Shōta Horie (堀江 翔太, Horie Shōta, born 21 January 1986) is a Japanese professional rugby union player who plays as a hooker for Japan Rugby League One club Saitama Wild Knights and the Japan national team.[1]

Shōta Horie
Date of birth (1986-01-21) 21 January 1986 (age 38)
Place of birthSuita, Japan
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight104 kg (229 lb; 16 st 5 lb)
SchoolShimamoto High School
UniversityTeikyo University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2010–2024 Saitama Wild Knights 150 (155)
2012 Otago 5 (5)
2013–2014 Melbourne Rebels 18 (5)
2016–2019 Sunwolves 26 (15)
Correct as of 28 August 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2009–2023 Japan 76 (50)
2023 Japan XV 2 (0)
Correct as of 28 August 2023

Early life

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Horie is a native of Osaka Prefecture. He began playing rugby when he was a fifth-grade student, and later captained the Teikyo University rugby team.[2][3]

Club career

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Horie played for the Panasonic Wild Knights. He was named MVP for the 2015–16 Top League Season.[4]

In 2012, Horie played for Japan, and in New Zealand for Otago in the National Provincial Championship, where he attracted the attention of the Melbourne Rebels recruiting staff.[3] In November 2012, the Rebels announced Horie's signing to play Super Rugby in Australia.[5][6][7][8][9] In 2013 he became the first Japanese player to play for an Australian Super Rugby side[3] often on the reserves bench.[2]

International career

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Horie made his debut for Japan in 2009, and represented his country at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.[1]

In 2024 he was named in the Barbarians F.C. squad to face the Japanese national rugby team.

Career statistics

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Club summary

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As of 22 July 2016
Season Team Games Starts Sub Mins Tries Cons Pens Drops Points Yel Red
2013 Rebels 5 1 4 107 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2014 Rebels 13 6 7 531 1 0 0 0 5 0 0
2016 Sunwolves 12 10 2 718 3 0 0 0 15 0 0
Total 30 17 13 1356 4 0 0 0 20 0 0

References

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  1. ^ a b "Shota Horie ESPN Scrum Player Profile". ESPN. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  2. ^ a b Shimizu, Masakazu; Shimbun, Yomiuri (20 February 2014). "Shota Horie, title winner of the Rugby Top League". Japan News. Yomiuri Shimbun. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Carroll, Theo (20 February 2014). "When you're big in Japan" (Press release). Melbourne Rebels. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  4. ^ "Horie named Top League MVP". Japan Rugby Football Union. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  5. ^ Rebels Media Unit (21 November 2012). "Japanese international Shota Horie joins Rebels" (Press release). Melbourne Rebels. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  6. ^ Fairbairn, Pete (11 March 2013). "Horie hungry for success in Melbourne" (Press release). Melbourne Rebels. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  7. ^ "Rebels sign a Japanese star". Rugby 365. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  8. ^ "Melbourne Rebels sign Japan international hooker Shota Horie". Herald Sun. News. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  9. ^ "Shota Horie Player Profile". Melbourne Rebels. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
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