Springboks superstar Cheslin Kolbe will return to his former club the Stormers this summer after Suntory Sungoliath announced today that he will depart after completing his third season in Japan. The competition’s top points scorer wrestled with the decision of whether to stay in Japan but, having played rugby outside of South Africa since 2017, has opted to make an early return to his homeland. RugbyJP.com understands that Kolbe, who left the Stormers in 2017 to play in the

Suntory Sungoliath has today announced that Springboks star Cheslin Kolbe will be leaving the club at the end of the season. Two-time World Cup winner Kolbe, 32, was prominent on Saturday as he scored 17 points in the club’s 40-35 quarter-final win against Black Rams Tokyo to book a semi-final clash against Dave Rennie and Ardie Savea’s Kobe Steelers on Saturday. The division’s top points scorer is poised to make an early return to his former club the Stormers who have alread

Kubota Spears overpowered defending champions Toshiba Brave Lupus 26-3 in the League One quarter-finals as Richie Mo’unga’s bid for an unprecedented 'three-peat' was ended by Bernard Foley and Malcolm Marx’s 2023 winners. In an absorbing encounter at Tokyo’s Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Frans Ludeke’s Kubota outmuscled their opponents up front and starved them off possession for long periods of the game to go some way to avenging last year’s loss in the final. Ex-Wallabies f

Toshiba Brave Lupus fly-half Richie Mo’unga is confident that the back-to-back champions can keep their ‘three-peat’ dream alive when they face Kubota Spears in Sunday’s quarter-final. Two-time MVP Mo’unga, 31, who will return to New Zealand when his three-year deal finishes in June, spoke to the media at the club’s headquarters in Fuchu as Todd Blackadder’s side prepare to face Frans Ludeke’s Kubota in a rematch of last year’s final. Champions Toshiba had a wildly inconsiste

Suntory Sungoliath rescued their quarter-final with a match-winning 84th minute try to edge past the spirited Black Rams Tokyo who's sensational second half comeback was undone in the last play of the game. © JRLO In a frenetic game that had everything, play-off regulars Suntory controlled proceedings from the outset and powered their way to a 17-0 lead after just 15 minutes as first-time post-season contenders the Rams looked overawed by the occasion. TJ Perenara gave them a

League One’s division one play-offs kick off on Saturday with TJ Perenara’s Black Rams Tokyo facing Sam Cane’s Suntory Sungoliath as World Cup winners and ex-All Blacks teammates clash at Tokyo’s Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium. The history-making Rams are making their first appearance in the top-flight post-season after former All Blacks centre Tabai Matson, who played for then-Top League side Yamaha Jubilo (now Shizuoka Blue Revs) from 2001 to 2006, impressively steered the To

Wallabies legend Will Genia will return to his native Papua New Guinea when he leaves Japanese second division side Kintetsu Liners in June. The former Queensland Reds scrum-half, 38, hung up his boots a year ago after playing six seasons alongside his former Australia half-back partner Quade Cooper for the Osaka-based Liners. Genia hails from the coastal village and rugby hotbed of Lalaura which is located in the Aroma Rural LLG of the Abau District, Central Province and is

Japan Rugby Football Union has named forwards coach Neal Hatley as their Deputy Head Coach on a temporary basis after suspending Eddie Jones for six weeks. The JRFU announced a 33-man Japan XV squad today for games against a Hong Kong China representative side in Oita this month and the Māori All Blacks in Nagoya on 27 June Former Bath forwards coach Hatley, who joined the Brave Blossoms coaching ticket in 2024, leads the Japan XV development team and was listed as Deputy Hea

Ex-All Blacks wing Charles Piutau and former URC Player of The Year Sanele Nohamba have both left division one Japanese side Shizuoka Blue Revs. Yuichiro Fujii’s side, who are captained by Springboks star Kwagga Smith, has endured a disappointing campaign as they narrowly missed out on a play-offs spot with a seventh-placed finish. The Yamaha-backed Blue Revs will make wholesale changes to their squad this summer after announcing the departure of 14 players today including tw

World Cup-winning former All Blacks head coach Sir Graham Henry believes that New Zealand Rugby (NZR) should take a flexible approach regarding the eligibility of Japan-based Richie Mo’unga, Shannon Frizell and Brodie Retallick this summer. Henry, 79, was this week appointed as a NZR selector as new head coach Dave Rennie announced the legendary coach’s return to the All Blacks fold during his press conference in Auckland on Tuesday. The former Wales boss has had several shor

Former Wallabies scrum-half and World Cup runner-up Nick Phipps has left division two side NEC Green Rockets after four years in Japan. Ex-NEC captain Phipps, 37, made three appearances this year in an injury-hit season as Greg Cooper’s Chiba-based side, whose ownership and management will transfer from NEC to JR East Japan Railway Company in July, finished in fourth-place. The Australian stalwart made 36 appearances for the former division one side and is among an 11-strong

Blacks Rams Tokyo’s World Cup-winning captain TJ Perenara lauded Suntory Sungoliath full-back Cheslin Kolbe as one of the best players in the world ahead of their League One quarter-final next week. Perenara, who was speaking at the Japan Rugby League One (JRLO) Play-Offs Media Conference in Akihabara, Tokyo, on Thursday afternoon, identified the Springboks superstar - who finished the regular season as the top points scorer - as the greatest threat posed by their Tokyo rival

Suntory Sungoliath star Cheslin Kolbe believes he’s still developing as a player after helping the Fuchu side past rivals Black Rams Tokyo in a preview of the upcoming quarter-final between the two sides in two weeks' time. The 32-year-old double World Cup winner contributed 17 points in his team's 39-22 win in the final round of the regular season on Sunday to finish with a personal best haul of 185 points. South Africa’s pocket rocket’s try and 12 points from the tee saw hi

Newly-appointed New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Lancaster has reiterated the organisation's stance on the eligibility of overseas players and confirmed that Toshiba’s Richie Mo’unga will not be available for selection this summer. Back-to-back League One winner and MVP Mo’unga, 31, is in the final month of his three-year contract with Todd Blackadder’s Toshiba Brave Lupus and will return to New Zealand in June on an 18-month contract. The contract, which was announced

Blues playmaker Stephen Perofeta is set to become the latest All Black to quit New Zealand Rugby for a lucrative deal in Japan. Perofeta, 29, who won the last of his six All Blacks caps against Ireland in November 2024, will reunite with former Blues coach Leon MacDonald at Yokohama Canon Eagles who are captained by Springboks star Jessie Kriel. SportNation broke the story on Monday that the 2024 Super Rugby winner will move overseas at the end of the season as he joins a gro

Wallabies fly-half Noah Lolesio inspired Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi to a 34-27 win against Manie Libbok’s title-chasing Kintetsu Liners to seal the division two championship as the beaten Osaka side also missed out on the promotion play-offs. Newly-crowned champions Toyota Shuttles can look forward to a two-leg promotion/relegation play-off against Glenn Delaney’s Mitsubishi Dynaboars later this month. Surprise package Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks, who survived a relegation

Toyota Verblitz head coach Steve Hansen announced his resignation and took aim at the standard of refereeing in Japan after his team’s loss to Honda Heat in the final round of the regular season. World Cup-winning Hansen has stepped down with his co-coach and fellow ex-All Blacks boss Ian Foster taking over as head coach in Aichi from next season. Former Wales coach Hansen, who won the World Cup in 2015 with New Zealand, was appointed as the team’s Director of Rugby in 2019 a

Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu has credited his three-year stay with Yamaha Jubilo as turning his career around ahead of his move to Glasgow Warriors during the pandemic. Australia-born Tuipulotu, 29, who qualifies for Scotland through his Greenock-born grandmother, struggled to make his mark at Super Rugby side the Melbourne Rebels and accepted an offer to try and reinvigorate his career in 2018 at Yamaha (now Shizuoka Blue Revs) in the Top League (now League One). The tea

Honda Heat star Tevita Ikanivere, Shizuoka Blue Revs wing Semi Radradra and Toshiba Brave Lupus centre Seta Tamanivalu have been named in Fiji’s provisional 50-man squad for the inaugural Nations Championship. Fiji captain Ikanivere has starred in his first season in Japan with nine tries in 16 games for Kieran Crowley’s Suzuka-based side and will be expected to lead the talent-rich group picked by interim head coach Senirusi Seruvakula. © Fiji Rugby Ex-NRL star Radradra make

All Blacks XV back-rower Devan Flanders will leave Super Rugby leaders the Hurricanes this summer to join an unnamed Japanese side. Havelock North native Flanders, 26, made three appearances for Jamie Joseph’s All Blacks XV in November and, having played a key role for Clark Laidlaw’s table-topping side this season, was expected to be in contention for Dave Rennie’s All Blacks. The highly-regarded flanker, who has scored two tries in 10 appearances this year, is a product of