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Shota Horie: The shy Japanese icon chasing fairytale ending

Shota Horie of Panasonic Wild Knights after the NTT Japan Rugby League One match between Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights and Toyota Verblitz at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium on January 06, 2024 in Kumagaya, Saitama, Japan. (Photo by Kenta Harada/Getty Images)

Shota Horie won’t need any introduction to the massive crowd at Sunday’s Japan Rugby League One final between Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights and Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo.

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The 38-year-old hooker, an icon of the Japanese game, is revered everywhere he has been around the world, which is quite an achievement, given he doesn’t speak a lot of English and is a shy man by nature.

That hasn’t mattered as Horie, distinguishable by his trademark dreadlocks, has built up a global network of friends during his club and test wanderings.

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The 76-test veteran was a lamplighter for his countrymen playing overseas during the professional era, enjoying stints with Otago in New Zealand as well as the Melbourne Rebels in Australia and Japan’s own ill-fated Super Rugby team, the Sunwolves.

Then, of course, is his career in Japan, through 14-years with the Brave Blossoms, which saw him attend four Rugby World Cups.

Fixture
Japan Rugby League One
Saitama Wild Knights
20 - 24
Full-time
Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo
All Stats and Data

He has also played over 200 club games, winning six titles with the Wild Knights.

Horie was a key part of the Brave Blossoms teams that shocked South Africa at Brighton in 2015, and then each of the number one-ranked Ireland as well as Scotland, at their home Rugby World Cup four years later.

He won the man-of-the-match award in Japan’s 19-12 win over Ireland, which ultimately led to their first Rugby World Cup quarterfinal.

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A constant presence for his club, Horie has played alongside some fellow big names of the game: Wallabies David Pocock and Berrick Barnes, All Blacks Sam Whitelock and Sonny Bill Williams, England’s George Krius, Wales’s Hadleigh Parkes, to name just a few.

On Sunday, he will have Springboks Damien de Allende and Lood de Jager, as well as Wallaby winger Marika Koroibete, for company in the final leg of his farewell.

The Wild Knights made the decider on the back of 17 straight league wins.

They also thrashed Super Rugby’s Chiefs in the inaugural Cross Border series.

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Of those 18 games, the self-proclaimed ‘old man’ of the team has featured 16 times, the figure a testament to his professionalism in how Horie looks after himself off the field, body and mind.

The numbers are also recognition from his coaches and teammates as to how important he is, on the field and around the training base, in one of the most dominant dynasties the game in Japan has ever seen.

As well as their six titles since the game went semi-professional in 2003 with the inauguration of the Top League, the Wild Knights have lost just twice since the game returned from its’ Covid enforced hiatus in 2020, at one point going 47 games without defeat.

But all journeys have an end and for Horie, that moment is just two days away when he will run out onto the National Stadium for the final time.

Appropriately, given his remarkable career, he signs off in the league final, as the Wild Knights chase a record seventh national title against Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo.

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J
JW 2 hours ago
Six former All Blacks eligible for new nations in 2025

He wasn't, he was only there a couple of years. Don't get me wrong, he's a player of promise, but without ever having a season at 10 at that level, one could hardly ever think he would be in line to take over.


But if you really want to look at your question deeper, we get to that much fabled "production line" of the Crusaders. I predict you'll know what I mean when I say, Waikato, Waikato, Queensland.


I don't know everything about him (or his area I mean) but sure, it wouldnt have just been Razor that invested in him, and that's not to say he's the only 10 to have come out of that academy in the last half dozen years/decade since Mo'unga, but he is probably the best. So it's a matter of there having been no one else why it was so easy for people to picture him being razors heir apparent (no doubt he holds him in more high regard than the blurb/reference of his recently published though). And in general there is very much a no paching policy at that level which you may not appreciate .


For England? Really? That's interesting. I had just assumed he was viewed as club man and that national aspect was just used to entice him over. I mean he could stil be used by Scotland given I wouldn't expect them to have a whole lot of depth even thoe fh's one of their strongest positions at the moment. But certainly not England.


Personally I still think that far more likely was the reason. He would/could have done the same for Crusaders and NZ, just without half as much in his pocket. And as an individual I certainly don't think he'd have chosen England over the All Blacks (as a tru blue kiwi i mean), and he of all people should know where he sits. He said he wants to play internationally, so I take that at face value, he didn't think that could be for NZ, and he might have underestimated (or been mislead by McCall) England (and Scotland really), or have already chosen Scotland at the time, as seems the case from talk of his addition.


Again though, he's a player who I'd happily rate outside the trifecta of Barrett/McKenzie/Mo'unga in basic ability , even on par with foreign players like Plummer, Sopoaga, Ioane, and ahead of a bunch in his era like Falcon, Trask, Reihana. I've done the same thing >.< excluding Perofeta from the 10 debate. Hes probably below him but I think pero is a 15 now.

31 Go to comments
J
JW 4 hours ago
Six former All Blacks eligible for new nations in 2025

What do you mean should?


Are you asking these questions because you think they are important reasons a player should decide to represent a country?


I think that is back the front. They are good reasons why someone 'would' be able to choose Fiji (say in the case of Mo'unga's cousin who the Drua brought into their environment), but not reason's why they "should". Those need to be far more personal imo.


If you think it was me suggesting he "should" play for Fiji, I certainly wasn't suggesting that. I was merely suggesting he would/could because ther'ye very close to his heart with his dad having represented them.


I did go on to say the right sort of environment should be created to encourage them to want to represent Fiji (as with case of their european stars it's always a fine balance between wanting to play for them and other factors (like compared with personal develop at their club). but that is also not trying to suggest those players should want to play for Fiji simply because you make the prospect better, you're simply allowing for it to happen.


TLDR I actually sent you to the wrong post, I was thinking more about my reply to HU's sentiments with yours. Instead of running you around I'll just paste it in

What's wrong with that? Hoskins Sotutu could be selected for the Maori All Blacks, then go on latter and move to England and represent them, then once his career in England (no longer at that standard) is over move to Japan and finish his career playing for Fiji. Why should he not be able to represent any or all of those teams?

Actually I can't remember if it was that message or whether it indeed was my hypothetical Fiji example that I wanted to suggest would improve the International game, not cheapen it.


I suppose I have to try and explain that idea further now. So you say it cheapens the game. They game is already "cheap" when a nation like Fiji is only really allowed to get their full team going in a WC year. Or even it's the players themselves only caring about showing up in a WC year. To me this is a problem because a Fiji campaign/season isn't comparable to their competitors (in a situation where they're say ranked in the top 8. Take last year for instance. Many stars were absent of the Pacific Nations Cup, for whatever reason, but hey, when their team is touring a big EU nation like England or Ireland, wow suddenly theyre a high profile team again and they get the stars back.


Great right? No. Having those players come back was probably detrimental to the teams performance. My idea of having Sotutu and Bower encouraged (directly or indirectly) to play for Fiji is merely as a means to an end, to give the Flying Fijians the profile to both enrich and more accurately reflect the international game. You didn't really state what you dislike but it's easy to guess, and yes, this idea does utilize that aspect which does devalue the game in other cases, so I wanted to see if this picture would change that in this example (just and idea I was throwing out their, like I also said in my post, I don't actually think Sotutu or any of these players are going anywhere, even Ioane might still be hopeful of being slected).


The idea again, raise the visibility on the PNC so that can stand as a valued tournament on it's own and not require basic funded by WR to continue, but not enough to involve all the best players (even Japan treated it as a chance to play it's amatuers). Do this by hosting the PI island pool in places like Melbourne every other year, include some very high profile and influential team in it like an All Black team, and yes, by the nations getting together and creating ways to increase it's popularity by say asking individuals like Sotutu and Bower to strength it's marketability, with the hopeful follow on affect that stars like Botia and Radradra always want to (and can) represent their country. With Fiji as the example, but do it with Samoa and Tonga as well. They will need NZ and Aus (Japan) assistance to make a reality imo.


I don't believe this cheapens the game, I believe it makes it more valued as you're giving players the choice of who they chose to play for rather than basing it off money. Sotutu would never have forgone his paycheck to play for Fiji instead of NZ at the beginning, so you should viewed his current choice as 'cheap'

31 Go to comments
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