Urayasu D-Rocks, commonly known as the D-Rocks, or the Shining Arcs, is a rugby union team owned by NTT Communications and is part of Japan's Rugby League One competition, currently in Division 2. Given the name, the team is based in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture in the Kantō region. The team has undergone several re-brands throughout is history, most recently in 2022, rebranding from Shining Arcs Tokyo-Bay Urayasu in line with the newly formed Japan Rugby League One competition in 2021/22,[1] to the Urayasu D-Rocks in 2022 onwards.[2]
 | |||
| Full name | Urayasu D-Rocks | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | D-Rocks | ||
| Founded | 1976 | ||
| Location | Urayasu City, Chiba, Japan | ||
| Ground(s) | Chichibunomiya Stadium (Capacity: 27,188) | ||
| Coach(es) | Johan Ackermann | ||
| League(s) | Rugby League One, D2 | ||
| 2022–23, 1st of 6 | 10th of 12 (relegated) | ||
| |||
| Official website | |||
| urayasu-d-rocks | |||
History and name
edit| Name | Date(s) |
|---|---|
| NTT Communications RFC NTTコミュニケーションズRFC |
1976–c. 2000s |
| NTT Communications Shining Arcs/NTT Shining Arcs NTTシャイニングアークス |
c. 2000s–2021[citation needed] |
| Urayasu D-Rocks 浦安D-Rocks |
since 2022[3][2] |
NTT Communications RFC was founded in 1976. They won promotion to the expanded Top League of 14 teams at the end of the 2009–10 season. They made their Top League debut for the 2010–11 season. After their first season, they finished 12th place with 4 wins and 9 losses. They had to play a play-off to keep themselves in the Top League, in which they beat Canon Eagles 31–19. In the 2011–12 season, they finished in ninth place.
In July 2022, following the establishment of a new rugby business and sports company by parent company NTT, the Shining Arcs formally rebranded to the Urayasu D-Rocks.[2] The new company, NTT Sports X, was established at the end of the 2022 season and is alleged to have begun with JP¥2.5 billion (US$17.8 million) in capital.[4]
Current squad
editThe Urayasu D-Rocks is for the 2024-2025 season:[5]
| Urayasu D-Rocks squad | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Props
Locks |
Flankers No8s Scrum-halves Fly-halves
|
Centres Wingers Fullbacks Utility Backs |
| (c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes player is internationally capped |
- * denotes players qualified to play for the Japan on dual nationality or residency grounds.
Notable former players
edit
Mark Gerrard - Melbourne Rebels and former Wallaby
Brad Mika - Former Auckland Blues player and played for New Zealand- Adam Wallace-Harrison - Former Queensland Reds player
- Sosene Anesi - Player for Chiefs and NSW Waratahs and New Zealand
- Craig Wing - former professional rugby league footballer for Australia
JP Nel - Former Blue Bulls player
Fotunuupule Auelua - Plays for Brumbies- Alesana Tuilagi - Plays for Newcastle Falcons
- Isaac Ross - Lock (2011–20, 89 games), Allblack (2009, 8 caps)
Amanaki Mafi - Loose forward (2014–21, 53 games), Japanese international (2014–, 29 caps)
Greig Laidlaw - former Scotland captain and scrum-half
Home ground
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ "La nouvelle ligue japonaise s'appelle la Japan Rugby League One". Asie Rugby (in French). 16 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ a b c Saito, ラグビーレポート by 斉藤 健仁 (27 July 2022). "「浦安D-Rocks」、NTTグループ再編で誕生した新チームの概要。ジャパンラグビー リーグワン" ['Urayasu D-Rocks', an overview of the new team created as a result of the NTT Group restructuring. Japan Rugby League One]. J Sports (in Japanese).
- ^ McCullagh, Kevin (27 July 2022). "Japan's NTT forms new rugby business unit, reorganises teams". SportBusiness.
- ^ "ラグビー事業会社の設立について" [Establishment of a rugby business company]. group.ntt (in Japanese). NTT Group. 1 July 2022.
- ^ "Members". NTT Shining Arcs. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
- ^ "NTT千葉総合運動場グランドのご紹介" [Introduction of NTT Grand Chiba Stadium]. NTT Communications.
