Sam Whitelock, Damien de Allende headline exodus from Panasonic
The Panasonic Wild Knights officially bid farewell Monday to veteran New Zealand lock Sam Whitelock and South African center Damien de Allende as part of an exodus of overseas players from the Japan Rugby Top League club. Whitelock, a World Cup winner in 2011 and ...
England's George Kruis and Wales' Hadleigh Parkes sign with Panasonic
England lock George Kruis and Wales center Hadleigh Parkes have joined Panasonic Wild Knights, the Japan Rugby Top League club said Monday. The pair will replace Sam Whitelock, a World Cup winner in 2011 and 2015 with New Zealand, and Damien de Allende, a member ...
Former Wallaby, Top League MVP Berrick Barnes announces retirement
Ricoh Black Rams back Berrick Barnes, a two-time Japan Rugby Top League MVP capped 51 times by Australia, announced his retirement from rugby on Friday, saying his body was no longer up to the task. The news, posted on the club's website, sees the 33-year-old ...
A late brace by substitute Taiki Koyama earned the Panasonic Wild Knights their fifth bonus-point win of the season, a 46-27 victory over the Toshiba Brave Lupus on Saturday. The late charge at Kumagaya Sports and Culture Park, enabled by a steady stream of defensive ...
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 ...
