Leinster's all-time record try scorer James Lowe is set to replace Springboks star Cheslin Kolbe at League One outfit Suntory Sungoliath, according to Irish outlet The 42. New Zealand-born Lowe, 33, confirmed his departure from the provincial side after nine years in Ireland in a post on Instagram on Tuesday. The 45-cap international, who failed to agree new deal with the URC finalists, said: "I find it difficult to put into words what Ireland means to me. "It's become so

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

Kobe Steelers loose-forward Ardie Savea is eyeing League One glory against Kubota Spears on Sunday but admits his former club Moana Pasifika are still in his thoughts as uncertainty continues to surround the Super Rugby franchise's future. The 2023 World Rugby Player of the Year starts at openside flanker for Dave Rennie's side who are gracing the League One final for the first time. Table-topping Kobe, who are led by free-scoring captain Brodie Retallick, will face Bernard F

Kubota Spears overpowered defending champions Toshiba Brave Lupus 26-3 in the League One quarter-finals as Richie Mo’unga’s bid for an unprecedented 'three-peat' was ended by Bernard Foley and Malcolm Marx’s 2023 winners. In an absorbing encounter at Tokyo’s Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Frans Ludeke’s Kubota outmuscled their opponents up front and starved them off possession for long periods of the game to go some way to avenging last year’s loss in the final. Ex-Wallabies f

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

League One’s division one play-offs kick off on Saturday with TJ Perenara’s Black Rams Tokyo facing Sam Cane’s Suntory Sungoliath as World Cup winners and ex-All Blacks teammates clash at Tokyo’s Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium. The history-making Rams are making their first appearance in the top-flight post-season after former All Blacks centre Tabai Matson, who played for then-Top League side Yamaha Jubilo (now Shizuoka Blue Revs) from 2001 to 2006, impressively steered the To

World Cup-winning former All Blacks head coach Sir Graham Henry believes that New Zealand Rugby (NZR) should take a flexible approach regarding the eligibility of Japan-based Richie Mo’unga, Shannon Frizell and Brodie Retallick this summer. Henry, 79, was this week appointed as a NZR selector as new head coach Dave Rennie announced the legendary coach’s return to the All Blacks fold during his press conference in Auckland on Tuesday. The former Wales boss has had several shor

Blacks Rams Tokyo’s World Cup-winning captain TJ Perenara lauded Suntory Sungoliath full-back Cheslin Kolbe as one of the best players in the world ahead of their League One quarter-final next week. Perenara, who was speaking at the Japan Rugby League One (JRLO) Play-Offs Media Conference in Akihabara, Tokyo, on Thursday afternoon, identified the Springboks superstar - who finished the regular season as the top points scorer - as the greatest threat posed by their Tokyo rival

Blues playmaker Stephen Perofeta is set to become the latest All Black to quit New Zealand Rugby for a lucrative deal in Japan. Perofeta, 29, who won the last of his six All Blacks caps against Ireland in November 2024, will reunite with former Blues coach Leon MacDonald at Yokohama Canon Eagles who are captained by Springboks star Jessie Kriel. SportNation broke the story on Monday that the 2024 Super Rugby winner will move overseas at the end of the season as he joins a gro

Toyota Verblitz head coach Steve Hansen announced his resignation and took aim at the standard of refereeing in Japan after his team’s loss to Honda Heat in the final round of the regular season. World Cup-winning Hansen has stepped down with his co-coach and fellow ex-All Blacks boss Ian Foster taking over as head coach in Aichi from next season. Former Wales coach Hansen, who won the World Cup in 2015 with New Zealand, was appointed as the team’s Director of Rugby in 2019 a

All Blacks XV back-rower Devan Flanders will leave Super Rugby leaders the Hurricanes this summer to join an unnamed Japanese side. Havelock North native Flanders, 26, made three appearances for Jamie Joseph’s All Blacks XV in November and, having played a key role for Clark Laidlaw’s table-topping side this season, was expected to be in contention for Dave Rennie’s All Blacks. The highly-regarded flanker, who has scored two tries in 10 appearances this year, is a product of

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

Black Rams Tokyo captain TJ Perenara faced his long-time former All Blacks colleague Aaron Smith for possibly the last time on Sunday as the latter’s Toyota Verblitz prevailed 40-28 to keep alive their play-off hopes. Perenara, 34, has been the driving force behind the Black Rams’ impressive season with Tabai Matson’s fourth-placed team on the verge of booking a play-off spot for the first time in the League One era. The 89-cap All Black, an ever-present for the Rams in his s

Toshiba Brave Lupus flanker Shannon Frizell will return to New Zealand this summer as he targets an All Blacks return which officially ends Tonga and Wales' hopes of an unlikely allegiance switch. Two-time League One winner Frizell, 32, has put pen to paper on a one-year deal and will be available to play for Tasman in the NPC - the country's round-robin National Provincial Championship - which starts in July. The 33-cap loose forward could still be fast-tracked into the All

Generational rivals and World Cup winners Faf de Klerk and Aaron Smith are poised to face off for what could be the final time in their illustrious careers when Yokohama Canon Eagles host Toyota Verblitz on Saturday. South African stalwart De Klerk, 34, and All Blacks veteran Smith, 37, both start as the former's relegation-threatened Yokohama side look to make up ground on Steve Hansen’s Aichi outfit who are in eighth position. The fit-again Springboks ace, who joined his co

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

Yokohama Canon Eagles scrum-half Faf de Klerk’s sensational first half hat-trick helped the basement outfit to stun Dave Rennie’s leaders Kobe Steelers 38-29 and move out of the relegation play-off zone. The 34-year-old double World Cup winner marked his return from an ankle injury by helping Leon MacDonald’s lowly side to a surprise win away at Honda Heat a week ago. Yokohama’s fit-again Springboks star inspired his team to consecutive wins for the first time this season wit

Kobe Steelers fly-half Bryn Gatland believes his teammate and club captain Brodie Retallick is the best lock in the world. In-form Gatland, 30, who has matured in Japan into being a highly consistent and accurate playmaker, has scored 83 points this season for the new division one leaders. The former Chiefs fly-half, who was one of new All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie’s first signings at the club in June 2023, was full of praise for the 2015 World Cup winner as talk of a ret

Fit-again Yokohama Canon Eagles scrum-half Faf de Klerk starts on his return for the relegation-threatened club who travel to Tochigi to face Honda Heat on Saturday. The 34-year-old, who returned to Japan in February after receiving treatment in South Africa, has recovered from the ankle injury he sustained in their opening round loss to Shizuoka Blue Revs on 14 December. Leon MacDonald’s basement outfit has re-registered their Springboks star and - RugbyJP.com can exclusivel

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 -