Quirk and Tatekawa to lead Sunwolves
25-year-old Quirk made his debut with Queensland Reds during the 2010 Super Rugby season against the Hurricanes in Brisbane.
In 2015 after battling with a serious knee injury during his last two years with the Reds, they opted to release him and the flank headed to Japan.
Commenting on his new role with the Sunwolves, Quirk said: "Being given the opportunity to captain the Sunwolves along with Harumichi Tatekawa for the season of 2017 is an amazing honour and I am extremely humbled by this opportunity.
"The coaching staff along with the 2017 squad shows huge potential for the up and coming Super Season. With another tough year of rugby ahead, I feel with the amount of experience the squad has, there is a great chance for all members to grow not only as players but as leaders and men.
"With the privilege of a leadership role, this doesn't take me away from hard work and the drive to get better and improve on and off the field. You are never guaranteed a spot and a healthy competition is always encouraged.
I have high hopes for the Sunwolves for 2017 and will give every inch to my teammates for a successful year,"
No stranger to the captaincy role, Tatekawa led the side on occasion and was a co-captain of the Brave Blossoms, along with last season’s Sunwolves captain, Shota Horie, during the November test matches.
The 27-year-old emphasises the importance of unity amongst the Sunwolves teammates for the tough season that awaits.
"It is honor to be appointed as a co-captain along with Edward Quirk for Sunwolves. Edward and I will jointly work together to unite the team and do our best to gain more victories than the last season.
"The support from all Sunwolves fans is vital," he added.
While head coach Filo Tiatia acknowledge that leadership will be a vital component in the Sunwolves' success rate.
"Leadership will be extremely important for the Sunwolves this year. Super Rugby is a gruelling competition that tests all teams and a collaborative leadership group both on and off the field will be what is needed to endure it.
"Although the Sunwolves are a recently new addition to the competition we are blessed to have numerous players with leadership experience, all of whom will be able to contribute as we guide the team.
"As an organization we have agreed on the slogan of “Rise as One” and a shared leadership model compliments what we are about. I have been talking with both men regularly and together we are looking forward to the challenges," he added.
The Sunwolves will play a pre-season match against a Top League All-Star XV in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, on February 18, before opening their Super Rugby season against defending Super Rugby champions, the Hurricanes on February 25.
Sunwolves Squad: Keita Inagaki, Kanta Higashionna, Masataka Mikami, Koki Yyamamoto, Takeshi Kizu, Yusuke Niwai, Takeshi Hino, Shota Horie, Takuma Asahara, Heiichiro Ito, Koo Jiwon, Yasuo Yamaji, Kazuhiko Usami, Hitoshi Ono, Kyosuke Kajikawa, Naohiro Kotaki, Shinya Makabe, Liaki Moli, Willem Britz, Edward Quirk, Uwe Helu, Yoshitaka Tokunaga, Shuhei Matshuhashi, Malgene Ilaua, Yuhimaru Mimura, Rahboni Warren Vosayaco, Keisuke Uchida, Takahiro Ogawa, Fumiaki Tanaka, Kaito Shigeno, Yuki Yatomi, Harumichi Tatekawa, Hikaru Tamura, Yu Tamura, Hayden Cripps, Teruya Goto, Kenki Fukuoka, Timothy Lafaele, Derek Carpenter, Michael Bond, Yasutaka Sasakura, Kotaro Matsushima, Riaan Viljoen.
Source: sunwolves.or.jp
