The JRLO Round 16 is the final round of the regular season, which will be followed with a bye week and then the semi-finals in Division One as well as The Replacement Battle promotion/relegation series, taking place on May 18 – this is our 2023-2024 JRLO Round 16 preview.
This weekend also coincides with the Golden Week holiday in Japan, so the last of the matches will be played on Monday.
This is also the final weekend of Japan Rugby League One in its current regular season format,
with next season welcoming three new sides as Secom Rugguts (Saitama), Yakult Levins (Toda)
and LeRIRO Fukuoka (Ukiha city) join.
The clubs will make their entrance in Division Three which means that Division Two grows to an eight-team section, while Division Three features six sides, and Division One remains a 12-team competition.
Division One JRLO 2023-2024 – Round 16 Fixtures
Saturday 4th May 2024
Kobelco Kobe Steelers head to Suzuka to face Mie Honda Heat and are looking to secure a 5th-place finish this season. They have won the last 11 against their opponents but will be without Ardie Savea although the All Black has made a significant impact this season.
Saturday’s match between fourth-placed Yokohama Canon Eagles and unbeaten top-of-the-table Saitama Panasonic Knights will be a preview of the semifinal clash to be played in mid-May 2024.
The former champions led by coach Robbie Deans have named a first-choice XV and his side’s record is enviable – last weekend’s win over Hanazono Kintetsu Liners was Saitama’s 86th from the team’s last 89 matches and 48 wins on the bounce in away regular season matches. The last time Canon beat Panasonic was in 2013 and the Eagles have lost 14 games to the Wild Knights by an average scoreline of 38-14.
Toyota will be annoyed at losing last weekend to a post-hooter try against Toyota Verblitz and coach Keisuke Sawake will know it’s a match they could have won.
Outgoing champions Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay will want to end the season on a high and they have a few departing internationals to send off. Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath will want to change their momentum and avoid heading into the semi-finals on the back of three winless weekends too.
Sadly, Dane Coles, who retires after this season, won’t be involved due to a hamstring injury but he managed ten appearances this campaign and has thoroughly enjoyed his time in Japan.
- Mie Honda Heat v Kobelco Kobe Steelers; at Suzuka, 12.10pm
- Yokohama Canon Eagles v Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights; at Oita, 2.05pm
- Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath v Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay; at Tokyo, 2.30pm
Sunday 5th May 2024
The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars will be chasing a sixth win of the campaign at Hanazono Kintetsu Liners, and are on course for a ninth-place ranking, which is an improvement of the last campaign. The Liners will look to end the regular season on a high before heading into the Replacement Battle.
Suntory’s semi-final opponents, Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo, should have Richie Mo’unga back for the visit to Shizuoka Blue Revs with the hosts suffering a heavy defeat last weekend after heading into the loss on a bounce of 5 undefeated fixtures. The loss means they will be targeting an 8th finish – which is the same as last season.
Toyota Verblitz head to play Black Rams and chase an unlikely 6th place finish this season, knowing too that former NZ coach Ian Foster will be joining next season, while Beauden Barrett leaves the club to head back to New Zealand.
- Hanazono Kintetsu Liners v Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars; at Osaka, 12pm
- Shizuoka Blue Revs v Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo; at Shizuoka, 2pm
- Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo v Toyota Verlitz; at Tokyo, 2.35pm
Brief highlights of all JRLO matches will be available here.
All times shown are Japan local time.
Division 2 JRLO 2023-2024 – Placement Fixtures
By the end of the weekend, the Replacement Battle in each of the Divisions will be confirmed.
Those at the bottom end of Division One will see who they face in the Replacement Battle after the top-of-the-table Division 2 clash between Urayasu D-Rocks’ and NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu on Monday.
D-Rocks coach Johan Ackerman has hardly had the services of Israel Folau and Samu Kerevi this campaign but will want to see who in the squad will step up to help them earn promotion.
Unless the Green Rockets are heavy winners, the final game of the series will see D-Rocks,
take on Division One’s bottom-placed team, and the Wayne Pivac-coached Green Rockets should face the Black Rams.
- Sunday May 5 – Red Hurricanes Osaka v Kyushu Electric Power Kyuden Voltex; at Osaka, 2.30pm
- Monday May 6 – Urayasu D-Rocks v NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu; at Miyagi, 12pm
Division 3 JRLO 2023-2024 – Round 15 Fixtures
Kurita Water Gush Akishima and Mazda Sky Activs Hiroshima play to determine the challenger to Japan Steel Kamaishi Seawaves’ spot in next year’s Division Two.
Hino Red Dolphins and Shimizu Corporation Koto Blue Sharks will meet in the final game of the Division Three season on Sunday, and even though they are the top two sides in the Division 3, they will play only for bragging rights after The Red Dolphins, confirmed the title two weeks ago.
- Saturday May 4 – Kurita Water Gush Akishima v Mazda SkyActivs Hiroshima; at Kanagawa, 2.30pm
- Sunday May 5 – Hino Red Dolphins v Shimizu Corporation Koto Blue Sharks; at Tokyo, 2.30pm
How To Watch JRLO
Matches from the JRLO can be seen in Africa on ESPN Africa, as well as in New Zealand via TVNZ, and in some regions on World Rugby’s global rugbypass.com website.
At the start of 2024, the Japan Rugby League One also announced to fans in Asia that they will be able to watch on Malaysian TV streaming provider, Astro, with matches on Astro SuperSport channel!
Some fixtures will also now be streamed on RugbyPassTV but won’t be available in certain territories.
The full fixture list for this JRLO season can be seen here.
Japan Rugby League One 2023-2024
- JRLO 2023-2024 Round 15 Preview.
- JRLO 2023-2024 Round 13 Preview.
- Ardie Savea – Playing Rugby In The JRLO Has Been A Blessing.
- Rugby Life At JRLO Side Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay – Bernard Foley, Dane Coles & Liam Williams.
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