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27-529: Hanazono is the home of the Kintetsu Liners rugby union team and J. League club, FC Osaka . The stadium was selected as one of the venues for 2019 Rugby World Cup (Japan) which was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in Asia. On May 14, 2006 Daisuke Ohata broke the record for the most overall tries in test matches at Hanazono with a hat-trick for Japan against Georgia. The previous record holder

54-479: A leading team in the company rugby scene in the 1930s. Tsuge became a head coach and player for Kintetsu. In 1947, they won the qualifying round of western Japan for the National Sports Festival of Japan (only four teams were qualified from over Japan, i.e. northern, eastern and western Japan plus Kyushu), and participated in the final rounds. In the 1948–1949 season, they also participated in

81-533: A result, such Kintetsu players had to go abroad for rugby tour without getting any salary for some months, though other company players received salary for those periods as a "business trip". However, following their relegation to the Top West League in 2005, Kintetsu decided to re-organize the Liners as semi-professional and hire famous full-time professional players, like other teams. After three years in

108-530: Is at Hanazono Rugby Stadium , which was also opened in 1929 and is in Higashiosaka , Japan. Early in 2008 Kintetsu won promotion back to the Top League for the 2008–9 season, and it was announced that former All Blacks coach Peter Sloane would be head coach. Sloane coached the team for three years before Ryusuke Maeda succeeded him in 2011. The team rebranded as Hanazono Kintetsu Liners ahead of

135-665: The "Liners", because the company is a railway corporation well known for their rapid express train the Kintetsu Urban Liner. In the first season of the Top League, Kintetsu finished in 10th place of 12 teams, and remained in the league by defeating Kyuden Voltex in the relegation match. However, in the next season (2004–05), they finished in 11th place and were relegated to the Top West League automatically. Kintetsu Corporation had been defining their rugby team as an amateur sports club without any "shamateurism", meaning

162-682: The 1960–1961 season, the first NHK Cup was held, which decides the best rugby club in Japan. Before that, university teams had been stronger than company teams in Japan. However, after World War II, many company teams were restarted or founded. As a result, the Japan Rugby Football Union organized the NHK cup three times from this season, and changed it to the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship from

189-631: The 1963–1964 season. Kintetsu were runners-up in the NHK cup in 1961–62. They also won the All-Japan Championship three times (1966–67, 67–68, 74–75) and were runners-up once (1963–64). Yoshihiro Sakata had been playing for Kintetsu and the Japan national team in those periods. He later entered the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2012. In the 1969–1970 season, Kintetsu won the Company Championship, giving them

216-482: The 1976–1977 season. These retirements were a challenge for Kintetsu. In the 1977–1978 and 1988–1989 seasons, they won the Kansai Shakaijin League. However, they won no titles in the Company Championship in these periods. In the 2003–2004 season, the Top League was established by absorbing the Company Championship, and Kintetsu was selected as an original member of the league. Their nickname became

243-574: The 2006 IRB Awards ceremony in Glasgow , Scotland . The inaugural inductees were William Webb Ellis , who apocryphally caught the ball during a football game and ran with it, and Rugby School , which has left a huge legacy with the game in a number of ways. The second induction to the Hall of Fame took place in Paris on 21 October 2007, the night after the 2007 Rugby World Cup final . The next induction

270-582: The 2007 World Cup (minus John Eales, inducted in 2007), and finally other iconic players of the World Cup. The pattern begun in 2011 was repeated in 2012, with six induction ceremonies being held in six countries. As in the two previous induction cycles, the 2012 inductions had an overriding theme; "Rugby – A Global Game". According to the IRB, it "celebrates Rugby's expansion to become a global sport played by millions of men and women worldwide." On 31 July 2014,

297-556: The 2024–25 season is: Props Hookers Locks Flankers No8s Scrum-halves Fly-halves Centres Wingers Fullbacks Utility Backs World Rugby Hall of Fame The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame ) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union . The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other individuals. The Hall of Fame recognises

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324-557: The IRB announced that its Hall would merge with the separate International Rugby Hall of Fame later in 2014. The merger saw the 37 members of the International Hall who had not already been honoured by the IRB formally enter the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2014 and 2015. The 2014 class of inductees also included six women. On 19 November 2014 the IRB rebranded as World Rugby, and the Hall of Fame became known as

351-571: The Kansai Shalaijin League (from 1958 to 1969). In total, they won the league 17 times. The Kansai Shalaijin League was finished in 2002, and Top West League was started in 2003 as a subsidiary league of the Top League. In the 1974–1975 season, Kintetsu won the All-Japan Championship, following which some notable national players such as Yoshihiro Sakata and Hiroshi Ogsasawara retired. Ryozo Imazato and Susumu Hara also retired after

378-571: The Osaka Company Rugby Tournament in 1936, and were runner-up three times. After World War II, the company name was changed to Kinki Nippon Railway (called "Kintetsu"). The team was reformed in April 1946. Some members returned to the team, but some were unable to rejoin the team because of the war. At that time, Heinai Tsuge joined the team. He was a player of Sentetsu ( Chosen Government Railway ) Rugby Club, who had been

405-547: The Rugby World Cup. On 26 October 2018, Hanazono hosted an international fixture between Japan national rugby union team and World XV in celebration of the completion. Kintetsu Liners Hanazono Kintetsu Liners are a Japanese rugby union team owned by Kintetsu Corporation which was founded in 1929. They have won the All-Japan Championship three times as an amateur team. Their home

432-461: The Top West League, Kintetsu returned to the Top League in 2008. Peter Sloane became the head coach in 2008 with three-year contract. Kintetsu have signed international players such as Leon MacDonald in 2009, Rico Gear in 2010, Andre Taylor in 2014, and Pierre Spies and Damian de Allende in 2015. Then-Rebels & former Reds & Australian test halves pairing Quade Cooper and Will Genia signed for 2019–2020, with Cooper joining following

459-525: The company rugby did not exist in Japan till the establishment of the Top League. Before the establishment of the Top League, regional leagues were held in several regions of Japan by round robin systems. Kiuntetsu was in Kansai (western Japan) Company Rugby Football League (called Kansai Shakaijin League), which was started in 1958. They won 11 consecutive championships from the first to the eleventh editions of

486-652: The conclusion of the 2019 Super Rugby season having been omitted from the Wallabies World Cup squad by coach Michael Cheika, while Genia joined following Australia's exit in the quarter-final against eventual finalists, England. Coincidentally, Kintetsu signed an agreement with their former club in 2020, becoming a major partner, appearing as their major sponsor for the Rebels on their away kit. Both clubs allowed access to each other's players for training and coaching experience. The Hanazono Kintetsu Liners squad for

513-451: The first national Company Rugby Football Championship , which consisted of four teams from all over Japan. They were runners-up. In the 1953–1954 season, they won the Company Championship for the first time. This began a successful period in which they won the championship eight times and were runners-up nine times, from 1948 to 1975. Particularly notable was their title in the 1956–1957 season, when they did not concede any points in any of

540-476: The four matches. This meant that they were labeled "shut-out champion", an achievement that has not been reached in any major rugby championships in Japan yet. In March 1959, Kintetsu defeated British Columbia from Canada 16–9. This British Columbia team were known as the Canadian national team on their tour of Japan. In British Columbia's eight games in Japan, their game against Kintetsu was their only loss. In

567-597: The history and important contributions to the game, through one or more induction ceremonies that have been held annually except in 2010. The permanent physical home of the Hall of Fame was based at the Rugby Art Gallery, Museum & Library in Rugby, Warwickshire from 2016 until 2021. The Hall of Fame was introduced by the International Rugby Board (as World Rugby was then known) during

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594-424: The players were required to work full-time at the company without any additional advantages afforded by playing rugby. Further, when employees were absent from work due to rugby (often for extended periods of time because of the travel required), Kintetsu Corporation did not pay for their absence. This policy was also applied to Kintetsu players who represented Japan and traveled abroad for matches such as World Cup. As

621-480: The rebranding of the Top League to the Japan Rugby League One in 2022. In 1927, a team was founded by some employees of Osaka Denki Kido (called "Daiki"). The team became an official company club in 1929, the same year in which Daiki founded Hanazono Rugby Stadium. Before and during World War II , there was no national tournament organized between company rugby teams in Japan. However, they won

648-474: The right to participate in the seventh All-Japan Championship. However, they declined to participate because its schedule overlapped with the second Asian Championship in Bangkok, and almost half of Japanese national players were Kintetsu players. The Company Championship had been a knock-out competition, and was developed by Japan Rugby Top League (JRTL) in 2003. However, a nationwide round robin competition for

675-613: The world, with the year's final ceremony taking place as part of the 2011 IRB Awards on 24 October in Auckland, the day after the Rugby World Cup final in that city. The inductions at the Auckland ceremony, according to the IRB, were "under the theme of Rugby World Cup founders, visionaries and iconic figures," and were made in three groups—first for the founders of the RWC, then all World Cup-winning captains and coaches through

702-531: Was David Campese . It hosted the J1 League game between Cerezo Osaka and Nagoya Grampus Eight played there on May 8, 1999. FC Osaka hosted stadium in J3 League on 18 march 2023 against relegated team from J2 in last season Iwate Grulla Morioka after full calendar of J3 match in 20 January 2023. The stadium underwent a large scale renovation during 2017-18 to increase facilities in preparation for

729-507: Was in London on 23 November 2008. The third induction, in which nine figures entered the Hall, was held on 27 October 2009 at Rugby School . The voting process for the class of 2009 was geared toward the history of British & Irish Lions tours to South Africa , the most recent of which took place in that year; all of the candidates were either Lions or Springboks . For 2011, induction ceremonies were held at various locations around

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