Rugby
Michael Hooper has stepped down as captain of the New South Wales Waratahs for the next Super Rugby season but hopes to continue as Wallabies captain under new head coach ...
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Rugby World Cup 2019, Japan
Host cities, Prefectures and stadiums
Schedule
Rugby
Kenki Fukuoka pulls out of Olympic rugby sevens camp with knee injury
Brave Blossoms World Cup star Kenki Fukuoka has pulled out of an upcoming training camp for Japan's Olympic rugby sevens squad because of a knee injury, the Japan Rugby Football ...
Rugby
Saracens vow to win back trust after accepting relegation punishment
European champion Saracens vowed Sunday to win back the trust of the rugby world after accepting their stunning relegation from the English Premiership. The Premiership title holders were told on Saturday ...
Rugby Jan 19, 2020
Berrick Barnes kicked eight points to lead Ricoh Black Rams past Munakata Sanix Blues 18-16 on Sunday for their first win of the Japan Top League season. The former Wallaby and 2013-2014 Top League MVP for Panasonic Wild Knights opened the scoring with two early ...
Rugby Jan 19, 2020
Brave Blossoms star Kenki Fukuoka sets sights on Tokyo Olympics
Rugby World Cup star Kenki Fukuoka said Saturday he was relieved to score a try in his final 15s match of the season as he shifts his focus toward this summer's Tokyo Olympics. "I'm happy and relieved," Fukuoka said after his Panasonic Wild Knights defeated ...
Rugby Jan 18, 2020
Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen remains winless in the Japan Rugby Top League after his Toyota Verblitz side were beaten 40-20 by Robbie Deans' Panasonic Wild Knights in front of 37,050 at Toyota Stadium on Saturday. Kenki Fukuoka, playing his final 15s game of ...
Rugby Jan 12, 2020
Top League kicks off in front of big crowds
by Rich Freeman
The 2019-2020 Japan Rugby Top League season kicked off Sunday with a plethora of world superstars and Rugby World Cup winners playing in front of big crowds across the nation. The season was pushed back five months to accommodate last year's World Cup and will ...
Rugby Jan 10, 2020
The Brave Blossoms, who reached the quarterfinals of last year's Rugby World Cup in Japan, will play host to Wales on June 27, both nation's rugby unions announced Friday. Wales is eager to continue its engagement with Japan after reaching the semifinals last year and ...
Rugby Dec 27, 2019
Former Ospreys boss Steve Tandy named Scotland's new defense coach
Scotland has appointed former Ospreys boss Steve Tandy as its new defense coach after announcing earlier Friday that head coach Gregor Townsend's deputy Matt Taylor had been allowed to join Australia with immediate effect. Scottish Rugby also announced it had hired former France prop Pieter ...
Rugby | ADDING THE EXTRAS Dec 27, 2019
Matching magic moments to karaoke classics in a historic year for Japan rugby
by Rich Freeman
With the bōnenkai (year-end party) season in full swing, it is time to look back at a special year of rugby in Japan while also trying to predict what the future holds. And what better way to do it than in traditional karaoke style with ...
Rugby Dec 25, 2019
Top League hoping to ride Rugby World Cup wave in 2020
by Kaz Nagatsuka
After the enormously successful Rugby World Cup, Japan's domestic Top League will try to take full advantage in the uptick of interest in the sport during its upcoming season, which kicks off across the country Jan. 12. Top League chairman Osamu Ota, speaking at ...
Rugby Dec 25, 2019
Leitch wants to make sure rugby's current popularity remains high
by Kaz Nagatsuka
Since the staging of a successful Rugby World Cup this year, the popularity of the game has been at an all-time high in Japan. This, however, wasn't an entirely new experience for star Michael Leitch and some of his Brave Blossoms teammates. The Japan national ...