The rate of try-scoring in this season's 2025-2026 Japan Rugby League One is surpassing most previous seasons, and the combined crowd attendance in Japan’s top rugby union league has now surpassed 521,040 this campaign.
The rate of try-scoring in this season's 2025-2026 Japan Rugby League One is surpassing most previous seasons, and the combined crowd attendance in Japan’s top rugby union league has now surpassed 521,040 this campaign.
The high-scoring fixtures have not reduced the level of competitiveness amongst the top sides in the JRLO, which also sees forwards top the try scoring lists in Division 1.
Former All Black Brodie Retallick (Kobelco Kobe Steelers) on top of the charts after 8 rounds with 9 tries, followed by flanker Maxi Faulua (Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay) and Atsushi Sakate (Saitama Wild Knights) on 8 tries. Both Faulua and Sakate are Category A players who can represent Japan. 21 players have scored 4 tries or more after 8 rounds.
The top two sides in Division’s first four and a half seasons, Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo and Saitama Wild Knights, have scored exactly the same number of tries from their 73 regular season games since the League began in 2022, each having dotted down 374 times.
Saitama Wild Knights – 374 tries in 73 matches @ 5.12 per game
Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo – 374 tries in 73 matches @ 5.12 per game
Kubota Spears – 370 tries in 73 matches @ 5.06 per game
Kobelco Kobe Steelers - 366 tries in 73 matches @ 5.01 per game
Tokyo Sungoliath – 330 tries in 72 matches @ 4.38 per game
Yokohama Canon Eagles – 312 tries in 73 matches @ 4.27 per game
In 473 matches in the JRLO up to the end of Round 7, 3567 tries have been scored at an average of 8.16 tries per match, and none of the five seasons has dipped below an average of 7 tries per game.
Critics might point to the free-flowing and tryfest nature of the JRLO as being “less than”, but Super Rugby in its heyday enjoyed such success for the same reasons in creating high-tempo rugby and offered great entertainment, which helps grow the fan base and the game in Japan.
Season One (2022) – 672 tries in 96 matches @ 7.00 per game
Season Two (2022/23) – 756 tries in 96 matches @ 7.87 per game
Season Three (2023/24) – 848 tries in 96 matches @8.83 per game
Season Four (2024/25) – 949 tries in 108 matches @8.78 per game
Season Five (2025/26) – 342 tries in 41 matches @8.80 per game
Defensive performances are what allow the top teams to succeed, though, despite the attacking DNA of the JRLO
The Wild Knights have the best defensive record to date in the current season, with an average concession of 14.42 points after seven rounds, and they have been the most effective defensive team twice in the four completed JRLO seasons.
Ironically, the best defensive team from the regular season has never gone on to win the title from the four completed seasons to date.
Saitama Wild Knights – 1381 points in 73 matches @ 18.91 per game
Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo – 1840 points in 73 matches @ 25.20 per game
Kubota Spears – 1635 points in 73 matches @ 22.39 per game
Tokyo Sungoliath – 1791 in 72 matches @ 24.87 per game
Yokohama Canon Eagles – 1909 in 73 matches @ 26.15 per game
Kobelco Kobe Steelers – 2236 points in 73 matches @ 30.63 per game
Over the past three finals, there has been an average of 50,000 in attendance for each Division JRLO final, and the finals have tended to be close affairs with winning margins of five-points (2025), six, four and two points respectively.
The league confirmed the venues for the NTT Japan Rugby League One 2025-26 Playoff Tournament Final, 3rd Place Match and Semi-Finals, with the MUFG Stadium (National Stadium) to host the final for the fifth consecutive season on Sunday, June 7th 2026, with a capacity of 67,000.
The 2025-26 playoff tournament quarterfinal format changes this season, meaning that the teams with the highest league results (3rd and 4th place) will be able to host and operate their own matches, whereas in the past they were held at neutral venues
Quarterfinal 1 (4th place D1 League vs. 5th place D1 League) on Saturday, May 23rd
Quarterfinal 2 (3rd place D1 League vs. 6th place D1 League) on Sunday, May 24th
The two semi-final matches and the third-place match will be held at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium (capacity of 27,000).