Former Japan captain Lappies Labuschagne will make his 50th League One appearance and 100th Kubota Spears appearance when he makes his long-awaited first-team return against Mitsubishi Dynaboars on Saturday. Labuschagne, 37, has overcome a number of injury setbacks to return to League One duty for the first time since their loss to Toshiba Brave Lupus in last year’s final. His career has gone in a completely different direction to what he envisaged growing up but he has embra

Japan teammates Warner Dearns and Mamoru Harada will go head-to-head on their respective Super Rugby debuts today as the Hurricanes host Moana Pasifika in Wellington. Wellington-born Brave Blossoms captain Dearns, 23, starts in the second-row as Clark Laidlaw’s Hurricanes open their campaign at home following a bye in round one. Harada, 26, comes into Pasifika’s 23 on the bench after being left out of their squad which stunned Fijian Drua on the road in Lautoka. The former To

Toyota Shuttles Aichi’s new fly-half Noah Lolesio has spoken of his desire to return to the Wallabies fold after an impressive start in Japan following a lengthy lay-off. Lolesio, 26, was overlooked for the 2023 World Cup by Eddie Jones but established himself as the Wallabies’ first-choice fly-half under Joe Schmidt before suffering a serious neck injury in a Test match against Fiji last July. The fit-again former Brumbies ace, who was signed as a replacement for ex-England

Japan head coach Eddie Jones believes that the All Blacks should try to lure Kobe Steelers captain Brodie Retallick back to Test rugby this summer. Retallick, 34, who won the last of his 109 caps for his country in the 2023 World Cup final, is nearing the end of his three-year contract in Japan. The 2014 World Player of The Year has been in inspired form for Dave Rennie’s title candidates Kobe and is the top scorer in division one with nine tries in eight games. The former Ch

Kobe Steelers head coach Dave Rennie and All Blacks centre Anton Lienert-Brown were full of praise for Japanese starlet Shunsuke Uenobo after their nail-biting 34-33 win against champions Toshiba Brave Lupus on Sunday. Highly-rated full-back Uenobo, 22, followed up on his sensational Player of The Match-winning debut from a week ago by playing the full 80 minutes as Kobe battled to a hard-fought win in Tokyo to keep pressure on leaders Saitama Wild Knights. The Tenri Universi

Yokohama Canon Eagles star Faf de Klerk will return to Japan ‘soon’ the Springboks star has announced. The 34-year-old, who has been in talks with Top 14’s basement outfit Perpignan, has been recuperating in South Africa from an ankle injury sustained in round one of the League One competition in December. Leon MacDonald’s relegation-threatened side lost their seventh game of the season 53-31 against Black Rams Tokyo on Saturday. Yokohama, who are captained by Jesse Kriel – t

All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan is currently in Japan for a guest coach role with Leon MacDonald’s relegation-threatened Yokohama Canon Eagles, RugbyJP can exclusively reveal. Ryan, who joined the All Blacks fold in 2022 under then-head coach Ian Foster, has joined Jesse Kriel-led Yokohama for two weeks. New Zealand Rugby is understood to be on the verge of naming a new head coach next week following Scott Robertson's departure in January. The long-time former Crusaders

Australia’s dual-code wing Mark Nawaqanitawase’s new club has been revealed as Saitama Wild Knights after the League One leaders announced the deal on Monday afternoon. The 25-year-old Sydney Roosters wing will spend a second season in the NRL this year before moving to Japan in December following the Wallabies’ end-of-year tour. According to the Sydney Herald, Nawaqanitawase has inked a two-year contract with Atsushi Kanazawa’s inaugural League One champions who are currentl

Top 14’s basement outfit Perpignan have confirmed that they have held talks with Yokohama Canon Eagles scrum-half Faf de Klerk. The Catalan club's president François Rivière and general manager Bruno Rolland revealed on the 100% USAP radio show that the Springboks stalwart is on their wanted list for the 2026/2027 season. Rivière said that the 34-year-old, who is currently in his homeland recovering from an ankle injury, is someone they have spoken to and remain in contact wi

Wallabies star Noah Lolesio will make his debut for new side Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi on Saturday after returning to full fitness following a serious neck injury. Lolesio, 26, was overlooked for the 2023 World Cup by Eddie Jones but established himself as the Wallabies’ first-choice fly-half under Joe Schmidt before suffering a neck injury in a Test match against Fiji in July which required surgery. The fit-again former Brumbies fly-half has participated in full train

Toshiba Brave Lupus’ Richie Mo’unga scored an injury-time match-winning try to hand unbeaten leaders Kubota Spears their first loss of the campaign. The hotly-anticipated rematch of last year’s final delivered a tightly-contested, high-quality game which was a great advert for Japan Rugby League One. Todd Blackadder’s back-to-back champions Toshiba, who were inspired to their second consecutive title last year by Player of The Match Mo’unga against Kubota, produced their best

Toyota Verblitz’s two-time World Player of The Year Pieter-Steph du Toit has been withdrawn from Japan Rugby League One to undergo surgery in South Africa. The 33-year-old has made three appearances this season in the second row for Steve Hansen and Ian Foster’s struggling side. Springboks great du Toit played his first club game in 587 days when he featured in their win against Franco Mostert’s Honda Heat on 13 December. The double World Cup winner got through 67 minutes aga

Australia’s dual-code wing Mark Nawaqanitawase has inked a two-year deal with a Japanese division one club, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The 25-year-old Sydney Roosters wing will spend a second season in the NRL this year before moving to Japan as he returns to union to earn a spot at the 2027 World Cup in Australia. Nawaqanitawase has penned a lucrative deal with more than $1 million a season and has resisted offers from France, Jonathan Drennan reported. The form

Toshiba Brave Lupus fly-half Richie Mo’unga has commented for the first time on his former coach Scott Robertson’s departure from the All Blacks. Two-time League One winner Mo’unga, 31, won seven Super Rugby titles under Robertson with the Crusaders and is two months into his third and last season in Japan. The mercurial playmaker and back-to-back MVP inked a deal with New Zealand Rugby in October return home on an 18-month contract this summer, commencing in July 2026 and ru

Yokohama Canon Eagles scrum-half Faf de Klerk is being targeted by Top 14 basement outfit Perpignan according to French media outlet Rugby Scope. The two-time World Cup winner, 34, is currently on the sidelines in South Africa with an ankle injury and has been de-registered by his club to free up an international spot for new signing, ex-All Blacks hooker Liam Coltman. Rugby Scope reports that the former Sale Sharks man recently took part in an online video call with the 2003

Former Brave Blossoms head coach Jamie Joseph, Springboks assistant coach  Tony Brown and All Blacks great Richie McCaw had lunch together on Friday in Wanaka, sources have told RugbyJP.com . Current Highlanders and All Blacks XV head coach Joseph and ex-Saitama Wild Knights fly-half Brown led Japan to the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in their history at the tournament they hosted in 2019. The 56-year-old has been tipped to succeed ex-Black Rams Tokyo flanker S

Ireland star Bundee Aki’s cousin Larry Tipoa'i-Luteru has joined Graham Rowntree’s high-flying Urayasu D-Rocks. Samoa-born Tipoa'i-Luteru, 21, has arrived from Yokohama’s Kanto Gakuin University as an early-entry player. The powerful number eight is 6ft 3in (192cm) and weighs 18-stone-plus (119kg) which made him the tallest and heaviest member in the Kanto University League division one team’s squad. Kanto Gakuin’s co-captain can also play in the second-row and across the bac

Japan’s all-action League One competition continues this weekend with the top-flight set for its fifth instalment this season.   Yokohama Canon Eagles (12th) v Saitama Wild Knights (2nd) Mitsuzawa Stadium, Kanagawa - 12.00 KO Ex-All Blacks assistant coach Leon MacDonald’s misfiring Yokohama Canon Eagles host undefeated Saitama Wild Knights in the round’s opening game on Saturday. MacDonald’s side has tasted defeat at the hands of Shizuoka Blue Revs, Mitsubishi Dynaboars, Tosh

South Africa’s injured double World Cup winner Faf de Klerk has been de-registered by his Japanese club Yokohama Canon Eagles, RugbyJP can exclusively reveal. The 34-year-old suffered a serious ankle injury in the opening round when he attempted to tackle Shizuoka Blue Revs wing Valynce Te Whare on 14 December and returned to his homeland for medical treatment Yokohama previously announced that their injury-hit scrum-half, who has been linked with a return to the English Prem

Toshiba Brave Lupus flanker Shannon Frizell broke his hand in the opening round loss to Saitama Wild Knights in December, RugbyJP.com can exclusively reveal. The 31-year-old All Black played the full 80 minutes as the champions were routed 46-0 by the league’s inaugural winners on 14 December. The Fuchu outfit only discovered the true severity of his injury post-match. Tonga-born Frizell is remaining in Japan for treatment and will be aiming to return in time for the play-of