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

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 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

Former Toulouse star Naoto Saito has replaced All Blacks centurion Sam Cane as Suntory Sungoliath’s captain for the 2026-2027 season. The two-time Top 14 winner, 29, has returned to Fuchu-based Suntory this summer after two seasons in France with star-studded Toulouse. Saito playing against Toyota in 2024 - © JRLO Saito captained Eddie Jones’ Japan to Pacific Nations Cup glory this month in the absence of Super Rugby winner Warner Dearns who was rested. The ex-Sunwolves scrum

New Japan national team assistant coach Glen Jackson will take a brief spell away from his role next year after agreeing a deal to coach California Legion in Major League Rugby (MLR). Former Fijian Drua head coach Jackson, who RugbyJP.com revealed had joined Eddie Jones’ coaching team in July, will leave his Brave Blossoms role from March to June 2027 before rejoining the national team through to the end of the Rugby World Cup in Australia. The former international referee’s

RugbyJP.com has compiled a 12-man list of high-profile Japan Rugby League One players who could potentially switch Test nations in the 2026/2027 season. Toyota's Mark Tele'a and Suntory's Kotaro Matsushima contest a high ball - © JRLO Notes: This is a list of players who have the possibility of changing nations (as it stands) providing they complete a mandatory three-year stand down period from their last Test match. All requests for a change in nationality are subject to app

Japan starlet Ryunosuke Ito’s first professional club will be Eddie Jones and Beauden Barrett’s ex-side Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath, RugbyJP.com can exclusively reveal. Meiji University fly-half Ito, 21, was a revelation for his country in the Nations Championship as he made his Test debut in the Brave Blossoms’ impressive season-opening win against Italy. The precocious Kanagawa native, who led his University side to All-Japan University Rugby Football Championship glory in Jan

Italy scrum-half Stephen Varney said it would be a great honour to play his club rugby in Japan one day after playing at a sold out Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in his country’s Nations Championship loss in Tokyo. Carmarthen-born Varney, 25, a fluent Welsh speaker who qualifies for the Six Nations side through his Italian mother, played 60 minutes in Gli Azzurri’s 27-10 defeat as they were overpowered and and outplayed by their impressive hosts. The former Gloucester number n

Former Fijian Drua head coach Glen Jackson is set to join Japan’s coaching team, RugbyJP.com can exclusively reveal. Fielding, New Zealand-born Jackson, 50, left the Super Rugby side by mutual consent in April just weeks after stepping away from his role as an assistant to the Fijian national team under Mick Byrne. © Fijian Drua The former Saracens and Chiefs fly-half, who had a spell as a Test referee post-retirement, attended Japan’s impressive Nations Championship victory

Former Toshiba Brave Lupus prop and recent Japan call-up Vea Taumoefolau is aiming to secure a Super Rugby contract after landing a deal with NPC side Tasman. New Zealand-born Taumoefolau, 24, a two-time League One winner, sent shockwaves through the Japanese scene when he left Toshiba in March due to personal reasons. The Kyoto Sangyo University graduate, who also qualifies for Tonga on heritage grounds, recently returned to action for amateur club Stoke Rugby in Nelson, New

Lyon-bound prop Opeti Helu said his dream is still to play for Japan at the Rugby World Cup in Australia next year after his switch from Kubota Spears to the Top 14 side was announced on Monday afternoon. Tonga-born former number eight Helu, 27, won his two caps for the Brave Blossoms in 2024, and revealed that he discussed his opportunity to play in France’s top tier with Japan head coach Eddie Jones before inking a one-year deal with Karim Ghezal’s team. “Eddie called me an

Japan prop Opeti Helu has signed for Top 14 side Lyon, his club Kubota Spears has announced today. Tonga-born Helu, 27, has spent seven years with the Funabashi side having joined in 2019 following a successful two-month trial. The hulking 6ft 3in, 127kg tight-head, who famously sidestepped All Blacks fly-half Damian McKenzie to score on his Brave Blossoms debut in 2024, has attracted a host of suitors this season and has opted to ink a deal with Karim Ghezal’s French side wh

Japan-qualified Top 14 wing Toshi Butlin is eying a move to a Japan Rugby League One club to kickstart his Test rugby career, according to French newspaper La République des Pyrénées. The 21-year-old Brisbane native has spent three seasons in French club Pau’s academy and scored three tries in his three senior appearances this season including a brace in the Champions Cup against the Scarlets. Ex-sprinter Butlin, who was in the Queensland Reds academy before leaving for Europ

Japan full-back Yoshitaka Yazaki has cut short his overseas excursion in Australia due to sustaining a minor knee injury, RugbyJP can exclusively reveal. Yazaki, who turned 22 in May, made his Brave Blossoms debut against England in 2024 and has won nine caps for his country despite still being a student at Waseda University. The Niigata-born starlet went out to Australia in April and has trained with Super Rugby side the ACT Brumbies on a daily basis. © Vikings Yazaki starte

Kenyan rugby starlet Andy Cole Omolo is set to move to Japan to join Tenri University on an educational scholarship. KCB Rugby Club’s highly-rated young lock, 21, has established himself as a key player for the Nairobi-based club, scooping multiple Player of The Match Awards this season and he has chipped in with eight tries in nine games. The former Chavakali High School standout, who will study International Relations in Nara Prefecture, captained Kenya’s u20 side at the Wo

Toshiba Brave Lupus fly-half Richie Mo’unga believes that the misfiring back-to-back champions can turn their fortunes around and hold on to a top six play-off spot as they cling on to hopes of a League One ‘three-peat’. Two-time MVP Mo’unga, 31, saw his side slip to a sixth consecutive defeat when Honda Heat’s Japan-qualified utility-back Dawid Kellerman kicked an 82nd minute penalty for a dramatic 24-22 win at Tokyo’s Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium on Sunday. “It's funny to s

Black Rams Tokyo’s Japan-qualified full-back Isaac Lucas has spoken of his desire to play Test rugby as his club closes in on achieving their best League One finish. The 27-year-old Brisbane native has been an ever-present for Tabai Matson’s high-flying side who are currently fifth in the table and are on the verge of clinching a top six play-off berth spot for the first time. Lucas played the full 80 minutes in their 37-33 triumph over play-off rivals Shizuoka Blue Revs in K

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

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

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