Rugby Jan 14, 2021
On Tuesday, the JFRU said 24 players and staff at Canon Eagles, 13 from Toyota Verblitz, and seven from Suntory Sungoliath tested positive in preseason screening.
Rugby Jul 31, 2020
Former All Blacks Ben Smith, Aaron Cruden bound for Steelers
Former All Blacks Ben Smith and Aaron Cruden will join the Kobe Kobelco Steelers in the Japan Rugby Top League next season, the club announced Friday. Smith, who boasts 84 caps for New Zealand, was a member of two consecutive World Cup sides, winning the ...
Rugby Mar 12, 2020
Steelers' Dan Carter to undergo neck surgery, miss stint with Racing 92
Kobe Kobelco Steelers flyhalf Dan Carter revealed Tuesday he will undergo neck surgery and is unable to rejoin his former club Racing 92 to finish out the French first-division season as he had planned. "I'm incredibly disappointed that I won't be able to join Racing ...
Rugby Feb 23, 2020
The Kobe Kobelco Steelers stayed unbeaten in the Japan Rugby Top League thanks to Sunday's comprehensive 57-0 win over Toshiba Brave Lupus. Todd Blackadder's Brave Lupus came into the game at Universiade Memorial Stadium with just one loss. But they were outplayed in all departments ...
Rugby Feb 2, 2020
Five-try Taumua Naeata powers Steelers in rout of Red Hurricanes
Tongan No. 8 Taumua Naeata scored five tries as Top League champions Kobe Kobelco Steelers remained unbeaten after four rounds with a 97-0 win over NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes on Sunday. A week after the Steelers were denied a bonus-point win in their bruising encounter ...
Rugby Jan 26, 2020
Dan Carter kicked 15 points as Kobe Kobelco Steelers, the Japan Top League defending champions, won a scintillating rematch with last season's runners-up Suntory Sungoliath 35-29 on Sunday. Tries by Ryohei Yamanaka, Tom Franklin, Fraser Anderson and Richard Buckman allowed the champions to overcome an ...
Rugby Jun 12, 2019
All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick signs with Top League's Kobelco Steelers
All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick, the 2014 World Rugby Player of the Year, has signed a deal with the Kobe Kobelco Steelers, the Top League team said Wednesday. Retallick will join the Steelers after this year's Rugby World Cup in Japan, where New Zealand will ...
Rugby Feb 18, 2019
Steelers' Dan Carter returning to Racing 92 for rest of Top 14 season
Kobe Kobelco Steelers flyhalf Dan Carter will finish out the rest of the French first-division season with his former team Racing 92, the Top 14 club revealed Sunday. The Japanese team said Carter will return to Japan to play for Kobe after the Top 14 ...
Rugby Dec 16, 2018
Dan Carter wrapped up his first season in Japan by claiming the Top League MVP award Sunday. A day after helping his team to the league title, the Kobe Kobelco Steelers playmaker was also named Top Kicker with an 86.2 percent success rate, though he ...
Rugby Dec 15, 2018
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 ...
Rugby Dec 8, 2018
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 ...
Rugby Dec 2, 2018
Verblitz down Wild Knights, Kobe ease past Ricoh to reach semis
Toyota Verblitz and Kobe Kobelco Steelers are set to meet in the Japan Rugby Top League semifinals following two contrasting quarterfinals on Sunday. Clinton Swart scored a try, created two more, and kicked four penalties along with two conversions, as Jake White's Toyota ran out ...