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

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

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

Honda Heat star Tevita Ikanivere, Shizuoka Blue Revs wing Semi Radradra and Toshiba Brave Lupus centre Seta Tamanivalu have been named in Fiji’s provisional 50-man squad for the inaugural Nations Championship. Fiji captain Ikanivere has starred in his first season in Japan with nine tries in 16 games for Kieran Crowley’s Suzuka-based side and will be expected to lead the talent-rich group picked by interim head coach Senirusi Seruvakula. © Fiji Rugby Ex-NRL star Radradra make

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

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

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

Toshiba Brave Lupus’ standout centre Rob Thompson has been ruled out for six weeks after sustaining a broken finger in Saturday’s loss to Black Rams Tokyo in Kagoshima. Palmerston North product Thompson, 34, who has been playing the best rugby of his career this season, played the full 80 minutes in the back-to-back champions’ fourth consecutive loss. RugbyJP.com understands that the former Highlanders and Māori All Blacks midfielder will undergo surgery this week and then f

Japan teammates Warner Dearns and Mamoru Harada will go head-to-head on their respective Super Rugby debuts today as the Hurricanes host Moana Pasifika in Wellington. Wellington-born Brave Blossoms captain Dearns, 23, starts in the second-row as Clark Laidlaw’s Hurricanes open their campaign at home following a bye in round one. Harada, 26, comes into Pasifika’s 23 on the bench after being left out of their squad which stunned Fijian Drua on the road in Lautoka. The former To

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

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

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

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,

The fifth Japan Rugby League One season kicks off next week with a wave of new and returning stars such as Semi Radradra, Manie Libbok and Ardie Savea set to light up the competition. Fiji’s Olympic sevens champion Radradra is a new signing for title contenders Shizuoka Blue Revs while World Cup winner and Springboks star Libbok has joined second division side Kintetsu Liners. New Zealand’s 2023 World Player of The Year Savea has returned for a second spell at star-laden Kobe

Toshiba Brave Lupus superstar Richie Mo’unga returned to action on Saturday as the back-to-back League One champions defeated Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars 36-33 in their latest pre-season game in Fuchu. Two-time MVP winner Mo’unga, 31, who will return to New Zealand next summer, was making his first appearance since his starring role in the League One final win against Kubota Spears in June. “It felt awesome to be back playing, it’s been five months and nothing can prepare

Toshiba Brave Lupus superstar Richie Mo’unga returns to action on Saturday for the first time since steering his side to back-to-back League One titles in June. Mo’unga, 31, opened the scoring after five minutes with a sublime solo effort and added eight points from his boot to inspire the Fuchu team to an 18-13 win over Kubota Spears, despite playing with a broken hand. The 2023 World Cup runner-up, who won the Japan Rugby League One MVP award for the second season in a ro

Toshiba Brave Lupus’ head coach Todd Blackadder will manage talismanic captain Michael Leitch’s minutes next season after the Japan stalwart was an ever-present last term. The 37-year-old was an integral player as the Fuchu side retained their League One crown by conquering Malcolm Marx and Bernard Foley’s Kubota Spears 18-13 with player of the match Richie Mo’unga putting on a masterclass. Leitch, who led Japan to the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals in 2019 for the first t

Toshiba Brave Lupus fly-half Richie Mo’unga was approached by Tonga Rugby Union about a potential allegiance switch before he inked a new deal with New Zealand Rugby, RugbyJP.com can reveal. Back-to-back League One and MVP winner Mo’unga, 31, who last represented the All Blacks in the World Cup final loss to South Africa in 2023, was the subject of intense interest from Tonga, as RugbyJP.com revealed in February. RugbyJP.com © The mercurial seven-time Super Rugby winner tu