Kintetsu Liners rugby team are a Japanese

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 team owned by Kintetsu Corporation which was founded in 1929. They have won the All-Japan Championship

All-Japan Rugby Football Championship

The All-Japan Rugby Football Championship is played at the end of the season and now includes Top League teams, the top two universities and the champion club team as decided in the respective championships...

 three times as an amateur team. Their home is at Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Stadium

Kintetsu Hanazono rugby stadium

Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Higashiosaka is the oldest dedicated rugby union stadium in Japan. Owned by Kintetsu Corporation, it opened in 1929 and has a capacity of 30,000...

 in Higashiosaka city, Japan which was also opened in 1929.

Early in 2008 Kintetsu won promotion back to the Top League

Top League

The Top League is a professional rugby union league created by the Japan Rugby Football Union to drive up the overall standard and popularity of the sport in the country and improve the results of the Japan national rugby union team. The first season was 2003-04 and featured 12 teams...

 for the 2008-9 season, and it was announced that former All Blacks coach Peter Sloane

Peter Sloane

Peter Sloane is a New Zealand rugby coach and former player. He played for Northland from 1972–1983, and made fifteen appearances for the All Blacks, including one test match, between 1973 and 1979...

 would be head coach (Daily Yomiuri, April 26, 2008).

Honours

• All-Japan Championship
  All-Japan Rugby Football Championship
  The All-Japan Rugby Football Championship is played at the end of the season and now includes Top League teams, the top two universities and the champion club team as decided in the respective championships...
  
  
  • Champions: 1966, 1967, 1974

Recent history

The team managed to stay in the Top League

Top League

The Top League is a professional rugby union league created by the Japan Rugby Football Union to drive up the overall standard and popularity of the sport in the country and improve the results of the Japan national rugby union team. The first season was 2003-04 and featured 12 teams...

 for the second season (2004-5) by defeating Fukuoka Sanix Bombs of Kyūshū

Kyushu

is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

 by 45-42 to gain 10th place, and then winning a challenge game.

However, in the second season (2004-5) Kintetsu was placed 11th and therefore was automatically relegated with 12th-placed IBM Big Blue

IBM Big Blue

IBM Big Blue is a Japanese semi-professional rugby union team in the Top League, founded in 1976 by IBM. The company decided to make rugby, along with baseball and American football, one of the official company sports in 1989, which allowed the rugby club to gain support and momentum.Big Blue won...

.

In 2008 Kintetsu played successfully in the Top Challenge One series for promotion and won the right to appear in the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship

All-Japan Rugby Football Championship

The All-Japan Rugby Football Championship is played at the end of the season and now includes Top League teams, the top two universities and the champion club team as decided in the respective championships...

 for the first time in 33 years.

Squad

External links

• Kintetsu Liners - official home page