Coca-Cola Red Sparks Explained

Teamname:	Coca-Cola Red Sparks
Fullname:	Coca-Cola Red Sparks
Nickname:	Red Sparks
Founded:	1966
Disbanded:	2021
Ground:	Level-5 Stadium
Capacity:	22,563
Competitions:	Top League
Union:	Japan Rugby Football Union
League:	Top Challenge League
Season:	2021
Position:	3rd, Playoffs First round
Countryflag:	Japan
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The Coca-Cola Red Sparks (Japanese: コカ・コーラレッドスパークス) was a Japanese company-owned rugby union team based in Fukuoka city, Kyūshū.

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.^[1]

The team was promoted from the Kyūshū league to the Top League in 2013, and was renamed the Coca-Cola Red Sparks for the 2013–14 season. Following six seasons in the top flight, they were relegated back to the Top Kyūshū League after the 2018–19 season.

On 30 April 2021, it was announced that the Red Sparks would disband as a rugby club at the conclusion of the 2021 Top Challenge League Season.^[2] It had previously agreed to join the new 25-team domestic competition in Japan before withdrawal.^[3]

Final squad

The Coca-Cola Red Sparks squad for the 2021 season was:^[4]

Coca-Cola Red Sparks squad
Props Kanta Hasegawa Masahiro Hibino Yuichiro Hosono Ryoma Kuhara Yasuo Saruwatari Kurato Shiota Tomohiro Tanaka Genki Tokushige Hookers Mitsumasa Harayama Kosetsu Kawachi Atsuro Nakamura Kota Nishimura Mitsugu Yamamoto Locks Shuichi Kinoshita Will Mangos Ryoma Nishimura Naoto Osajima Jotham Wrampling	Loose forwards Hiroki Hanada Malgene Ilaua Yuuksaku Kuwazuru Brody MacAskill Ataru Nishikawa Hideaki Suzuki Joe Tupe Scrum-halves Shota Egashira Genta Hoshino Takahiro Kimura Hisanori Mimata Sho Nakamura Masafumi Tanabe Fly-halves Jin Imaizumi Ben Lucas Kento Tanaka Yuki Yamasaki	Centres Daiki Hoshino Kohei Ishigaki Joichiro Iwashita Yoshitsumi Shimora Tone Tukufuka Will Tupou Junshi Yamakita Youji Yamamoto Wingers Joe Kamana Rafi Kurokawa Naoki Sarugaku Kameli Soejima Shotaro Tsuoka Masakazu Yatumonji Fullbacks Kentaro Kamata Taichi Yoshizawa
(c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes player is internationally capped

Former

• George Leaupepe - Centre
• Luke Andrews - No.8
• Mark Ranby - Centre
• Benjamin Jones - Full back
• Soushi Fuchigami - Fly Half
• Glenn Paterson - Fly Half
• Nick Cummins - Wing
• Sam Afro Wykes - Second row

Coaches

• Earl Va'a 2017–present

See also

• Top League Challenge series

Notes and References

1. Web site: Coca-Cola West Red Sparks. Rugby Archive. 24 May 2021. https://archive.today/20210718132604/https://www.rugbypass.com/news/coca-cola-to-disband-red-sparks-rugby-team/. 18 July 2021.
2. News: Coca-Cola to disband Red Sparks rugby team. Rugby Pass. 3 May 2021. 24 May 2021.
3. News: Japan unveils bold new 25-team domestic competition. Rugby Planet. 16 January 2021. 24 May 2021.
4. Web site: Coca-Cola Red Sparks: Members . Coca-Cola Red sparks . 30 December 2020 . Japanese.