# Urayasu D-Rocks

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 1. 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, to the Urayasu D-Rocks in 2022 onwards.

## History and name

| 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 |
| Urayasu D-Rocks 浦安D-Rocks | since 2022 |
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. 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.

## Current squad

The Urayasu D-Rocks is for the 2024-25 season:
| Urayasu D-Rocks squad |
| Props Gakuto Ishida Kazuki Ban Kazuma Nishikawa Yang Jung-soo Sekonaia Pole* Kim Ryo-m* Hidetomo Nabeshima Jinichiro Tamanaga Shotaro Hirai Syuhei Takeuchi Kaisei Umeda $^{REP}$ Halaholo Tokolahi* $^{REP}$ Hookers Ryuji Fijimura Shunya Hamano Samisoni Asaeli* Junichiro Matsushita Shokei Kin Kianu Kereru-Symes $^{REP}$ Locks Lourens Erasmus* Yuta Kojima Kim Ryong-ji* Daiki Sato Shin Takeuchi Tom Parsons Zephaniah Tuinona Uwe Helu Wimpie van der Walt Yuzuki Sasaki $^{REP}$ Rusiate Finau $^{REP}$ | Flankers James Moore Hendrik Tui Shingo Nakashima Alexander Mackenzie* Shinya Osugi Tetta Shigematsu No8s Jasper Wiese Brody Macaskill* Daishi Kojima Tone Tukufuka* Scrum-halves Ren Iinuma(c) Taisei Konishi Norihumi Hashimoto Takuya Shirae Fly-halves Hikaru Tamura Shunta Mori Otere Black Luteru Laulala* Kim Yu-o* $^{REP}$ | Centres Shane Gates Taiji Hongo Samisoni Tua Samu Kerevi Kentaro Nanimatsu Tana Tuhakaraina Soma Matsumoto $^{REP}$ Wingers Siosifa Lisala Kai Ishii Junya Matsumoto Caleb Cavuvati* Ryota Ohata $^{REP}$ Fullbacks Israel Folau Taiga Ishida Takuhei Yasuda Chris Cosgrave $^{REP}$ 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

* 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

* The Shining Arcs' home stadium is the NTT Grand Chiba Stadium in Ichikawa.