Hino Red Dolphins Explained

Teamname:Hino Red Dolphins
日野レッドドルフィンズ
Fullname:Hino Motors Red Dolphins
Nickname:Red Dolphins
Founded:1950
Union:Japan Rugby Football Union
Countryflag:Japan
Location:Hino, Tokyo Metropolis
Rugby Director:Nao Hosoya
Coach:Takuro Miuchi
League:Japan Rugby League One, Division Two
Season:2022
Position:4th

Hino Motors Red Dolphins are a Japanese rugby union team, currently playing in the county's top tier Japan Rugby League One competition. The team is the rugby team of commercial vehicle manufacturer Hino Motors, based in Hino in the Tokyo Metropolis.[1]

The team was founded in 1950, and spent their formative seasons playing in the Kanto League. They were promoted to the top division of the Top East League for the 2009 season, but were relegated in their first season. They bounced back at the first attempt, again winning promotion to the Top East League for the 2010 season. This time, they remained in that league until the 2017–18 season, when they won promotion to the newly formed Top Challenge League.[2]

Season history

Hino Red Dolphins' record in the top two tiers since their promotion to the Top East League in 2008 was:[3]

Hino Red Dolphins season history
CompetitionPWDLPFPAPDTBLBPtsPosNotes<-- Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts Pos Notes-->
2008 Top East League 10 1 0 9 129 525 −396 1 1 6 10th Relegated to the Kanto League.
2010 Top East League 10 3 0 8 242 390 −148 3 2 17 8th
2011 Top East League 10 1 1 7 117 353 −236 2 1 9 8th
2012 Top East League 9 2 0 7 138 350 −212 3 0 11 9th Survived relegation play-offs
2013 Top East League 9 3 0 6 166 293 −127 3 1 16 7th
2014 Top East League 9 6 0 3 301 154 +147 5 1 30 4th
2015 Top East League 9 6 0 3 318 185 +133 7 1 32 4th
2016 Top East League 9 8 0 1 420 107 +313 5 0 37 2nd
7 6 0 1 285 157 +128 4 0 28 2nd Promoted to the Top League.
Legend:
P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points, Pos = Position.

Current squad

The Hino Red Dolphins squad for the 2023-24 season is:[4]

Hino Red Dolphins squad
Props
  • Yutaro Danno
  • Shosuke Funaki
  • Ken Osanai
  • Yuto Tokuda
  • Makoto Tsuchiya
  • Taiga Yamaguchi
  • Kazumasa Yoshimura REP
  • Junki Tokoda REP
  • Sora Torigoe REP

Hookers

  • Sota Moriya
  • Motoki Yamazaki
  • Daiki Nakagawa
  • Towa Taniguchi
  • Kosei Tamaki REP

Locks

  • Yuta Kasahara (c)
  • Zephaniah Tuinona
  • Rory Arnold
  • Yujiro Yano REP
Flankers
  • Ryosuke Chifu
  • Shoei Ijima
  • Lee Junya*
  • Shun Nakashika
  • Takehiro Nishimura
  • AJ Wolf

No8s

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centres
  • Keita Doi
  • Taroma Togo
  • Ryuji Hirose
  • Yuta Matsui
  • Taiki Kawai
  • Sora Ouchi
  • Syun Tomonaga
  • Kiichi Takagi REP

Wingers

Fullbacks

  • Shogo Tokota
  • Kyoji Takano
  • Takumi Isimoto REP

Utility Backs

(c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes player is internationally capped

Notes and References

  1. Web site: http://www.hino.co.jp/rugby/team/introduction/index.html . Hino Red Dolphins . 30 January 2017 . ja:チームの紹介 . ja . Team introduction . https://web.archive.org/web/20150525062141/http://www.hino.co.jp/rugby/team/introduction/index.html . 25 May 2015 . dead .
  2. Web site: Red Dolphins Hino . The Rugby Archive . 30 January 2017.
  3. Web site: http://www.hino.co.jp/rugby/team/history/index.html . Hino Red Dolphins . 30 January 2017 . ja:チームの歴史 . ja . Team history.
  4. Web site: 2021 Players & Staff . Hino Red Dolphins . 30 June 2021.