Coca-Cola Red Sparks

Coca-Cola Red Sparks
コカ・コーラレッドスパークス
Full name Coca-Cola Red Sparks
Union Japan Rugby Football Union
Nickname(s) Red Sparks
Founded 1966
Location Fukuoka, Japan
Ground(s) Level-5 Stadium
Chairman 22,563
Coach(es) Earl Va'a
League(s) Top League
2016–17 14th
1st kit
2nd kit

The Coca-Cola Red Sparks are a Japanese company-owned rugby union team based in Fukuoka city, Kyūshū. The coach is currently Shogo Mukai (appointed April 1, 2004), the former Japan national rugby union team coach during the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup.

The team was initially founded as Kitakyushu Coca-Cola and then changed its name to Coca-Cola West Japan.

The team won promotion to the expanded Top League of 14 teams at the end of the 2005–06 season, and was renamed Coca-Cola West Red Sparks. The club motto is "Have Guts Have Glory" and their slogan for 2006 season: "Always Attack & Aggressive". In the fourth Top League (2006–07) the team came 10th, with four wins, nine losses and 21 points. It therefore did not need to take part in any play-offs. Sanix, the local rivals, came ninth.

The team is now (2013) one of two teams from Kyūshū in the Top League. The other one is Kyuden Voltex. The team mascot's name is Sparky.

In 2014, the team was renamed the Coca-Cola Red Sparks.

Squad

The current Coca-Cola Red Sparks squad is:[1]

Coca-Cola Red Sparks squad

Props

  • Japan Masahiro Hibino
  • Japan Masatoshi Kayashima
  • Japan Yasuo Saruwatari
  • Tonga Elone Takitaki
  • Japan Tomohiro Tanaka
  • Japan Genki Tokushige
  • Japan Daisuke Yamashita

Hookers

Locks

  • Japan Kosetsu Kawachi
  • Japan Shuhei Kawashita
  • Japan Shuichi Kinoshita
  • Japan Taiji Machino
  • Japan Naoto Osajima
  • Japan Syun Sekiya

Loose Forwards

  • Japan Masahiro Arita
  • New Zealand Solomon King
  • Japan Yuuksaku Kuwazuru
  • Japan Hideaki Suzuki
  • Japan Masakazu Toyota
  • Japan Kota Yamashita (c)
  • New Zealand Joe Tupe

Scrum-halves

  • Japan Shota Egashira
  • Japan Takeshi Katsuki

Fly-halves

Centres

  • Japan Kohei Ishigaki
  • Japan Naoki Sarugaku
  • New Zealand Will Tupou
  • Japan Hisatoshi Yamada
  • Japan Junshi Yamakita
  • Japan Youji Yamamoto

Wingers

  • Japan Taiki Koyanagi
  • Japan Yatumonji Masakazu
  • Japan Masahiro Tsuiki

Fullbacks

  • Japan Arata Nanri
  • Japan Gou Watanabe
  • Japan Taichi Yoshizawa
(c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes player is internationally capped

Former

Coaches

Home ground

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Coca-Cola Red Sparks: The Team". Coca-Cola Red sparks (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
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