Green Rockets Tokatsu

NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu (formerly NEC Green Rockets) is a Japanese rugby union team in the Japan Rugby League One. The team's captain is Ryota Asano. The previous captain was Takuro Miuchi, who was also the captain of the Japan national rugby union team. Before the semi-professional Top League was created, the team was just known as "NEC". The amateur club was founded in 1985 in the Kantō region.

Green Rockets Tokatsu
NECグリーンロケッツ東葛
Full nameGreen Rockets Tokatsu
UnionJapan Rugby Football Union
Nickname(s)Green Rockets
Founded1985
LocationAbiko, Chiba, Japan
Ground(s)Kashiwanoha Stadium (Capacity: 20,000)
Coach(es)Wayne Pivac
League(s)Japan Rugby League One
202212th
1st kit
2nd kit

NEC Green Rockets won the All-Japan Championship final for the second time on 27 February 2005, beating Toyota Verblitz 17-13. They drew 6-6 with Toshiba Brave Lupus in the 43rd Japan Championship final on 26 February 2006 after an effective defensive effort and the sin-binning of Glen Marsh in the last ten minutes of the game.

The team rebranded as Green Rockets Tokatsu ahead of the rebranding of the Top League to the Japan Rugby League One in 2022.[1]

Honours

Current squad

The Green Rockets Tokatsu for the 2023-2024 season is:[2]

Green Rockets Tokatsu squad

Props

  • Japan Suguru Kubo
  • Japan Takahiro Doi
  • Japan Sunao Takizawa
  • Japan Kosei Yamamoto
  • Japan Kanta Higashionna
  • Japan Keisuke Kikuta
  • Japan Taku Toma
  • Japan Satoshi Ueda
  • Tonga Viliami Lutua Ahofono*


Hookers

  • New Zealand Ash Dixon
  • Japan Miyu Arai
  • Japan Keita Kobayashi
  • Japan Ren Osawa

Locks

  • Wales Jake Ball
  • Australia Luke Porter
  • Japan Daiki Yamagiwa
  • Tonga Ika Motulalo Taku*
  • Australia Sam Jeffries
  • South Africa Brendon Nell REP

Flankers

  • Japan Yoshiya Hosoda
  • Japan Aseri Masivou
  • Australia Mitieli Tuinakauvadra*
  • Japan Ryoi Kamei
  • Japan Tatsuru Owada
  • Japan Yuta Moriyama REP
  • New Zealand D'anjahlo Ahsui REP

No8s

  • New Zealand Isileli Manu

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

  • Japan Taisetsu Kanai
  • Japan Ko Yoshimura
  • Japan Doga Maeda
  • Namibia Tiaan Swanepoel

Centres

  • Japan Tim Bennetts
  • Japan Koichi Matsura
  • Japan Masaki Obata
  • Tonga Christian Laui*
  • Fiji Maritino Nemani*
  • Japan Ryosei Takai REP

Wingers

  • Japan Lomano Lemeki(c)
  • Japan Kanta Omata
  • Fiji Nathanael Tupou*
  • Japan Teruya Goto
  • Japan Hiroyuki Miyajima
  • Japan Kakeru Miyaso
  • Japan Yuma Sugimoto
  • Japan Kentaro Kodama

Fullbacks

  • New Zealand Tom Marshall

Utility Backs

(c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes player is internationally capped

Former players
  • John Kirwan - (before the Top League started), and later head coach of Japan national rugby union team
  • Kiyonori Okano
  • Takayuki Higo - coach
  • George Konia
  • Glen Marsh
  • Joe Stanley
  • Jeremy Stanley
  • Alex Goode
  • Takuro Miuchi
  • Yuta Inose (2004-18, 161 games) Prop, Japanese International (2008, 6 caps)
  • Nili Latu (2007-15, 110 games) Loose forward, Tongan International (2006-, 54 caps)

References
  1. "La nouvelle ligue japonaise s'appelle la Japan Rugby League One". Asie Rugby (in French). 16 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  2. "Players & Staffs" (in Japanese). Green Rockets Tokatsu. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.