# 2016 Sunwolves season

In 2016, the Sunwolves participated in the 2016 Super Rugby competition, their first ever appearance in the competition. They were included in the Africa 1 Conference of the competition, along with the Bulls, Cheetahs and Stormers.

## Personnel
### Coaches and management

The Sunwolves coaching and management staff for the 2016 Super Rugby season were:
| 2016 Sunwolves coaches and management |
| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Mark Hammett |
| Assistant coaches | Nathan Mauger |
| Assistant coaches | Chris Milsted |
| Assistant coaches | Takuro Miuchi |
| Assistant coaches | Atsushi Tanabe |
| Assistant coaches | Wayne Taylor |
| Assistant coaches | Filo Tiatia |

### Squad

The following players were named in the Sunwolves squad for the 2016 Super Rugby season:
| 2016 Sunwolves squad |
| Player | Club | Position/s | Date of birth (age) | Super Rugby | Super Rugby | Sunwolves | Sunwolves |
| Player | Club | Position/s | Date of birth (age) | Apps | Pts | Apps | Pts |
| Taiyo Ando | Toyota Verblitz | Flanker | (1987-08-22)22 August 1987 (aged 28) | – | – | – | – |
| Ryuhei Arita | Coca-Cola Red Sparks | Hooker | (1989-03-21)21 March 1989 (aged 26) | – | – | – | – |
| Takuma Asahara | Toshiba Brave Lupus | Prop | (1987-09-07)7 September 1987 (aged 28) | – | – | – | – |
| Tim Bond | — | Lock | (1989-10-25)25 October 1989 (aged 26) | – | – | – | – |
| Derek Carpenter | Toyota Verblitz | Centre | (1988-07-26)26 July 1988 (aged 27) | – | – | – | – |
| Andrew Durutalo | — | Flanker | (1987-10-25)25 October 1987 (aged 28) | – | – | – | – |
| Shohei Hirano | Tokai University | Prop | (1993-08-03)3 August 1993 (aged 22) | – | – | – | – |
| Atsushi Hiwasa | Suntory Sungoliath | Scrum-half | (1987-05-22)22 May 1987 (aged 28) | – | – | – | – |
| Shota Horie | Panasonic Wild Knights | Hooker | (1986-01-21)21 January 1986 (aged 30) | 18 | 5 | – | – |
| Yoshiya Hosoda | NEC Green Rockets | Lock | (1987-08-05)5 August 1987 (aged 28) | – | – | – | – |
| Keita Inagaki | Panasonic Wild Knights | Prop | (1990-06-02)2 June 1990 (aged 25) | 1 | 0 | – | – |
| Daisuke Inoue | Kubota Spears | Scrum-half | (1989-11-16)16 November 1989 (aged 26) | – | – | – | – |
| Shinnosuke Kakinaga | Suntory Sungoliath | Prop | (1991-12-19)19 December 1991 (aged 24) | – | – | – | – |
| Shokei Kin | NTT Shining Arcs | Flanker | (1991-10-03)3 October 1991 (aged 24) | – | – | – | – |
| Takeshi Kizu | Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers | Hooker | (1988-07-15)15 July 1988 (aged 27) | – | – | – | – |
| Kentaro Kodama | Panasonic Wild Knights | Winger | (1992-01-28)28 January 1992 (aged 24) | – | – | – | – |
| Koo Ji-won | Takushoku University | Prop | (1994-07-02)2 July 1994 (aged 21) | – | – | – | – |
| Naohiro Kotaki | Toshiba Brave Lupus | Lock | (1992-06-13)13 June 1992 (aged 23) | – | – | – | – |
| Fa'atiga Lemalu | Munakata Sanix Blues | Number eight | (1989-04-17)17 April 1989 (aged 26) | – | – | – | – |
| Tomás Leonardi | — | Number eight | (1987-07-01)1 July 1987 (aged 28) | 1 | 0 | – | – |
| Viliami Lolohea | — | Winger | (1993-07-04)4 July 1993 (aged 22) | – | – | – | – |
| Shinya Makabe | Suntory Sungoliath | Lock | (1987-03-26)26 March 1987 (aged 28) | – | – | – | – |
| Masataka Mikami | Toshiba Brave Lupus | Prop | (1988-06-04)4 June 1988 (aged 27) | – | – | – | – |
| Liaki Moli | — | Lock | (1990-01-04)4 January 1990 (aged 26) | 24 | 5 | – | – |
| Futoshi Mori | Toshiba Brave Lupus | Hooker | (1988-04-25)25 April 1988 (aged 27) | – | – | – | – |
| Tsuyoshi Murata | NEC Green Rockets | Flanker | (1988-12-15)15 December 1988 (aged 27) | – | – | – | – |
| Hitoshi Ono | Toshiba Brave Lupus | Lock | (1978-05-06)6 May 1978 (aged 37) | – | – | – | – |
| Mifiposeti Paea | NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes | Centre | (1987-07-06)6 July 1987 (aged 28) | – | – | – | – |
| Tusi Pisi | Suntory Sungoliath | Fly-half | (1982-06-18)18 June 1982 (aged 33) | 18 | 8 | – | – |
| Ed Quirk | — | Flanker | (1991-08-28)28 August 1991 (aged 24) | 39 | 5 | – | – |
| Yasutaka Sasakura | Panasonic Wild Knights | Fullback | (1988-08-04)4 August 1988 (aged 27) | – | – | – | – |
| Kaito Shigeno | NEC Green Rockets | Scrum-half | (1990-11-21)21 November 1990 (aged 25) | – | – | – | – |
| John Stewart | — | Winger | (1988-02-17)17 February 1988 (aged 28) | – | – | – | – |
| Yu Tamura | NEC Green Rockets | Fly-half | (1989-01-09)9 January 1989 (aged 27) | – | – | – | – |
| Harumichi Tatekawa | Kubota Spears | Fly-half | (1989-12-02)2 December 1989 (aged 26) | – | – | – | – |
| Kazuhiko Usami | Canon Eagles | Lock | (1992-03-17)17 March 1992 (aged 23) | – | – | – | – |
| Riaan Viljoen | — | Fullback | (1983-04-01)1 April 1983 (aged 32) | 49 | 85 | – | – |
| Akihito Yamada | Panasonic Wild Knights | Winger | (1985-07-26)26 July 1985 (aged 30) | – | – | – | – |
| Koki Yamamoto | Yamaha Júbilo | Prop | (1990-10-29)29 October 1990 (aged 25) | – | – | – | – |
| Ryohei Yamanaka | Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers | Centre | (1988-06-22)22 June 1988 (aged 27) | – | – | – | – |
| Hajime Yamashita | Toyota Industries Shuttles | Fullback | (1992-06-14)14 June 1992 (aged 23) | – | – | – | – |
| Yuki Yatomi | Yamaha Júbilo | Scrum-half | (1985-02-16)16 February 1985 (aged 31) | – | – | – | – |
| Note: Players' ages and statistics are correct as of 27 February 2016, the date of the opening round of the competition. |

## Log

The final standings for the 2016 Super Rugby season are:
2016 Super Rugby standings: South African Group :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Lions | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 535 | 349 | +186 | 71 | 42 | 7 | 1 | 52 | Conference leaders Qualify to finals |
| 2 | Stormers | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 440 | 274 | +166 | 49 | 28 | 5 | 4 | 51 | Conference leaders Qualify to finals |
| 3 | Sharks | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 360 | 269 | +91 | 40 | 30 | 2 | 3 | 43 | Wildcard teams Qualify to finals |
| 4 | Bulls | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 399 | 339 | +60 | 47 | 37 | 4 | 0 | 42 | |
| 5 | Jaguares | 15 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 376 | 427 | −51 | 44 | 51 | 1 | 5 | 22 | |
| 6 | Cheetahs | 15 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 377 | 425 | −48 | 47 | 48 | 1 | 4 | 21 | |
| 7 | Southern Kings | 15 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 282 | 684 | −402 | 34 | 95 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |
| 8 | Sunwolves | 15 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 293 | 627 | −334 | 33 | 88 | 0 | 3 | 9 | |
Africa 1 Conference :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pts |
| 1 | Stormers | 51 |
| 2 | Bulls | 42 |
| 3 | Cheetahs | 21 |
| 4 | Sunwolves | 9 |
Overall :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Hurricanes | 53 | Conference leaders Qualify to finals |
| 2 | Lions | 52 | Conference leaders Qualify to finals |
| 3 | Stormers | 51 | Conference leaders Qualify to finals |
| 4 | Brumbies | 43 | Conference leaders Qualify to finals |
| 5 | Highlanders | 52 | Wildcard teams Qualify to finals |
| 6 | Chiefs | 51 | Wildcard teams Qualify to finals |
| 7 | Crusaders | 50 | Wildcard teams Qualify to finals |
| 8 | Sharks | 43 | Wildcard teams Qualify to finals |
| 9 | Bulls | 42 | |
| 10 | Waratahs | 40 | |
| 11 | Blues | 39 | |
| 12 | Rebels | 31 | |
| 13 | Jaguares | 22 | |
| 14 | Cheetahs | 21 | |
| 15 | Reds | 17 | |
| 16 | Force | 13 | |
| 17 | Southern Kings | 9 | |
| 18 | Sunwolves | 9 | |
* Competition rules
* Qualification:
* The top eight teams qualified to the finals, with their final positions in the overall log determining their seedings in the quarter-finals. The conference winners were seeded #1 to #4 for the quarter-finals, in order of log points gained during the group stages, while the wildcards were seeded as #5 to #8 in order of log points gained during the group stages. In the quarter-finals, the conference winners hosted the first round of the finals, with the highest-seeded conference winner hosting the fourth-seeded wildcard entry, the second-seeded conference winner hosting the third-seeded wildcard entry, the third-seeded conference winner hosting the second-seeded wildcard entry and the fourth-seeded conference winner hosting the top-seed wildcard entry. The Quarter Final winners progressed to the semi-finals, where the highest seed to reach the semi-finals hosted the lowest seed and the second-seeded semi-finalist hosted the third-seeded team. The winner of the semi-finals progressed to the Final, at the venue of the highest-seeded team.
* Points breakdown: * 4 points for a win * 2 points for a draw * 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less * 1 bonus point for scoring at least three tries more than the opponent in a match
* Classification: Teams standings are calculated as follows: * Conference Leaders (i.e. conference leaders will always be ranked at the top) * Log points * Number of games won * Overall points difference * Number of tries scored * Overall try difference

## Matches

The Sunwolves played the following matches during the 2016 Super Rugby season:

## Player statistics

The Super Rugby appearance record for players that represented the Sunwolves in 2016 is as follows:
| 2016 Sunwolves player statistics |
| Player name | LIO | CHE | REB | BUL | KIN | STO | CHE | JAG | FOR | STO | RED | BRU | WAR | BUL | SHA | App | Try | Kck | Pts |
| Keita Inagaki | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | 17 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shota Horie | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 16 | 2 | | | | 12 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| Shinnosuke Kakinaga | 3 | 3 | 18 | 18 | 3 | 18 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Bond | 4 | 5 | 5 | | 5 | 5 | | | | 4 | 4 | | | | | 7 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Hitoshi Ono | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | | 4 | 4 | 4 | | 19 | 4 | | 4 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Liaki Moli | 6 | 6 | | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Andrew Durutalo | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | | | | 12 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Ed Quirk | 8 | 8 | 8 | 20 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Atsushi Hiwasa | 9 | 9 | 9 | | | 21 | | 9 | 21 | 9 | 9 | | | | | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tusi Pisi | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 22 | | | | 11 | 2 | 95 | 105 |
| Yasutaka Sasakura | 11 | 11 | 23 | 23 | | 23 | 23 | 23 | | | | 15 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Yu Tamura | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 27 | 27 |
| Harumichi Tatekawa | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 22 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | | 13 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Akihito Yamada | 14 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 11 | | | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | | | | 10 | 9 | 0 | 45 |
| Riaan Viljoen | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 23 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 16 |
| Masataka Mikami | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 1 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Takeshi Kizu | 17 | 16 | 16 | | | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Koki Yamamoto | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shinya Makabe | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yoshiya Hosoda | 20 | 20 | 6 | 6 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 6 | 20 | 19 | | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kaito Shigeno | 21 | 21 | 21 | 9 | 9 | | 21 | 21 | 9 | | | | 9 | 21 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Derek Carpenter | 22 | 22 | 22 | | | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 25 |
| Hajime Yamashita | 23 | | | | | | | | | | | | 23 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Takuma Asahara | | 18 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 3 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mifiposeti Paea | | 23 | 11 | 22 | 23 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 11 | 14 | 22 | 12 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| Tomás Leonardi | | | 20 | 8 | 21 | 8 | 6 | | | | | | | | | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Viliami Lolohea | | | | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | | | | | | | | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Futoshi Mori | | | | 16 | 16 | | | | | | | | 16 | 16 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yuki Yatomi | | | | 21 | 22 | 9 | 9 | | | 21 | 21 | 9 | 21 | 9 | 21 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Koo Ji-won | | | | | | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | | 17 | | | | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fa'atiga Lemalu | | | | | | | 19 | 19 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 19 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Taiyo Ando | | | | | | | | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Stewart | | | | | | | | | 11 | 11 | 11 | | | | | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daisuke Inoue | | | | | | | | | | | | 21 | | | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Naohiro Kotaki | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 | 5 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shokei Kin | | | | | | | | | | | | | 20 | 23 | | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryohei Yamanaka | | | | | | | | | | | | | 22 | | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kentaro Kodama | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 15 | 33 | 128 | 293 |
Squad members Ryuhei Arita, Shohei Hirano, Tsuyoshi Murata and Kazuhiko Usami made no appearances in the competition.