Japan

World Rugby has confirmed the qualification  model for Rugby World Cup 2023. The France-hosted tournament will be a 20-team competition, operating on the same model as that of Japan 2019. As was the case in RWC 2019, RWC 2023 has eight qualifying slots. The eight successful teams will join the …

The Sunwolves time in Super Rugby has concluded. The Japanese franchise have officially played their final match in the competition with 2020 being the franchise’s final season. Their was a project for the Sunwolves to play in Australia’s upcoming competition. The domestic tournament will include Australia’s Super Rugby franchises the …

In the 2016 November Internationals Argentina played a rare four four matches. The first of these was against Japan in Tokyo. It followed a disappointing Rugby Championship campaign and came before matches in the UK. Los Pumas entered as favorites, though the Brighton Miracle meant that a strong showing was …

The pandemic pause button was hit just before the New England Free Jacks were set to host their first ever Major League Rugby match in Weymouth. Making it doubly untimely was that several of the team’s best players were just returning to the lineup from injury. The Boston faithful will …

Japan is set to be promoted to Tier 1 status by Bill Beaumont. The reelected World Rugby Chairman made the promise to Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU), reports Nikkei Rugby. The upcoming announcement is expected within days. For Japan this is to represent a turning point, akin to when Argentina …

International competition is healthy within the Americas. The Americas Rugby Championship and Americas Rugby Challenge have enhanced test rugby within the region. The upcoming introduction of promotion and relegation will only advance rugby in the region further. A vital part of the international calendar are the incoming and outgoing tours, …

Ballymore at Brisbane, Australia, was the setting for the USA Eagles’ first ever RWC match. The game was a Pool 1 fixture against Japan in RWC 1987. With Australia and England also in the group, both the competition teams on the day were in a must-win encounter. In the build-up …

Kamaishi may yet host Canada vs Namibia. The Japanese city was to play host to the fixture on Sunday October 13, 2019. However, the match was cancelled as a result of Typhoon Hagibis. This saw both Canada and Namibia playing three rather than four pool matches each at RWC 2019. World …

Canada’s lead-in to Rugby World Cup 1999 began in Tokyo, where they took on hosts Japan in front of 13,000 fans at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium on May 1. It was the opening match of the revised Pacific Rim Championship, with six countries competing in the round-robin format that would …

USA international Andrew Durutalo has been named to an All-Time Sunwolves XV selected by Super Rugby. The team was chosen using the same statistical model employed for the competition’s weekly XVs, and ranked the former Eagles back row as the best openside flanker for the Japanese franchise. Durutalo spent just …