The two titans of the Japanese club game will play out the next instalment of their trilogy, when Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights take on Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath on the opening day of the season in Japan on Saturday.
With the 2024/25 Japan Rugby League One season kicking off this weekend for round one, there will be plenty of foreign players to watch out for.
With the Japanese League One season getting underway this weekend, former All Blacks coach Ian Foster has talked publicly about how Rugby League convert Joseph Manu is finding the transition to the 15’s game.
The start of a new Japanese rugby season will provide the Wallabies' hierarchy with more than passing interest as the countdown to the British & Irish Lions tour begins.
Australia U20s captain Toby Macpherson has completed a loan move to Japan for the 2024/25 season.
Japan Rugby League One chairman Genichi Tamatsuka says his league is the 'perfect preparation' for elite international rugby on the back of an intense summer of rugby in the Rugby Championship and Pacific Nations Cup.
Sydney Roosters utility Joseph Manu is leaning on the likes of Quade Cooper and Sonny Bill Williams for some rugby advice.
With the semi-finalists and Replacement Battle (promotion/relegation series) candidates all but sorted, the final round of the regular season in Japan Rugby League One, which kicks off on Saturday, will be as much about individual goals as it will be team ones, for many of the players involved.
Wallabies five-eighth Bernard Foley has bagged 17 points, including his third try in four weeks, to spark a spectacular revival by Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay as they beat Mie Honda Heat 61-24 in Japan Rugby League One.