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Toyota Verblitz’s two-time World Player of The Year Pieter-Steph du Toit has been withdrawn from Japan Rugby League One to undergo surgery in South Africa.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

Saitama Wild Knights centre Dylan Riley will be out of action for at least 12 weeks after undergoing surgery for a fractured finger. Japan ace Riley, 28, sustained the injury in the 33-3 win against Mitsubishi Dynaboars on 28 December, leaving the field seven minutes into the second half. The former Australia u20s international, who was rested for season-opening demolition of champions Toshiba in round one, has undergone surgery on his little finger which involved inserting k

Japan Rugby League One returns this weekend for the fourth round of the competition and first set of fixtures in 2026. Urayasu D-Rocks (6th) v Yokohama Canon Eagles (12th) Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo - 12.00 KO   The top-flight action kicks off on Saturday with Graham Rowntree’s vastly-improved Urayasu D-Rocks hosting ex-All Black Leon MacDonald’s basement outfit Yokohama Canon Eagles. Chiba-based Urayasu only won three games in the entire 18-round regular season in 2

New Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars fly-half Shun Miyake is still committed to chasing his dream of playing for the All Blacks despite leaving New Zealand to play in League One for the first time. Kobe-born Miyake, who turned 24 on Sunday, started playing rugby at Ashiya Rugby School at the age of five and boldly moved to New Zealand on his own as a teenager to accelerate his development and to experience a different culture. Miyake immersed himself in the game in Christchurc

Yokohama Canon Eagles’ Springboks star Faf de Klerk has returned to South Africa to receive treatment after suffering a serious injury in the round one game against Shizuoka Blue Revs on 14 December. The 34-year-old double World Cup winner went down just 32 minutes into the new season after attempting a tackle on wing Valynce Te Whare and was replaced 90 seconds later by Kazufumi Yamasuga. Yokohama announced earlier this week that their injury-hit scrum-half, who has been lin

Two of Japan Rugby League One’s heavy-hitters collide in round two in a star-studded showdown between Steve Hansen’s Toyota Verblitz and ‘Brighton Miracle’ number 10-turned head coach Kosei Ono’s Suntory Sungoliath at the 49,970-capacity Ajinomoto Stadium on Saturday. The game will air live in the UK on Premier Sports from 5.25am (KO 5.30am) with English commentary. RugbyJP.com has four reasons why the anticipated clash, which has a habit of producing a nail-biting and high

Saitama Wild Knights flanker Lachlan Boshier would welcome a call-up by Eddie Jones to play for Japan next year. Boshier, 31, who starred in Saitama’s 46-0 demolition of champions Toshiba on Sunday with a try-scoring and industrious display, spoke for the first time since qualifying for Japan on residency grounds. The ex-New Zealand u20s international left the Chiefs to join Saitama in 2022 and helped the Kumagaya outfit to win the inaugural League One title in his first seas

Toshiba Brave Lupus’ back-to-back MVP Richie Mo’unga said Sunday’s 46-0 whitewash by rivals Saitama Wild Knights was his worst defeat since he was playing under 8s rugby. Mo’unga, 31, is aiming to sign off from Toshiba this season by winning a third consecutive League One title but their ‘three-peat’ ambitions got off to a humiliating start as they were routed by inaugural champions Saitama Wild Knights. The manner of the defeat - Toshiba’s worst in the history of League One,

Urayasu D-Rocks' star centre Samu Kerevi is aiming for a Wallabies recall in 2026 as he aims to represent Australia at a third successive World Cup in 2027. Kerevi, 32, last played for his country in November 2024 against Wales in the Autumn Nations Tour and was shown 20-minute a red card for  a dangerous tackle on Jac Morgan. Despite impressing last season for basement outfit Urayasu with 14 tries in 16 appearances and beating 76 defenders (third highest in the league), t he