Saitama Wild Knights and Japan star Dylan Riley has become the latest Brave Blossoms international to join award-winning Japanese sports nutrition and supplement brand HALEO. South Africa-born centre Riley, 29, is a key player for club and country, winning 43 caps for his adopted nation who he qualifies for on residency grounds. The former Australia u20s international, who scored the match-winning try in the inaugural Japan Rugby League One final in front of 33,000 fans in 20

Former Ospreys and Wales u20s centre Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler could be a potential bolter for Eddie Jones' Japan squad for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia. The Neath-born midfielder, 26, made his debut for the Ospreys at 18 in the Anglo Welsh Cup and went on to make 57 appearances for the Swansea-based region. © JRLO Thomas-Wheeler, who stands at 6ft 4in and weighs 16 stone, scored a match-winning try for Wales against New Zealand at the 2019 World Rugby u20s Championship a

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

Meiji University fly-half Ryunosuke Ito has shone for Japan in his three Nations Championship appearances as Brave Blossoms coach Eddie Jones has successfully unearthed his latest wonderkid. Ito caught the eye with an assured Japan debut as the hosts impressively beat Italy 27-10 at a sold out Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Tokyo in the opening round of the new tournament. © JRFU Fourth-year student Ito, 21, pulled the strings in a plucky Brave Blossoms display against Irela

Japan head coach Eddie Jones has revealed that French star Emmanuel Meafou turned down an approach to represent the Wallabies during the Australian’s short-lived second stint in charge of his country. Jones, 66, tried to entice the then-uncapped New Zealand-born lock Emmanuel Meafou, who grew up in Australia, to represent the Wallabies when he was reappointed to the Wallabies hotseat in 2023 for their ill-fated World Cup campaign. Meafou was already a starter at Top 14 giants

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

Japan captain Warner Dearns has revealed that he turned down an approach to switch allegiances to represent his native New Zealand after a title-winning Super Rugby campaign with the Hurricanes. Dearns, 24, who will win his 33rd cap for the Brave Blossoms in Saturday’s Nations Championship clash against Italy, confirmed that he was approached about the possibility of standing down from Test rugby for three years in order to become eligible for New Zealand. © JRFU The Toshiba

Japan has named Meiji University fly-half Ryunosuke Ito to make his Brave Blossoms debut against Italy in the opening round of the inaugural Nations Championship on Saturday. Ito, 21, shone against the Māori All Blacks last week despite the hosts suffering a second half collapse and being edged out 38-31 as Eddie Jones served the penultimate game of his suspension. The highly-rated youngster, whose older brother Kotaro, 24, plays at fly-half for Black Rams Tokyo, will play th

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 captain Warner Dearns and Moana Pasifika hooker Mamoru Harada will both return to Japan Rugby League One duty next season, their parent club Toshiba Brave Lupus officially announced on Thursday. Hurricanes lock Dearns, 23, has been a standout performer for Super Rugby’s title contenders while fellow Brave Blossoms international Harada, 27 - who was named as his country’s co-captain last year before withdrawing from the Pacific Nations Cup due to injury - has struggled f

Japan head coach Eddie Jones faced the media for the first time since being handed a six-week suspension by the Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) as he discussed his 35-man squad selection on Wednesday afternoon. The former Wallabies head coach's suspension was lifted on 5 June but he still will miss the Brave Blossoms' opening Nations Championship game against Italy (4 July) following comments he made to an official during Japan u23’s trip to his homeland in April. Jones ope

New All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie and former World Player of The Year Ardie Savea signed off from Japanese rugby by leading Kobe Steelers to the League One title as they beat Kubota Spears 22-13 on Sunday. All Black-laden Kobe, who were led by talismanic captain and player of the match Brodie Retallick, proved to be too strong for Frans Ludeke’s Kubota side who were missing World Player of The Year Malcolm Marx who was ruled out with a biceps injury. © JRLO Kubota have n

South African lock Lood de Jager returned from a seven-month injury lay-off to help Saitama Wild Knights defeat Sam Cane’s Suntory Sungoliath 26-19 in League One's third-place play-off. The 33-year-old made his first appearance of the season having recovered from hip surgery following South Africa’s end-of-year tour in 2025. Fit-again de Jager played 56 minutes in the penultimate club game of the Japanese season to hand the Springboks a major boost heading into a congested su

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

Japan Rugby Football Union has named forwards coach Neal Hatley as their Deputy Head Coach on a temporary basis after suspending Eddie Jones for six weeks. The JRFU announced a 33-man Japan XV squad today for games against a Hong Kong China representative side in Oita this month and the Māori All Blacks in Nagoya on 27 June Former Bath forwards coach Hatley, who joined the Brave Blossoms coaching ticket in 2024, leads the Japan XV development team and was listed as Deputy Hea

Japan head coach Eddie Jones has criticised Ireland’s ‘power play’ in moving their Nations Championship fixture from Japan to a neutral venue in Newcastle, Australia. The Brave Blossoms launch their campaign in the new 12-team Tier 1 competition against Italy at Tokyo’s Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium on Saturday 4 July. Their round two 'home' tie against Ireland will take place in Australia rather than Japan, it was announced at the end of April. “You know why we’re playing Ire