2024-2025 JRLO Round 2 Preview

rugbyasia247 Posted On December 26, 2024

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Our JRLO 2024-2025 JRLO Round 2 Preview for matches which are played on December 27 and 28 2024 in Japan across all three divisions.

JRLO Chairman Genichi Tamatsuka said “There is great excitement and a strong sense of anticipation in our country as for the fourth edition of Japan’s club rugby showcase…. We are grateful to the many international stars who are coming to play in Japan and spreading the word to their contemporaries, and fans, about the wonderful experience they have, the high standard of rugby, and the opportunity that exists for their countrymen to join Japan Rugby League One.”

The Growth of Japan Rugby League One by Chief Operating Officer Hajime Shoji added “The excitement created by the new members, and their willingness to meet the stipulations required to join, are a great sign as to the base the league is establishing, on the world rugby landscape, but also in the competitive Japanese sport ecosystem.”

Feature Photo Credit: JRLO – Bernard Foley in round 1 of the JRLO 2024-2025 season

Results Round 1

Online Twitter account Tier 2 Rugby summed it up best by adding that in Division 1, 3 out of 6 games were won with scores in the final play, the same number of matches were within a converted try points difference, and that 5 out of 6 matches the team winning by halftime, lost.

Division 1

Mie Honda Heat 23-21 Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo; at Suzuka
Shizuoka Blue Revs 15-13 Kobelco Kobe Steelers; at Shizuoka
Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath 12-33 Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars 31-19 Urayasu D-Rocks
Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay 30-27 Toyota Verblitz; at Tokyo
Yokohama Canon Eagles 21-28 Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo; at Kanagawa

Division 2

Hanazono Kintetsu Liners 20-24 Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi
Kyushu Electric Power Kyuden Voltex 27-23 Japan Steel Kamaishi Seawaves
Hino Red Dolphins 24-25 Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks
NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes Osaka 34-13 NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu

Division 3

Chugoku Electric Power Red Regulions 26-61 Mazda SkyActivs Hiroshima
LeRIRO Fukuoka 17-25 Yakult Levins Toda; at Fukuoka
SECOM Sayama Rugguts 24-15 Kurita Water Gush Akishima

Division One JRLO 2024-2025 – Round 2 Fixtures

Saturday 28 December 2024 – All times shown are Japan local time.

Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo v Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath; at Tokyo, 1pm
Urayasu D-Rocks v Shizuoka Blue Revs; at Kumamoto, 1.05pm
Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights v Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay; at Kumagaya, 2.30pm
Toyota Verblitz v Mie Honda Heat; at Gifu, 2.40pm

Black Rams Tokyo and Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath start the action and both come opening round losses in the season. Head Coaches Tabai Matson (Black Rams) and Kosei Ono (Sungoliath) will have seen some positives last week but will both be hunting for a win to kickstart the campaign. Ono will know his Sungoliath can’t afford two yellow cards like last week.

Suntory are without Sam Cane and Cheslin Kolbe for this weekend, while Black Rams see Isaac Lucas starting with TJ Perenara and have Amato Fakatava available.

Shizuoka Blue Revs only won six matches last season but they came away with a win on the opening weekend, as they reversed a 63-19 thrashing by Kobelco Kobe Steelers last season with a 15-13 win in the last play of the game. They will be confident as they head to play Urayasu D-Rocks this weekend. The hosts last lost weekend even with star power in their backs as both Israel Folau and Samu Kerevi featured.

One of the interesting matchups will be Kwagga Smith for the Shizuoka Blue Revs taking on Japser Wiese for Urayasu D-Rocks in the backrow.

Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay has not got a good record against Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights and the visit to the former champions on Saturday will be a stern test. Both sides had opening-round wins with Bernard Foley kicking the winning points to seal the game for Kubota. The Wild Knights are without foreign-capped internationals Lood de Jager (shoulder) and Marika Koroibete (arm) due to injury. The pairing of brothers Takuya (fullback) and Kyohei (flyhalf) Yamasawa are a real asset though, especially in attack.

Toyota Verblitz lost in a dramatic three-point loss to the Spears on the opening weekend and will be hosting Mie Honda Heat in the final day on Saturday. High-profile rugby league convert Joseph Manu showed promise on his union debut, and ex-Brave Blossoms flyhalf Rikiya Matsuda’s tactical acumen and goal-kicking will be seen as major assets.

The visitors Mie Heat’s Head Coach Kieran Crowley will have been impressed with Manu Vunipola, the former Saracens flyhalf gave an accomplished performance against the Black Rams, and he kicked the winning points for the 23-21 win and was player of the match. he will also need internationals Pablo Matera (Argentina) and Franco Mostert (South Africa) to be on fire when they visit Toyota Verblitz.

Sunday 29 December 2024 – All times shown are Japan local time.

Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo v Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars; at Tokyo, 1pm
Kobelco Kobe Steelers v Yokohama Canon Eagles; at Kobe, 2.30pm

After beating last season’s champions of Division Two, the Dynaboars will face the champions of Division One on Sunday as they play Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo away from home. New signing Springbok Kurt-Lee Arendse had a great start with Dynaboars and scored on debut and was deemed player of the match. According to the stats, he made the most meters (112), jointly beat the most defenders in the opening round.

The hosts overcame a halftime deficit to beat Yokohama Canon Eagles (last season’s semifinalists) 28-21 win but Head Coach Todd Blackadder will remember his side lost one of the matches against the Dynaboars two seasons ago, and they ended up finishing one place outside of the semi-finals.

Kobelco Kobe Steelers lost the opening weekend in the final moments of the match and didn’t help themselves by playing with just 13 at the end. Head Coach and former Wallaby coach Dave Rennie will need to see improvements as they host the Yokohama Canon Eagles on Sunday – a side which denied them a semi-final spot last season. The visitors have a free-flowing Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk this campaign back and he will be one to watch.

Brief highlights of all JRLO matches will be available here.

Division 2 JRLO 2024-2025 – Round 2 Fixtures

Saturday 28 December 2024 – All times shown are Japan local time.

Japan Steel Kamaishi Seawaves v NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu; at Iwate, 1pm
Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks v Kyushu Electric Power Kyuden Voltex; at Tokyo, 2.30pm

Former Wales coach and current NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu Head Coach Wayne Pivac heads north to Iwate to try and end an sic match-losing run when they face Japan Steel Kamaishi Seawaves in Division 2. The hosts have only won six of 36 matches since the league was inaugurated. NEC Green Rockets lost the opening weekend against NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes Osaka while were on the losing end against Kyushu Electric Power Kyuden Voltex.

Lima Sopoaga’s Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks host fellow first-round winners Kyushu Electric Power Kyuden Voltex.

Sunday 29 December 2024 – All times shown are Japan local time.

Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi v Red Hurricanes Osaka; at Aichi, 2.30pm

Red Hurricanes Osaka travel to Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi, with both sides coming off wins in the opening round. Last week, former England international Freddie Burns put in a player of the match performance as he racked up 19 points which included two tries in the victory over the Hanazono Kintetsu Liners which included stars Will Genia and Quade Cooper

Division 2 JRLO 2024-2025 – Round 2 Fixtures

Division 3 JRLO 2024-2025 – Round 2 Fixtures

Saturday December 28 2024

Kurita Water Gush Akishima v Yakult Levins Toda; at Kanagawa, 12pm

Yakukt Levins Toda were winners last week and visit Kurita Water Gush Akishima in Saturday’s only Division 3 match.

Sunday 29 December 2024 – All times shown are Japan local time

Sayama Rugguts v SkyActivs Hiroshima; at Yamanashi, 12pm

Sayama Rugguts host SkyActivs Hiroshima on Sunday, and both secured good wins in the opening round

LeRIRO Fukuoka host Chugoku Electric Power Red Regulions at a later date.

Division 3 JRLO 2024-2025 – Round 2 Fixtures

How To Watch JRLO

Matches from the JRLO last season could be watched on the following broadcast/stream options:

In some regions on World Rugby’s RugbyPassTV
In Africa on ESPN Africa
in New Zealand via TVNZ, and
At the start of 2024, fans in Asia could watch Malaysian TV streaming provider, Astro, with matches on Astro SuperSport channel.

For the JRLO 2024-2025 season:

Japanese-based broadcasters are listed as showing select matches.
One match per round will be shown on RugbyPass.
Matches can be seen in Taiwan via ELTA TV with one match per round.
In sub-Saharan Africa, ESPN Africa will show two games a week, both live and on-demand.

The full fixture list for this JRLO season can be seen here.