Dual-code star Mark Nawaqanitawase has arrived in Japan to join his new club Saitama Wild Knights as he completes his eagerly-awaited return to the 15-man game. Nawaqanitawase, 26, scored two tries in his NRL send-off as he helped the Sydney Roosters edge Newcastle Knights 19-18 in a dramatic Grand Final last month. © Sydney Roosters Since then, the former Waratahs wing wizard has announced that he will make a decision regarding his Test rugby future next year with the possib

World Player of The Year Malcolm Marx will leave League One runners-up Kubota Spears when his contract expires at the end of the 2026-2027 season to return to South Africa, his club announced on Friday. Marx, 32, has scored 41 tries in his 68 appearances for Frans Ludeke’s Funabashi-based club since joining them in 2021 from NTT Shining Arcs (now Urayasu D-Rocks). In action against Honda in April - © The 2023 League One winner, a losing finalist in 2025 and 2026, is currently

Former Toshiba Brave Lupus prop Vea Taumoefolau is set to be reunited with his ex-teammate Richie Mo’unga after joining the Crusaders for the 2027 Super Rugby season. New Zealand-born Taumoefolau, 24, was named in the JRFU’s provisional 55-man national team squad in February for the first time before his shock departure from Toshiba in March due to personal reasons. In action v Shizuoka in December © JRLO The former number eight, who remains eligible for Japan, New Zealand, S

New Fiji head coach Jake White is an admirer of cross-code superstar Mark Nawaqanitawase and told RugbyJP.com that he’d be ‘completely and utterly happy’ if the wing wizard were to switch his allegiance to represent the island nation. Former Toyota Verblitz head coach White, 62, won his return to Test rugby as Fiji avenged their Pacific Nations Cup final loss to Japan by spoiling Eddie Jones’ team's low-key 100th anniversary celebrations in Tokyo on Saturday. © RugbyJP We ask

Springboks star Kurt-Lee Arendse is aiming to power last season’s basement outfit Mitsubishi Dynaboars to a play-off spot next season after being unveiled for his second spell with the club. The 30-year-old World Cup winner enjoyed a strong campaign with Glenn Delaney’s Sagamihara-based side in the 2024-2025 season, scoring seven tries in 12 games and helping the club to a ninth-place finish. © RugbyJP.com Arendse, who attended Japan’s game against Fiji on Saturday with teamm

Former Fiji head coach Mick Byrne has linked up with Japanese side Shizuoka Blues Revs for a short-term role as a guest coach. The 67-year-old left his position with the Flying Fijians in April after mutually parting ways with Fiji Rugby Union. Australian veteran Byrne has been brought in by Shizuoka head coach Yuichiro Fujii as a skills coach for their ongoing training camp in Nobeoka, Kyushu. © Shizuoka Blue Revs The 2025 play-off quarter-finalists, who have lost club capta

Japan fly-half Ryunosuke Ito will miss the Nations Championship’s Northern Hemisphere stage to play for Meiji University in the Kanto University Intercollegiate Championship. Ito, 21, made headlines in July when he made his Brave Blossoms debut as a student against Italy. The fourth-year student pulled the strings in his first pro rugby game and now, with just seven caps to his name, has locked down Japan’s number 10 jersey in the absence of Kobe Steelers standout Lee Seung-s

Fijiana starlet Josifini Neihamu, the younger sister of Japan and Toshiba Brave Lupus wing Jone Naikabula, has signed for the Mie Pearls, RugbyJP.com can exclusively reveal. Inside-centre Neihamu, 22, burst onto the international stage at the women’s World Cup last year and was nominated for the World Rugby Women's 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year award. Neihamu on the attack for Fiji - Picture courtesy of Fiji Rugby The Vagadra, Nadroga native, who like her dynamic brothe

Toshiba Brave Lupus newcomer Aphelele Fassi is relishing the start of the League One season in December after sampling the free-flowing Japanese game in his club debut against Saitama Wild Knights. The Springboks flyer showcased his electric counter-attacking pace, his ability to split open defences and his trustworthy boot in the club’s 55-40 win against the inaugural League One winners on Saturday. Fassi, 28, an exciting summer arrival from the Sharks, came off the bench to

Honda Heat wing Tevita Li is set to qualify for Japan and hand Brave Blossoms head coach Eddie Jones another option in a problem position for the Pacific Nations Cup winners, RugbyJP.com understands. Auckland native Li, 31, has plied his trade in Japan since 2020 after leaving the Highlanders to join Suntory Sungoliath during the Top League era. In action against his old club Suntory last season - © JRLO The former New Zealand U20 international made a surprise move to Honda i

Former Glasgow Warriors number eight Jack Dempsey helped his new club Toshiba Brave Lupus Musashi to a win in their first pre-season game against rivals Saitama Wild Knights on Saturday. Dempsey, 32, has joined the 2024 and 2025 League One champions on a lucrative four-year deal and has been training with his new employers since August. The former Wallaby was signed as a replacement for All Black Shannon Frizell who returned to New Zealand in June after a three-year stay in J

Shizuoka Blue Revs captain Kwagga Smith has left the club by mutual consent in order to pave the way for the two-time World Cup winner to return to South Africa. The 33-year-old, who is currently recovering from surgery on his left knee, asked the club for his release and the Yamaha-operated club today announced that they have terminated his contact. © JRLO Smith joined Shizuoka (then Yamaha Júbilo) in 2018 and, after 78 appearances, has established himself as as a club legen

Former Japan captain Pieter Lappies Labuschagné has been appointed as a defence coach for one of the game’s most renowned schoolboy rugby powerhouses in Bloemfontein. Labuschagné, 37, who left Kubota Spears in June after 10 seasons with the Funabashi-based club, will be part of a new-look coaching team for his former college’s u15 team. Ex-Portugal forward Nelio de Sa and Shimlas assistant coach Chase Morison will join the former Sunwolves loose forward after being recruited

Rugby league’s showpiece event, the quadrennial men’s and women’s World Cup tournaments, kicked off on Thursday and Friday respectively and can be seen live in Japan on Premier Sports Asia. The men’s competition launched with a thrilling clash between the Kangaroos and Kiwis with the hosts securing a last-gasp 24-22 win in front of 41,255 fans in Sydney. Brisbane Broncos full-back Reece Walsh on the attack - Australian Kangaroos © Australia’s dream start also extended to the

Former NRL star and WWE wrestler Daniel Vidot is eying an upset when USA’s Hawks rugby league national team faces Wales at The Wern in Merthyr Tydfil on Saturday. Brisbane-form Vidot, 36, who burst onto the scene as a teenager at Canberra Raiders in 2009, scored 55 tries in 114 appearances in the NRL and represented Samoa at the Rugby League World Cup in 2013. The former Brisbane Broncos wing called time on his highly-lucrative league career in 2017 - at the age of just 27 -

Saitama Wild Knights-bound wing wizard Mark Nawaqanitawase has commented on his return to rugby union for the first time since his agent suggested that the dual-code star could switch allegiance to represent Fiji or Italy next year. Sydney-born Nawaqanitawase, 26, scored a brace to help the Sydney Roosters to a dramatic 19-18 NRL Grand Final win over Newcastle Knights on 4 October in the final game of his two-year deal. Sydney Roosters © The former Waratahs star last represen

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) star Xyon has been named in USA Rugby League’s national team squad to travel to play Wales on Saturday 17 October. The former AJPW World Tag Team Champion is part of an 18-man team announced for the International Test Match in Merthyr Tydfil. Submitted to RugbyJP.com Brisbane native Xyon, 36, who played over 100 games in the National Rugby League (NRL), was granted permission by AJPW to play for his adopted country of USA who he qualifies for ba

Japan head coach Eddie Jones believes that their super-fast brand of rugby can make the Brave Blossoms the team that everyone wants to watch at the 2027 Rugby World Cup. Jones’ vastly-improved side has turned a corner this year, winning their first Pacific Nations Cup (PNC) title since 2019 following hard-fought 20-15 win against Fiji in September. The 2019 Rugby World Cup quarter-finalists had made a dream start to the inaugural Nations Championship by beating Italy 27-10 in

Japan Rugby League One side Urayasu D-Rocks will give away 30,000 free tickets for their history-making games at Tokyo’s National Stadium in 2027. Urayasu are coached by former England international Graham Rowntree and their talented squad includes Wallabies internationals Samu Kerevi and Jordan Petaia, Super Rugby winner Devan Flanders, a summer recruit from the Highlanders, and Springboks powerhouse Jasper Wiese. Kerevi in action against Saitama - © JRLO The NTT Communicati

Former NRL star Daniel Vidot has backed the Australian Rugby League Commission’s tentative plans to stage a Global Round game in Japan in 2028. Tokyo-based Vidot, 36, who played over 100 games for Canberra Raiders, St. George Illawarra, Brisbane Broncos and Gold Coast Titans, is now one of the leading international attractions for the flourishing All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion. © Brisbane Broncos The former Samoa international-turned pro wrestler is excited to see the game