NEWSWORTHY
Jamie Joseph to step down as Sunwolves coach before Rugby World Cup
Japan coach Jamie Joseph will stand down as head coach of the Sunwolves in the build-up to Rugby World Cup, forcing the Super Rugby side to put a new person in charge for the fourth time in as many years. Speaking at a news conference ...
Intense season awaits Top League
The 2018-19 Top League season kicks off Friday with plenty of changes to the format both on and off the field as the Japan Rugby Football Union looks to do all it can to ensure the Brave Blossoms are at their peak when Japan ...
Japan needs to act now to capitalize on 2015 RWC success
I think there have been some amazing developments and some not-so-amazing developments in Japanese rugby since the 2015 Rugby World Cup. When I look at the young players coming through from university now, their physical development has improved close to 80 percent. Players now are ...
Japanese national team selects training camp sites for World Cup
Hokkaido's Abashiri and Miyazaki have been selected as training camp sites for the Japan national team for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, the Japan Rugby Football Union announced on Wednesday. Both are familiar cities to the Japanese rugby community and fans as they have long ...
Jamie Joseph says Japan 'on track' for quarterfinals at 2019 Rugby World Cup
Japan rugby head coach Jamie Joseph said Wednesday his team is capable of making history by reaching the quarterfinals at next year's World Cup. The 2019 tournament host blanked Georgia 28-0 last weekend to complete a busy month of home tests with a second victory ...
Japan stunned Georgia with a mature performance based on physicality in difficult conditions Saturday as it ran out a 28-0 winner at Toyota Stadium. In front of a small but vocal crowd of 14,776 at one of the 12 Rugby World Cup 2019 venues, and ...
Japan captain Michael Leitch said Friday the Brave Blossoms would need to match Georgia's physicality if they are to come away from their final test of the season with a win. "We will always play our fast game but defensively we have to match them. ...
Brave Blossoms forced to make changes ahead of clash against Georgia
Japan coach Jamie Joseph named a much-changed side Thursday for Saturday's clash with Georgia at Toyota Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, with injuries sidelining a number of players. Five days after falling to Italy in their second test to even that series, Joseph has made seven ...
Fan excitement gaining momentum for 2019 Rugby World Cup
Rugby fans in Kobe believe excitement is growing ahead of next year's Rugby World Cup, with the national team's first-ever test match in the city on Saturday helping to turn up the volume. "I think little by little the atmosphere is building," 54-year-old Japan fan ...
Italy holds off Brave Blossoms
Japan fell just short of a second straight win over Italy despite a furious second-half fightback on Saturday in a 25-22 defeat to the Azzurri in the first rugby test match ever to be played in Kobe. Italy began the match looking for revenge after ...
Former Japan coach Sir John Kirwan has high hopes for Brave Blossoms after team's win over Italy
All Blacks great Sir John Kirwan said Sunday that watching Japan beat Italy 34-17 at a stadium that will host five Rugby World Cup games next year was "like a dream come true." The 53-year-old, who coached both Italy and Japan before returning to New ...
Japan conjured a hat trick of magical scores to floor Six Nations side Italy 34-17 on Saturday in the first game of their two-match rugby series. The Brave Blossoms, who finished with four tries to Italy's two, produced moments of breathtaking skill as Amanaki Mafi, ...
