The Panasonic Wild Knights and Toshiba Brave Lupus maintained their unbeaten starts to the Japan Rugby Top League season on Saturday with wins over the Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars and Honda Heat, respectively. Panasonic made it three bonus-point wins from as many games as it thrashed ...
Brave Blossoms star Kenki Fukuoka sets sights on Tokyo Olympics
Rugby World Cup star Kenki Fukuoka said Saturday he was relieved to score a try in his final 15s match of the season as he shifts his focus toward this summer's Tokyo Olympics. "I'm happy and relieved," Fukuoka said after his Panasonic Wild Knights defeated ...
Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen remains winless in the Japan Rugby Top League after his Toyota Verblitz side were beaten 40-20 by Robbie Deans' Panasonic Wild Knights in front of 37,050 at Toyota Stadium on Saturday. Kenki Fukuoka, playing his final 15s game of ...
The Panasonic Wild Knights on Friday announced the departure of Japan scrumhalf Fumiaki Tanaka and winger Akihito Yamada from the Top League club. In a major personnel shakeup for the Ota, Gunma Prefecture-based Wild Knights, Australian flyhalf Berrick Barnes, a two-time Top League MVP, will ...
Japan hooker Shota Horie focused on rehab following foot surgery
Japan hooker Shota Horie said Thursday he underwent surgery on his right foot in November to treat a stress fracture. Horie, who plays for the Top League's Panasonic Wild Knights, is expected to return to the field by this autumn's Rugby World Cup, having been ...
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 ...
Seven squads secure playoff berths on pivotal day in Top League
Seven teams confirmed their places in the playoffs to determine the Japan Rugby Top League champion Saturday as the pool stage reached its penultimate round. Yamaha Jubilo, the Panasonic Wild Knights, Ricoh Black Rams and Kubota Spears will all progress from the White Conference, while ...
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 Wild Knights on Saturday signaled their intentions to bring the Japan Rugby Top League trophy back to their clubhouse in Ota, Gunma Prefecture, as they beat Yamaha Jubilo 15-0 at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground. Having finished third and second the last two seasons, ...
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 ...
Suntory Sungoliath were crowned Top League champions for the fifth time on Saturday thanks to a 12-8 win over Panasonic Wild Knights at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground. "That was the best we have played all season," said Suntory coach Keisuke Sawaki, whose side not ...
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 ...
