Japan Rugby League One 2025-26 Round 3 Review

A 29-point haul from veteran Wallaby flyhalf Bernard Foley, alongside 11 tries, has allowed Kubota Spears to romp
to their third straight win in Japan Rugby League One after the Frans Ludeke-coached outfit dismantled Tokyo
Sungoliath 79-20 in the battle of two unbeaten teams.
No one could have foreseen the extent to which yesterday’s contest would deteriorate into such a mismatch when
the Spears led just 8-6 after 20 minutes.
The competitive element to the afternoon didn’t last.
Despite fielding a playing roster that featured South African star Cheslin Kolbe, former All Black skipper Sam Cane,
Wallaby veteran Sean McMahon, and nine past or present Japanese representatives, the big names counted for
little as Sungoliath was torn apart.
The second quarter saw Kubota run in four tries, with All Black Shaun Stevenson completing a double, which
propelled the Spears to a 39-6 advantage at the break, leaving the remainder of the game as an exercise in
damage limitation for Sungoliath.
It is not something they did well, with the Spears continuing to run amok, scoring a further six tries.
Foley’s haul, which was made up of a try and 11 goals from 14 attempts, was a personal best in Japan for the 36-
year-old, who was the leading individual point-scorer in League One three seasons ago when the Spears claimed
their maiden title.
Saitama Wild Knights are the section’s other unbeaten side and hold top spot on the standings by point’s
differential, with Atsushi Kanazawa continuing the fine start to his debut as head coach after his side made it three
from three following a 33-3 win over Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars.
After a hattrick last week against Urayasu D-Rocks, the coaches’ namesake, hooker Atsushi Sakate, added a further
two tries to his ‘collection’ today, while Wallaby winger Marika Koroibete scored his second in as many weeks as
the Wild Knights achieved an eighth consecutive win over the Dynaboars.

After an eight-game stretch where they bounced between win and loss, Kobelco Kobe Steelers have finally put
back-to-back wins on the board, following up last week’s win over Mie Honda Heat with a comprehensive 49-29
success against Toyota Verblitz to claim third on the rankings.
The win was Kobe coach Dave Rennie’s third against the Steve Hansen-coached Verblitz since the pair resumed
their rivalry from the Bledisloe Cup, where Rennie had headed the Wallabies, while Hansen and his Toyota
assistant Ian Foster oversaw the All Blacks.
The irony won’t have been lost on the Verblitz bosses at fulltime after Kobe’s All Black trio of backrower Ardie
Savea, centre Anton Lienert-Brown and second rower Brodie Retallick were at the forefront of the win.
Savea, who had scored four tries against Hansen’s Toyota during his first stint in League One two years ago,
bagged a double this time, while Lienert-Brown and Retallick also featured on the scoresheet.
The only blot for the home side on an otherwise almost perfect day was the concession of two tries in the game’s
final moments which, while not threatening their try-scoring bonus point, did leave a slightly misleading scoreline.
Kwagga Smith’s Shizuoka BlueRevs suffered the upset of the weekend as they were beaten at home 34-21 by
Urayasu.
The ‘Graham Rowntree’ effect already appears a positive one for D-Rocks, who have won twice in three matches
under the Englishman, after winning just three games in the whole of the last regular season.
BlackRams Tokyo gained their first win, while leaving Heat still searching for theirs, after All Black scrumhalf TJ
Perenara’s men edged a tight contest where the lead changed hands four times, 32-28.
Springbok second-rower Franco Mostert and Fijian test hooker Tevita Ikanivere were try-scorers for Honda, who
have now lost 12 regular season games in a row.
Yokohama Canon Eagles are the only other side in the section yet to celebrate a win after today’s 41-19 defeat by
Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo.
Division Two saw Nippon Steel Kamaishi Seawaves continue their wretched run at home, with Toutai Kefu’s side
blowing a 17-3 halftime lead in their 22-17 loss to Kyushu Electric Power Kyuden Voltex.
The ‘Iron Man of the North’ has won just four of 22 regular season home matches since the advent of League One
five years ago.

Japan Rugby League One Round Three Results

Division One

Saturday December 27
BlackRams Tokyo 32, Mie Honda Heat 28; at Saga
Kubota Spears 79, Tokyo Sungoliath 20; at Tokyo (Chichibu)
Kobelco Kobe Steelers 49, Toyota Verblitz 29; at Hygo
Sunday December 28
Urayasu D-Rocks 34, Shizuoka BlueRevs 21; at Shizuoka
Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo 41, Yokohama Canon Eagles 19; at Tokyo (Chichibu)
Saitama Wild Knights 33, Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars 3; at Kanagawa

Division Two
Saturday December 27
Kyushu Electric Power Kyuden Voltex 22, Nippon Steel Kamaishi Seawaves 17; at Iwaki
Japan Rugby League One now breaks for the New Year’s holiday and will resume in all three Divisions on

January 10.