2024-2025 JRLO Round 4 Preview

Our 2024-2025 JRLO Round 4 Preview for the first matches of 2025, with fixtures played on January 11-12 in Japan across all three divisions.

Results Round 3

You can read more from Round 2 in the JRLO here

Division 1

• Urayasu D-Rocks 12-40 Yokohama Canon Eagles
• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars 34-40 Shizuoka Blue Revs
• Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo 16-39 Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights
• Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath 30-30 Toyota Verblitz
• Mie Honda Heat 27-32 Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay
• Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo 32-26 Kobelco Kobe Steelers

Division 2

• Hino Red Dolphins 38-38 Hanazono Kintetsu Liners

Division 3

• LeRIRO Fukuoka 17-39 Chugoku Electric Power Red Regulions

Division One JRLO 2024-2025 – Round 4 Fixtures

Saturday 11 January 2025 – All times shown are Japan local time.

• Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo v Urayasu D-Rocks; at Kanagawa, 12pm
• Yokohama Canon Eagles v Shizuoka Blue Revs; at Kanagawa, 2.30pm
• Toyota Verblitz v Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo; at Gifu, 2.40pm

Defending champions Toshiba Brave Lupus are without influential Richie Mo’unga again this weekend but still are among the leaders in the standings on their undefeated run. They should be looking to rack up more points against the struggling Urayasu D-Rocks who visit them on Saturday and Head Coach Todd Blackadder will be disappointed with anything less than a win at home.

The battle at 8th man will be tasty as veteran Michael Leitch (Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo) faces Springbok Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks),

Shizuoka Blue Revs have yet to taste defeat this season under captain Kwagga Smith and face their toughest test yet as they head to Kanagawa’s Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium and face a Yokohama Canon Eagles side which includes Springboks star Faf De Klerk and Jesse Kriel – although the hosts have only won a single game thus far.

Blue Revs beat Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars 40-34 last week which included a second hattrick in as many weeks for winger Malo Tuitama. He has tallied 12 tries in 6 matches away from their Yamaha Stadium base.

Toyota Verblitz has snatched defeat or a draw from victory a couple of times this season and have found their way to the try line but are unable to secure the vital wins needed. They face Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo on Saturday and have had the better of the visitors in five of the six meetings since League One began, but the games have been tight with three of those wins by seven points or less.

Toyota Verblitz are still looking for a first win, while Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo’s new coach Tabai Matson will be hoping for only a second win this campaign for his side. The main highlight should be the scrumhalf battle between Aaron Smith for Toyota Verblitz and TJ Perenara for Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo.

Sunday 12 January 2025 – All times shown are Japan local time.

• Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath v Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay; at Tokyo, 2.05pm
• Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights v Mie Honda Heat; at Saitama, 2.30pm
• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars v Kobelco Kobe Steelers; at Kanagawa, 2.30pm

Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath remains winless this season and host Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay and the visitors ended a winless run against Sungoliath (which ran for 14 matches between 2004 and 2022) two seasons ago and went on win three on the bounce including a semifinal 24-18 victory. Last season they shared the spoils in the encounter.

Sam Cane remained a non-player for Suntory but Springbok Cheslin Kolbe starts, while Kubota doesn’t have Malcolm Marx on the weekend.

Mie Honda Heat travel to the ever-threatening Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights on Sunday but the visitors have had a good start to the season-  helped by the form of Los Pumas backrower Pablo Matera. The record books are not in their favour though as they have lost the last six games against the Wild Knights by an average of 42 points. The Wild Knights backrow includes Brave Blossom-capped Ben Gunter and Jack Cornelsen and the dangerous Lachlan Boshier who will try and stop Matera and second-row workhorse Springbok Franco Mostert.

In the final game in the Division, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars host Kobelco Kobe Steelers. The hosts under Coach Glen Delaney lost narrowly to the Blue Revs last weekend and will need Springbok lively wing Kurt-Lee Arendse, to add to his two tries thus far in three appearances.

Kobe is blessed with Japanese and international talent and skipper Brodie Retallick will want to notch up a win and a momentum shift this season.

Brief highlights of all JRLO matches will be available here.

Division 2 JRLO 2024-2025 – Round 4 Fixtures

Saturday 11 January 2025 – All times shown are Japan local time.

• Kyushu Electric Power Kyuden Voltex v Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi; at Fukuoka, 12pm
• Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks v Nippon Steel Kamaishi Seawaves; at Tokyo, 2.30pm
• Hanazono Kintetsu Liners v NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes Osaka; at Osaka, 2.30pm
• NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu v Hino Red Dolphins; at Chiba, 2.30pm

All 8 teams are in action in Division 2 this weekend.

Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi will face Kyushu Electric Power Voltex at home and they have beaten them the past eight occasions.

Lima Sopoaga’s Koto Blue Sharks are undefeated and will try to keep that going as they host Nippon Steel Kamaishi Seawaves who suffered their 11th defeat from 12 matches last weekend.

Hanazono Kintetsu Liners host cross-town rivals Red Hurricanes Osaka, and the hosts who have Quade Cooper among others in the squad yet to register a win this season. Meanwhile, Red Hurricanes Osaka are one of only two unbeaten in the division.

The NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu face Hino Red Dolphins in an Osaka derby and the hosts are looking for back-to-back wins as Head coach Wayne Pivac’s men put an end to their six-match losing streak last against Nippon Steel Kamaishi Seawaves. The visitors are on a three-match winless streak of their own.

NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu scrumhalf Nick Phipps pairs with flyhalf Rhys Patchell.

Division 3 JRLO 2024-2025 – Round 4 Fixtures

Saturday 11 January 2025 – All times shown are Japan local time.

• SECOM Sayama Rugguts v Le RIRO Fukuoka; at Tochigi, 12pm
• Mazda SkyActivs Hiroshima v Kurita Water Gush Akishima; at Hiroshima, 1pm

Mazda SkyActivs Hiroshima are undefeated and play Kurita Water Gush Akishima, while SECOM Sayama Rugguts host Le RIRO Fukuoka on Saturday, with the visitors in the second game looking for a first win this season.

Sunday 12 January 2025 – All times shown are Japan local time

• Yakult Levins Toda v Chugoku Electric Power Red Regulions; at Tochigi, 12pm

Yakult Levins Toda will attempt to maintain their unbeaten record as they host Chugoku Electric Power Red Regulions on Sunday.

How To Watch JRLO 2024-2025

This is what has been confirmed so far for streaming services of the JRLO 2024-2025 season:

• Japanese-based broadcasters are listed as showing select matches.
• One match per round will be shown on RugbyPass (FYI we have not been able to access this and have checked every weekend)
• 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.

Japan Rugby League One News

• 2024-2025 JRLO Round 3 Preview
• 2024-2025 JRLO Round 2 Preview.
• 2024-2025 JRLO Round 1 Preview.
• Fans Guide To The NTT Japan Rugby League One 2024-25 Season.