Press Releases

Kurita Water Industries Ltd. (Head Office: Nakano-ku, Tokyo; President: Hirohiko Ejiri; hereinafter "Kurita") announced that Kurita Water Gush Akishima, the Kurita’s rugby team, has signed the partnership agreement with Blues, a powerful New Zealand club, with the aim of strengthening the team and developing global talent (hereinafter the "Partnership Agreement".)

Kurita Water Gush Akishima is a member of the Japan Rugby League One and is based in Akishima City, Tokyo, which was established as the rugby club of Kurita in 1964 and had participated in the Japan Corporate Rugby League and the Japan Challenge League. In October 2018, it transferred its host town to Akishima City and participated in the Japan Rugby League One, established in 2022.

Blues, based in Auckland, New Zealand, is a world-renowned rugby club that has produced many players for the country's national team, the All Blacks, and won both the Super Rugby Pacific^(*1) and Super Rugby Aupiki^(*2) titles in 2024.

With the Partnership Agreement, Kurita Water Gush Akishima will absorb the world's most cutting-edge rugby from a top club with a history and track record, and actively share information in various fields, such as personnel exchanges between players and coaches of both teams, to build a continuous cooperative relationship for mutual development.