Kintetsu Liners fly-half Manie Libbok’s 13-game winning streak was ended by Toutai Kefu’s Kamaishi Seawaves on Saturday. Springboks star Libbok, 28, who won the 2023 World Cup in France, was on an unbeaten run for club and country which started in September 2025. The former Stormers man tasted defeat against the Wallabies in The Rugby Championship on Saturday August 16 when he started in the 10 jersey. In his next appearance, he came off the bench to add 13 points from the te

Division two side NEC Green Rockets has announced that their ex-Japan international Amanaki Lotoahea was arrested on suspicion of assault on Sunday March 8. Tonga-born centre Lotoahea, 35, who has eight caps for Japan after qualifying on residency grounds, has scored two tries in four appearances this season. The former Black Rams Tokyo back was arrested after reportedly assaulting a restaurant employee on the street in Shibuya while being intoxicated. Rotoahea was believed t

Shizuoka Blue Revs wing Valynce Te Whare has been ruled out for 10 months after being diagnosed with a ruptured ACL. The 25-year-old, who joined the club in 2024 after being released by NRL side the Dolphins, has starred on his return to the 15-man game with 14 tries in 28 appearances in League One. Te Whare scored in the 26-21 loss against Honda Heat on February 22 on the half-hour mark before injury struck with just six minutes left in the game. Shizuoka’s Waikato native -

Toshiba Brave Lupus’ standout centre Rob Thompson has been ruled out for six weeks after sustaining a broken finger in Saturday’s loss to Black Rams Tokyo in Kagoshima. Palmerston North product Thompson, 34, who has been playing the best rugby of his career this season, played the full 80 minutes in the back-to-back champions’ fourth consecutive loss. RugbyJP.com understands that the former Highlanders and Māori All Blacks midfielder will undergo surgery this week and then f

Japan head coach Eddie Jones has criticised World Rugby after the sport’s governing body issued a statement declaring the game is in a strong position following a 200-person Shape of the Game conference in London. The annual conference, which was attended by global rugby leaders including Japan Rugby Football Union Chairman Kensuke Iwabuchi, is “integral” to the body’s new strategic plan – which is yet to be unveiled – the International Federation announced. World Rugby annou

Newly-appointed All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie will remain with League One title contenders Kobe Steelers until the end of the season in June. Ex-Wallabies head coach Rennie, who led Kobe to a 78-19 win over Urayasu D-Rocks on Saturday, was unveiled by New Zealand Rugby (NZR) on Wednesday. The Upper Hutt native has signed on until the end of the 2027 World Cup in Australia where the All Blacks will face Australia, Chile and Hong Kong China in the group stage. An NZR press

Fit-again Japan star Dylan Riley returns to action for Saitama Wilds Knights on Saturday and will partner Damian de Allende for the first time this season against Honda Heat. Riley, 28, has recovered from a fractured finger that he sustained against Mitsubishi Dynaboars on 28 December, as RugbyJP.com exclusively revealed in January. The former Australia u20s international underwent surgery on his little finger which involved inserting k-wires to help repair the fracture. Ats

Former NRL star-turned pro wrestler Daniel Vidot will play for USA’s national rugby league side on Friday in Las Vegas having started his week by wrestling in Tokyo on Monday. Vidot, 36, who is known as Xyon in the squared circle, has become an established name in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) where he recently held the company’s prestigious tag team titles for 101 days with stable mate Oddyssey. The ex-Brisbane Broncos wing competed in an eight-man tag team match on Monday

League One title contenders Kobe Steelers have confirmed reports that defence coach Peter Murchie will join Wales’ national team at the end of the season. Dave Rennie’s once-beaten Kobe side handed Saitama Wild Knights their first loss of the campaign on Saturday to move second in the table at the halfway stage of the campaign. BBC Wales’ Gareth Griffiths reported on Sunday that Wales, whose head coach Steve Tandy has also been handling defensive duties, were set to move for

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