NEWSWORTHY
Cloud of uncertainty hovers over Top League
The New Year is traditionally a time for looking back on the past and looking ahead. And while the future may appear bright with the Rugby World Cup kicking off in nine months, there are a lot of people involved in the sport in Japan ...
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 ...
Kensuke Iwabuchi named Japan's rugby sevens national team coach
Kensuke Iwabuchi, the director of high performance for the national sevens teams, was named new head coach for the men's side, the Japan Rugby Football Union said Monday. The 42-year-old Iwabuchi will take over the job from Damian Karauna, whose contract expires at the end ...
Japan names 40-man training squad for Rugby World Cup
The Japan Rugby Football Union named a 40-man Rugby World Cup training squad Wednesday, the day after the nation marked 500 days to go until the tournament kicks off in Tokyo. Masahiro Kunda, director of the Japan national team, said in a press release the ...
JRFA unveils Top League schedule for 2018-19 season, details of new cup competition
The 2018-19 Japan Rugby Top League season will run from Aug. 31 to Dec. 15, the Japan Rugby Football Union announced Thursday, with a new cup competition to be held from Nov. 10 to Jan. 19. The Suntory Sungoliath, last year's league champions, and runners-up ...
Hitoshi Ono's hopes of playing 100 test matches were restored Tuesday when he was recalled to the Brave Blossoms for the June tests, the Japan Rugby Football Union announced. The 39-year-old lock, who has played 98 times for his country, was initially omitted from Jamie ...
Japan's June tests against Romania and Ireland will be played at 2019 Rugby World Cup venues in Kumamoto, Shizuoka and Tokyo, the Japan Rugby Football Union said Friday. Japan host Romania on June 10 at Kumamoto's Umakana-Yokana Stadium, which will be renamed Egao Kenko Stadium ...
University rugby teams to be left out of national championships
University rugby, the traditional center of the game in Japan, will no longer have a place in the national championships, the Japan Rugby Football Union decided on Wednesday. Starting next season, the championship will be contested by the first four finishers from the Top League ...
Kobe Kobelco Steelers lock Vakauta Isileli Nakajima was handed a 10-match ban by the Japan Rugby Football Union on Thursday for a tip tackle during last weekend's Top League game against the Kubota Spears. The 27-year-old Tongan-born graduate of Ryutsu Keizai University upended Kim Ho-bum ...
The Japan Rugby Football Union confirmed Wednesday the dates for the Brave Blossoms' tests against Romania and Ireland in June 2017. Romania visits Japan on June 10, with the Irish set for a two-test series on June 17 and 24. The venues for the three games ...
Japan sevens coaches Tomohiro Segawa and Keiko Asami have both stood down from their roles, the Japan Rugby Football Union announced Thursday. Segawa, who led the Japan men's team to a fourth-place finish at the Rio Olympics, will be replaced by New Zealander Damian Karauna. "My ...
Rugby legend Seiji Hirao died of bile duct cancer, his family revealed in a statement through the Japan Rugby Football Union on Tuesday. Hirao's family said the former Japan captain and head coach passed away at 7:16 a.m. last Thursday at the age of 53, ...
