NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu (formerly NEC Green Rockets) is a Japanese

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

team in the

Japan Rugby League One Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

. The team's captain i
Ryota Asano
The previous captain was Takuro Miuchi, who was also the captain of the

Japan national rugby union team The Japan national rugby union team, often known as the Cherry Blossoms, Sakura, and more recently The Brave Blossoms (''ブレイブ・ブロッサムズ - Bureibu burossamuzu'') is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia and has ...

. Before the semi-professional

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

was created, the team was just known as "NEC". The amateur club was founded in 1985 in the

Kantō region The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Sl ...

. NEC Green Rockets won the All-Japan Championship final for the second time on 27 February 2005, beating

Toyota Verblitz Toyota Verblitz is a Japanese rugby union team in the Japan Rugby League One. Verblitz is a portmanteau of ''verde'' (Spanish and Portuguese for 'green') and ''blitz'' (German for 'lightning'). The team is owned by Toyota Motor Corporation and is ...

17-13. They drew 6-6 with

Toshiba Brave Lupus Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo is a Japanese rugby union team in the Top League. They are based in Fuchu, Tokyo, as is their local rival Suntory Sungoliath. They won the second ever Top League championship in the 2004-5 season and the Microsoft Cup i ...

in the 43rd Japan Championship final on 26 February 2006 after an effective defensive effort and the sin-binning of

Glen Marsh A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower ...

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

in 2022.

Honours

* All-Japan Championship ** Champions: 2005, 2006 (with

)

Current squad

The Green Rockets Tokatsu for the 2023 season is:

Former players

John Kirwan John Kirwan may refer to: * John Óge Kirwan (fl. 1530–1531), mayor of Galway * Sir John Kirwan (1650–1721), Irish entrepreneur * John Kirwan (cricketer) (1816–1899), English cricketer * John Kirwan (politician) (1869–1949), Australian ...

- (before the

started), and later head coach of

* Kiyonori Okano * Takayuki Higo - coach * George Konia *

* Joe Stanley *

Jeremy Stanley Jeremy Crispian Stanley (born 26 March 1975) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He was born in Otahuhu, New Zealand. He played for the All Blacks, Ponsonby and Auckland and the Hurricanes as a centre. Personal life Stanley attend ...

* Alex Goode Another coach is Scott Fardy

References

External links

NEC, Toshiba share title
Daily Yomiuri, February 27, 2006
NEC Green Rockets
- official site

Japan Times February 28, 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nec Green Rockets Japan Rugby League One teams Rugby in Kantō Rugby clubs established in 1985 Tourist attractions in Chiba Prefecture NEC Corporation 1985 establishments in Japan