally Fullback for Canon Eagles. He previously played for Suntory Sungoliath and the Japan national rugby union team. Nicknamed "the eel" for his sharp sidestepping ability, Onozawa is the second most capped Japanese rugby player of all time, and fifth highest try scorer in international rugby. Despite spending much of his career in the shadow of Daisuke Ohata he is considered an all-time great of Japanese rugby in his own right.
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 absorbing the Japan Company Rugby Football Championship. The chief architect of the league was Hiroaki Shukuzawa who strongly felt the urgency of improving Japanese domestic company rugby to a professional level which would allow Japan to compete more convincingly at Rugby World Cups.
Tokyo Sungoliath is owned by the Suntory beverage company and is one of the Japanese rugby union teams in the Top League. The team is based in Fuchū, Tokyo, as is their local rival Toshiba Brave Lupus. The team rebranded as Tokyo Sungoliath ahead of the rebranding of the Top League to the Japan Rugby League One in 2022.
Daniel Jacobus Rossouw is a South African former professional rugby union footballer who played as a second row forward or back row forward. He played for the Bulls in the Super Rugby competition. Rossouw made his provincial debut during 1999 for the Blue Bulls in a match against the North Western Province in the Currie Cup competition. In 2001 he made his Super 12 debut for the Bulls against the Cats.
Peter Hewat is an Australian rugby union coach and former player, currently working as attack and backs coach at Leicester Tigers in England's Premiership Rugby. He has previously coached in Japan's Top League with Black Rams Tokyo and in Australia with the ACT Brumbies. In his playing career he played for the NSW Waratahs and Central Coast Rays in Australia, for London Irish in England's Premiership and Suntory Sungoliath in Japan.
David Bortolussi is a French-born Italian rugby union footballer. He usually plays at full back or on the wing.
Thomas Simon Maling is a retired New Zealand rugby union footballer and former All Black. His usual playing position was at lock. He played for most of his rugby career in New Zealand for the Otago Highlanders and the All Blacks from 1996 - 2004 before heading overseas to London to play part of one season at Harlequins in 2004 before heading to Japan. He joined the Scarlets at the start of the 2008–09 European season, leaving Suntory Sungoliath in Japan, where he played for three years from 2005 to 2008. In mid-2009, at age 34, Maling hung up his boots and retired from rugby and returned to his native New Zealand to live.
Ryan Tamarua Nicholas is an Australian-born Japanese rugby union player who plays for Suntory Sungoliath of the Top League in Japan. In July 2011, he received Japanese citizenship. Although he is of Cook Island Maori heritage, he has played internationally for Japan since 2008.
Keiji Hirose, born April 16, 1973, in Osaka) is a former Japanese rugby union player. He played as a fly-half. His club team was Toyota Verblitz. He was nicknamed Golden Boots.
Mark Andrew Wyatt is a Canadian former rugby union footballer. He played as a fullback and sometimes as a fly-half.
Takahiro Hosokawa, is a former Japanese rugby union footballer. He played as a fullback.
The 2008–09 Top League was the sixth season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. The Toshiba Brave Lupus defeated Sanyo Wild Knights by 17–6 in the final of the Microsoft Cup to claim the 2008–09 Top League championship.
Malkhaz Urjukashvili is a Georgian rugby union player. He plays as a wing.
Federico Nicolás Sánchez is an Argentine professional rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Japan Rugby League One club Tokyo Sungoliath and the Argentina national team.
Go Aruga plays rugby union at fullback for Suntory Sungoliath in the Top League. He also plays at fullback for the Japan national rugby union team.
Damian Sinclair McKenzie is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a First five-eighth or Fullback for the Chiefs in Super Rugby and Waikato in the Bunnings NPC.
Hendrik Tui is a Japanese international rugby union player who currently plays as a loose forward for Suntory Sungoliath in the Top League. From 2015 he will represent the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby. He also plays the position of Wing.
Seiji Kurihara,, is a former Japanese rugby union player. He played as lock.
Masaaki Sakata, is a Japanese former rugby union player who played as hooker.
Shota Emi is a Japanese rugby union player who plays as a wing. He currently plays for Suntory Sungoliath in Japan's domestic Top League. He represented the Sunwolves in the 2017 Super Rugby season, scoring a try after just 24 seconds in a match against the Cheetahs, the fastest try recorded in an 18-team Super Rugby competition. Emi also represented Japan at rugby sevens, playing for them at the 2013 World Cup.
