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EXCLUSIVE – Crusaders captain David Havili to join Toshiba
Crusaders captain and All Black David Havili will join two-time League One champions Toshiba Brave Lupus, RugbyJP.com understands. Havili, 31, has spent his entire Super Rugby career with the Christchurch-based powerhouse franchise and this year’s semi-finalists announced on Tuesday that he will be taking up a new opportunity in Japan. The 32-cap All Black finished the season strongly in red and black and is proud of the legacy he will leave behind at incoming head coach Scot

Mark Pickering
Jun 242 min read


Urayasu D-Rocks coach’s son signs for Stade Francais
Urayasu D-Rocks assistant coach Isaac Ross’ teenage son Stanley Ross has signed for French giants Stade Francais. Ex-All Black Ross, 41, who spent nine seasons as a player with Urayasu (then NTT Shining Arcs), is currently part of Graham Rowntree’s coaching team at the division one side. The former Crusaders second row hails from a family blessed with an extraordinary rugby pedigree with his father Jock an All Black tourist in 1981 while his mother Christine Ross played for t

Mark Pickering
Jun 142 min read


Toshiba’s Mo’unga previews Kubota quarter-final and hails Boks ace Marx
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

Mark Pickering
May 242 min read


NZR chief rules Toshiba’s Richie Mo’unga out of South Africa tour
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

Mark Pickering
May 112 min read


Exclusive - Richie Mo’unga open to possible Japan return in 2028
Toshiba Brave Lupus fly-half Richie Mo’unga believes that he is returning to New Zealand as a better player and is open to a possible return to Japan in 2028. The 31-year-old has won back-to-back titles and MVP awards and, while the champions have not reached the same level as their two title-winning campaigns, they’re narrowly holding onto the last play-off spot with two games to go. Mo’unga and All Blacks teammate Shannon Frizell, 32, who will also return home to become eli

Mark Pickering
May 13 min read


Richie Mo’unga reacts to Toshiba's six game losing streak
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

Mark Pickering
Mar 253 min read


EXCLUSIVE: Richie Mo’unga reacts to Robertson’s All Blacks exit
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

Mark Pickering
Jan 202 min read


Kubota’s Bryn Hall tips Mo’unga to return to Japan after 2027 World Cup
Kubota Spears scrum-half Bryn Hall has tipped Toshiba Brave Lupus fly-half Richie Mo-unga to return to Japan after his third tilt at a...

Mark Pickering
Aug 16, 20253 min read


I'm lost for words - Toshiba's Tamanivalu on his Fiji recall
Toshiba Brave Lupus centre and ex-All Black Seta Tamanivalu has been named in Fiji’s 30-man squad for the 2025 Pacific Nations Cup. The...

Mark Pickering
Aug 11, 20252 min read


Toshiba’s MVP Richie Mo’unga to return to New Zealand in 2026
Toshiba Brave Lupus' double League One winner and back-to-back MVP Richie Mo’unga will return to New Zealand in 2026 after completing his...

Mark Pickering
Aug 7, 20252 min read
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