Daichi Akiyama, who joined the team in the 2019 season alongside his peer Shunsuke Asaoka, will also be leaving Verblitz at the end of this season. It’s not that his playing time was limited. As a valuable Japanese second-row player in League One, he started in eight games last season. This season, he was in the starting lineup for seven consecutive games from the opening game. Although he suffered an injury toward the end, he started in nine games total and was selected for 13 games. However, despite this ample playing time, Akiyama says it was a season of ongoing inner conflict.
“I've been with Toyota for six years, played in a lot of games, and grown both as a rugby player and as a person. This season, more than the frustration of not being able to win, when I looked back at my own performance, I wasn’t satisfied with any of the games I played in. As a rugby player, I really wanted to be particular about my performance. It wasn't an easy decision, but I want to take on a new challenge in a different environment.”
He reflects that while the first few matches of the season were decent, from the middle of the season on, he couldn't perform to his own satisfaction.
“Locks need to have the strength and the skill on the breakdown felt as though it didn’t improve at all. It wasn’t that the team's playing style didn’t suit me; I just wanted to find the answer to what’s expected of a lock.”
Akiyama made the decision on his own, without consulting his teammates, even surprising his older brother Yoji, who plays for Mie Honda Heat.
“It’s in my nature to take on others' opinions too much. There’s a part of me that didn’t want to leave, and I knew if I talked to people, I’d get emotional and decide based on feelings. I’m sorry to those around me.
I really love Toyota, both the people and the team. I didn’t want to leave this environment, and I truly wanted to win and share that joy with everyone. But more than that, if I couldn’t be satisfied with my own performance as a rugby player, I wouldn’t be able to feel genuine happiness. Even if we had won this season, I think I would’ve come to the same conclusion.”
It was an extremely difficult decision.
At 192 cm and 114 kg, in League One, a competition where many foreign players over 2 meters tall thrive but he never used his size as an excuse, and quietly dedicated himself to contributing to the team.
“I can’t beat foreign players in height. So I try to bring out my physical strength and compete with my work rate and skill.”
Over these six years, his playing style has broadened. During his time at Teikyo University, where he was captain, his style was to charge ahead with the ball no matter what, something he admits stemmed from a lack of confidence in his passing.
“At Toyota, I overcame my mental block about passing. When I joined, head coach Simon Cron worked on handling skills with the whole team, and from there I felt more confident with my passing.”
He also improved at catching kickoffs, something he practiced after regular training with the help of kickers and props who lifted him.
“Sometimes they’d give me annoyed looks (laughs), but I kept begging, ‘Please, please!’ and they helped me.”
Beyond skills, Akiyama learned a lot from playing alongside world-class locks like Patrick Tuipulotu (former NZ All Black) and Richie Gray (former Scotland international).
“They took pride in set pieces. Even with a tight turnaround, finishing a match on Saturday we would have a lineout meeting at 8AM on Monday morning and they would study the next opposition and come up with new calls. Beyond skills, I learned about the pride of being a lineout leader.”
One of the most memorable moments from his six seasons was facing off against his older brother Hiro, who plays for the Heats. Influenced by Hiro, who is five years older and started rugby first, Daichi began playing the sport at Tsurugi High School. The two walked separate paths through high school and university, never overlapping, until they finally stood on opposite sides in Japan’s top league.
“If my brother hadn’t played rugby, I wouldn’t have either. To be able to go head-to-head with him at the highest level in Japan, it felt like a dream come true.”
The brothers faced off in official matches twice, one on March 6th, 2021, in Top League 2021 Round 3, and on February 17th last year in League One 2024-25 Round 7.
“I was hoping to play against him again this year with the relegation game in line.”
However, Hiro wasn’t selected for the May 4th Round 17 match, and a third encounter had to wait.
Akiyama will now start fresh as a professional in a new team.
“I want to return to the basics of rugby, to enjoy the game the way I did back in high school and just focus on self-improvement. You might ask, ‘Why not do that at Verblitz?’ But honestly, I realized I had a weakness where I’d end up going easy on myself. So I wanted to shut that off and change the environment. I didn’t want to live with any regrets.”
He will continue to walk the path he believes in, as a lock grounded firmly in his principles.
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