Rugby

While the All Blacks and Wallabies were doing their bit to woo Japanese rugby fans at last weekend's Bledisloe Cup match at Nissan Stadium, another group of Antipodean rugby players were in Japan doing an equally important job. Children from Lindfield Rugby Club in Australia ...

New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen on Thursday told his new-look All Blacks to "trust your instincts" after naming his team for Saturday's test against Japan. "The reason you've been selected as an All Black in the first place is because you're a good rugby ...

Harumi Okuno pours another batch of octopus-filled batter into the round hollows of the hot griddle and looks out of the serving hatch toward the rugby stadium at the end of the street. "Even if people here didn't play rugby when they were kids, once ...

Australia and New Zealand fans are already looking forward to next year's Rugby World Cup after getting a taste of the atmosphere in Saturday's Bledisloe Cup game in Yokohama. "It will be bedlam," said New Zealand fan Brian King, who traveled to Japan to watch ...

New Zealand completed a Bledisloe Cup clean sweep of Australia on Saturday with a 37-20 win at the venue where the 2019 Rugby World Cup final will be held. The world champion All Blacks, who had already clinched the series by the time they arrived ...

Japan staged a late comeback but came just short against the World XV on Friday night, losing 31-28 in a thrilling curtain raiser at the refurbished Hanazono Rugby Stadium. With the hooter having already sounded, the Brave Blossoms were camped inside the World XV 10-meter ...

New Zealand already own the Bledisloe Cup after winning the series' first two games, but the Wallabies will still be fully motivated for Saturday's test. Despite both sides promising intensity on the pitch, the test is not expected to fill Nissan Stadium. A spokesman for ...

The Wallabies and All Blacks named their sides Thursday for the upcoming Bledisloe Cup game at Yokohama's Nissan Stadium. Despite being a dead rubber after New Zealand won the first two games of the series, both teams have named strong sides for Saturday's rematch of ...

With preparations going smoothly and everything seemingly well on track off the field for a successful Rugby World Cup 2019, it's now time to see if Japan's preparations on the field are going just as well. The Brave Blossoms play four games in the coming ...

If Australia and Japan are to beat the All Blacks in the coming weeks when they meet in Yokohama and Tokyo, respectively, they will have to defeat a side which, by its own admission, can "still get better and smoother in some areas." New Zealand ...

The All Blacks and Wallabies set very high standards when it comes to their rugby, and judging by comments over the last two days, Japan's position as host of Rugby World Cup 2019 is getting an A grade as far as off-the-field preparations are ...