The Japan Rugby Top League's first season after Japan hosts this year's Rugby World Cup will begin on Jan. 12, the league announced Friday. All 16 teams will play each opponent once in a round-robin format with the league championship handed to the points leader ...
JRFU's bewildering plans for Top League reform spark skepticism, opposition
The news that the Japan Rugby Top League is to undergo reform following this year's World Cup should have been met with heraldic fanfare, given the nation's recent entry into the Reiwa Era. But having spoken to a number of coaches, players and longtime observers ...
The Kobe Kobelco Steelers claimed their second Japan Rugby Top League title Saturday with a 55-5 drubbing of Suntory Sungoliath at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground. The game also doubled as the All-Japan Championship final and saw Kobe — whose only previous league win came ...
Yamaha Jubilo head coach Katsuyuki Kiyomiya said Tuesday he will retire at the end of the Japan Rugby Top League season. "I'm proud of this club. It has grown into a club worthy of pride," Kiyomiya said following training at the team's base in Iwata, ...
Matt Giteau's Suntory Sungoliath and Dan Carter's Kobe Kobelco Steelers will play for the Japan Rugby Top League crown after winning their respective semifinals Saturday in Tokyo and Osaka. Giteau kicked a 42-meter penalty in the fifth minute of sudden-death extra time — just the ...
Suntory Sungoliath will play Yamaha Jubilo for a spot in the Japan Rugby Top League final after both sides won hard-fought quarterfinals on Saturday. Suntory held on by the skin of its teeth to beat the Kubota Spears 28-26 at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, ...
Panasonic pounds Honda, moves closer to clinching playoff berth
The Panasonic Wild Knights maintained their unbeaten run in the Japan Rugby Top League with a 41-12 victory over the Honda Heat on Saturday at Nishikyogoku Athletic Stadium. Veteran scrumhalf Fumiaki Tanaka was at the heart of the Panasonic effort, forcing a number of turnovers ...
Panasonic coach Robbie Deans fumes over video referee's performance
Panasonic Wild Knights coach Robbie Deans gave a scathing review of the television match official at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground on Saturday as complaints about officiating in the Japan Rugby Top League once again overshadowed the rugby on display. "He didn't rule on 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 ...
The Panasonic Wild Knights and Suntory Sungoliath will face off in the Japan Rugby Top League final following two contrasting semifinals Saturday at Yanmar Stadium Nagai. Panasonic, which finished the regular season unbeaten and atop the White Conference, beat Toyota Verblitz 17-11, while defending champion ...
The Suntory Sungoliath booked themselves a spot in the playoffs to determine the Japan Rugby Top League champions on Saturday thanks to a 28-13 win over the NEC Green Rockets. The victory at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground means Keisuke Sawaki's team cannot finish outside ...
Sungoliath clobber Sanix Blues for seventh consecutive victory
The defending Japan Rugby Top League champion Suntory Sungoliath picked up their seventh straight win Saturday as they topped Munakata Sanix Blues 45-0 at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground. Keisuke Sawaki's side, which has not lost in the league since Dec. 26, 2015, made the ...
