The Japan Rugby Top League announced Monday it will go back to the future by moving its Jan. 16 season opener to the National Stadium, the centerpiece of the postponed Tokyo Olympics. The opening day battle sets up a rematch between Toshiba Brave Lupus' Michael ...
Michael Leitch says Japan must become 'One Team' to beat coronavirus
“One Team,” the slogan used by Japan's Brave Blossoms at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, was selected as the 2019 buzzword of the year. Now team captain Michael Leitch believes that the whole country needs to become “One Team” to overcome the COVID-19 crisis. Speaking to ...
Six months on, Brave Blossoms captain Michael Leitch reflects on historic World Cup
The New Zealand-born back rower became a symbol of the multicultural squad that achieved Japan's first-ever quarterfinal appearance at the tournament last fall.
Top League kicks off in front of big crowds
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 ...
Leitch wants to make sure rugby's current popularity remains high
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 ...
Sports, cultural events combine to provide spirited public unveiling of new National Stadium
The brand-new National Stadium, which will be the main venue for next summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, was introduced to the general public on Saturday for the first time since construction was completed late last month. A full-capacity crowd of 60,000 filled the stands a ...
Brave Blossoms express gratitude at Tokyo parade
Members of Japan's men's national rugby team marched through Tokyo's Marunouchi Naka-dori street on Wednesday in a parade held to express appreciation for the support they received from fans during the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Even though its been over a month since the end ...
Brave Blossoms captain Michael Leitch, yokozuna Hakuho and Yomiuri Giants manager Tatsunori Hara are set to run in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games torch relay after being nominated by municipalities in the nation's capital, a source on the organizing committee said Saturday. Each municipality in ...
Brave Blossoms' RWC quarterfinal brings back memories of rugby great Seiji Hirao
While Japan's first-ever quarterfinal match at the Rugby World Cup will be remembered as a new page in the sport's history, it will also serve as a time to revisit the accomplishments of former playmaker and coach Seiji Hirao who helped lay the foundation ...
Brave Blossoms coach Jamie Joseph says team is ready for physicality of Springboks
Japan head coach Jamie Joseph has warned his players to expect a brutal onslaught from South Africa's forwards when they go head to head in Sunday's Rugby World Cup quarterfinal. But the New Zealander also hinted that the Brave Blossoms could have a trick up ...
Japan captain Michael Leitch looking for All Blacks' help to beat Springboks
Japan captain Michael Leitch said Monday he would be asking for help from a trio of former All Blacks in the build-up to next weekend's Rugby World Cup quarterfinal with South Africa. "I am going to talk to Richard Kahui, Cory Jane and Stephen Donald ...
Brave Blossoms warn rivals 'there's more to come' after reaching Rugby World Cup quarterfinals
Japan's players allowed themselves a moment of satisfaction after beating Scotland to reach the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals for the first time on Sunday, but warned their next opponent, South Africa: "we're not finished yet." "We're not packing our bags and saying 'that's enough,'" said ...
