Round 5 of the Japan Rugby League One will see all Division 1 matches played on one day (Saturday 17th January), with Division 2 and 3 fixtures played across the weekend. It will be a sombre weekend in Kobe where Kobelco Kobe Steelers play the BlackRams for the annual Memorial match to mark the 31st anniversary of the 1995 Kobe earthquake.
Round 5 of the Japan Rugby League One will see all Division 1 matches played on one day (Saturday 17th January), with Division 2 and 3 fixtures played across the weekend. It will be a sombre weekend in Kobe where Kobelco Kobe Steelers play the BlackRams for the annual Memorial match to mark the 31st anniversary of the 1995 Kobe earthquake.
The semifinals of the 12th All Japan Women’s Rugby Football Championship will be held in conjunction with two NTT Japan Rugby League One 2025-26 matches over the weekend too:
Semi-Final 1 – Saturday, January 17th @ Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Baseball Stadium – YOKOHAMA TKM (Kanto Tournament Winners) vs Japan University of Economics Women’s Rugby Club AMATERUS (Kansai Tournament Runners-up) – Co-hosted with Yokohama Canon Eagles vs. Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights*
Semi-Final 2 – Saturday, January 17th @ Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium – PEARLS (Kansai Tournament Winners) vs Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars (Kanto Tournament Runners-up) – Co-hosted with Kobe Steelers vs. Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo*
Saturday January 17
Shizuoka Blue Revs vs Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara DynaBoars - Yamaha Stadium
Shizuoka BlueRevs are having a poor follow-up season to their best campaign yet, and have registered just the one win so far but will be banking on a second one this weekend against a side directly beneath them on the log in 9th.
Neither side has too many players topping the try or points scoring stats, but Brave Blossom capped Epineri Uluiviti for the Dynaboars is the Division’s leading ball carrier (66), and teammate Matt Vaega leads the clean breaks stats with 9.
For the hosts, Fijian star Semi Radradra has the most offloads (11), and Malo Tuitama has the second most clean breaks - suggesting an expansive and high scoring fixture.
Tokyo Sungoliath vs Mie Honda Heat - JIT Recycle Ink Stadium
6th-placed Sungoliath coach Kosei Ono will be expecting a huge response from his squad when they host the winless Mie Honda Heat. The Sungoliath lost after the hooter last week and had All Black Sam Cane sent off after two yellow cards.
Kieran Crowley’s Heat were 0-45 down in their defeat last week before some late tries, but they have conceded 149 points in the four losses this season - only 8 more than their opposition.
A pointsfest is on the cards, and with the roaming opposite fullbacks of Cheslin Kolbe for Sungoliath and Lomano Lemeki for the Heat, it could be a fun contest to watch for the neutral.
Urayasu D-Rocks vs Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo - at Tokyo (Chichibu)
Urayasu D-Rocks’ have put together three wins in their opening four matches and host 4th placed Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo (one position above them).
Some notable omissions for Graham Rowntree’s visiting team are the pairing of Wallaby Samu Kerevi, who leads the meters gained this season (382) and second most defenders beaten, and Israel Folau, while Springbok backrower Jasper Wiese (4th most carries) is among the replacements.
For the defending champions, Tjay Clarke has racked up the joint-third most tries with 4 (a hat trick last week), and Takeshi Sasaki leads the tackle completion stats (73).
Fly-half Richie Mounga starts again at ten and will run out opposite a fellow Kiwi in Otere Black for the D-Rocks.
Yokohama Canon Eagles vs Saitama Wild Knights - Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium
The Eagles have de-registered the injured Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk and signed NZ front rower Liam Colman (who is named among the reserves) as Head Coach Leon MacDonald continues to look for a first victory in his first season, but even at home, it’s unlikely to come against the high-flying Wild Knights, who sit on top of the division.
An unwanted record beckons if they lose, they would surpass the club’s previous worst run of defeats when they lost eight across the 2014-15 season.
History does not favour them either - it would be their 18th successive defeat against the Wild Knights if they do lose, and the club last beat the Wild Knights in 2013.
The log-leaders boast a tight defence, having only conceded 44 points thus far, while the Eagles have leaked 125. Their hooker and captain, Atsushi Sakate, still leads the season’s try scoring stats with 6 in a squad littered with talent across the backs and forwards.
Kobelco Kobe Steelers vs Black Rams Tokyo - Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium
Kobelco Kobe Steelers host the BlackRams for the annual Memorial match to mark the 31st anniversary of the 1995 Kobe earthquake, which on January 16, claimed 6434 lives. The Great Hanshin earthquake, which struck at a magnitude of 6.9, approximately 20 kilometres from Kobe, 31 years ago.
The in-form captain Brodie Retallick leads the 3rd-ranked hosts out and is hunting a fourth game in a row in which he has scored a try. The background has been in great form too, and both Tiennan Costley and Ardie Savea start (3rd and 2nd in the Division tackle completions), with a settled backline including Bryn Gatland, Anton Lienert-Brown, and Seungsin Lee.
The side’s Head Coach, Dave Rennie, has been talked about as a possible replacement at the All Blacks following the shock departure of Scott Robertson this week.
The visitors clutched a vital win last week to make ot two wins in a row and occupy 7th on the log, but face an uphill task this weekend, which has the potential to be an emotional one considering the history.
Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay vs Toyota Verblitz - Spears Edoriku Field
Kubota has decided to start Malcolm Marx off the bench for impact, but has a solid starting XV led by Bernard Foley, the leading points scorer in the division, at flyhalf. The hosts have not lost Saturday’s venue, and have recorded 21 wins in the League One over five seasons and are clear favourites.
The visitors are enduring another disappointing season considering their playing and coaching talent, and after blowing a 29-10 halftime lead last weekend against BlackRams Tokyo, they visit joint log leaders and unbeaten Kubota Spears at their Tokyo home base, Spears Edoriku Field in eastern Tokyo.
Despite their position on the log in 10th, flyhalf Rikiya Matsuda occupied third in the points ladder (34), and he will start off the bench alongside the quality of All Black Aaron Smith. Among the run-on squad, they can call on All Black Mark Telea (who scored his first tries for the club last weekend and tops the defenders beaten stats with 39), centre Siosaia Fifita, and powerhouse captain Kazuki Himeno at number 8. Springbok Pieter Steph Du Toit is absent for the second week in a row.
With just one win in four games, they will be hard-pressed to secure a second this weekend, considering Frans Ludeke’s side has scored the most points this season (207) with Haruto Kida scored the second most tries in Division 1 (5), and Steve Hansen’s side has the poorest defensive record, conceding 40.5 per game.
Saturday January 17
Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi v Nippon Steel Kamaishi Seawaves; at Aichi
RedHurricanes Osaka v Hanazono Kintetsu Liners; at Osaka
Sunday January 18
Hino Red Dolphins v Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks; at Tokyo (AGF Field)
Both undefeated sides in the Division, Hanazono Kintetsu Liners and Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks travel away this weekend so will we see a first loss for either of them? Unlikely as they will face the two bottom ranked teams in the Division.
Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi does boast the player with the second most points this season, James Mollentze (31) but he is just one ahead of Manie Libbok at the Kintetsu Liners. The Springboks’ team mate at the log-leaders, Tomoya Kimura, has the most tries this season (5).
If either side does slip up, it could open up a chance for third-placed Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi, who host the Kamaishi Seawaves.
Saturday January 17
Kurita Water Gush Akishima v SAYAMA SECOM RUGGUTS; at Tokyo (AGF Field)
Sunday January 18
Chugoku Electric Power Red Regulions v Le RIRO Fukuoka; at Yamaguchi
Second on the log, Rugguts head to play 4th-ranked Kurita Water Gush Akishima, while at the bottom of the table, Red Regulions host Le RIRO Fukuoka on Sunday. SAYAMA SECOM RUGGUTS Daniel Waite tops the points (52) and try scoring (3) charts in the Division.