Latest news with #Kubota
NZ Herald
a day ago
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Shaun Stevenson to leave Chiefs for Japanese club Kubota Spears
Chiefs player Shaun Stevenson has confirmed his move to Japanese club Kubota Spears at the end of this year's Super Rugby Pacific season. Kubota announced they had reached a contract agreement with him until June 2027. In a release, the Chiefs said Stevenson had made an 'outstanding contribution' to
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- Japan Today
Mo'unga shrugs off broken hand to lead Toshiba to Japan rugby title
Richie Mo'unga won the Japan Rugby League One title with Toshiba Brave Lupus on Sunday rugby union By Andrew McKIRDY Former All Black Richie Mo'unga shrugged off a broken hand to extend his remarkable title-winning streak after leading Toshiba Brave Lupus to their second straight Japanese championship on Sunday. The fly-half has finished every season in top-level domestic rugby since 2017 with a winner's medal and he picked up another as Toshiba beat Kubota Spears 18-13 in the Japan Rugby League One final. He had to do it the hard way after breaking his right hand in the closing stages of last week's semifinal win, with coach Todd Blackadder expecting his star man was "70-30" to miss the final. Mo'unga said he spent three days in an oxygen chamber in the build-up to the game and "knew all along that I was going to play. "I knew it wasn't impossible to play this weekend, and obviously a final, it's a no-brainer really," said the 31-year-old. "You want to give yourself the best chance to be part of something special." Mo'unga joined Toshiba on a three-year deal after helping New Zealand reach the 2023 World Cup final, where they lost to South Africa. He gave another playmaking masterclass in front of more than 50,000 fans at Tokyo's National Stadium. Mo'unga scored his team's first try with less than 10 minutes on the clock and set up their second with a crafty dummy early in the second half. He also scored eight points with his boot. Mo'unga won seven Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders in New Zealand and said he was "so grateful to be part of winning teams". "I try to tell some of the boys in our team not to take this moment for granted because a lot of people don't win, and a lot of people don't win back to back," he said. Mo'unga jinked through the opposition defense to open the scoring in the eighth minute. He also started the second half strongly, taking out a defender with a dummy before slipping the ball to Yuto Mori for Toshiba's second try. Mo'unga said the pain in his hand made "things just a little bit harder" but did not affect his game. "Once you get out there, you just play rugby and try not to think about it too much," he said. Toshiba's victory denied Kubota's Australian fly-half Bernard Foley and South African hooker Malcolm Marx a second title in Japan. Marx said he was not aware that Mo'unga was carrying an injury. "He's a great player, he showed that how he performed today even with a broken hand," said Marx. "It shows his resilience." Toshiba finished the regular season in first place, which earned them a bye into the play-off semifinals. Third-placed Kubota had to come through a quarterfinal and were looking to regain the title that they won in 2023. Toshiba coach Blackadder hailed Mo'unga's influence on his side, calling him the "ultimate team man". "At the start of the week, we weren't sure," he said of Mo'unga's injury. "It was 70-30 that he wouldn't be available and he just found a way." © 2025 AFP
The Sun
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Mo'unga shrugs off broken hand to win Japanese title
FORMER All Black Richie Mo'unga shrugged off a broken hand to extend his remarkable title-winning streak after leading Toshiba Brave Lupus to their second straight Japanese championship on Sunday. The fly-half has finished every season in top-level domestic rugby since 2017 with a winner's medal and he picked up another as Toshiba beat Kubota Spears 18-13 in the Japan Rugby League One final. He had to do it the hard way after breaking his right hand in the closing stages of last week's semi-final win, with coach Todd Blackadder expecting his star man was '70-30' to miss the final. Mo'unga said he spent three days in an oxygen chamber in the build-up to the game and 'knew all along that I was going to play'. 'I knew it wasn't impossible to play this weekend, and obviously a final, it's a no-brainer really,' said the 31-year-old. 'You want to give yourself the best chance to be part of something special.' Mo'unga joined Toshiba on a three-year deal after helping New Zealand reach the 2023 World Cup final, where they lost to South Africa. He gave another playmaking masterclass in front of more than 50,000 fans at Tokyo's National Stadium. Mo'unga scored his team's first try with less than 10 minutes on the clock and set up their second with a crafty dummy early in the second half. He also scored eight points with his boot. Mo'unga won seven Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders in New Zealand and said he was 'so grateful to be part of winning teams'. 'I try to tell some of the boys in our team not to take this moment for granted because a lot of people don't win, and a lot of people don't win back to back,' he said. - 'Ultimate team man' - Mo'unga jinked through the opposition defence to open the scoring in the eighth minute. He also started the second half strongly, taking out a defender with a dummy before slipping the ball to Yuto Mori for Toshiba's second try. Mo'unga said the pain in his hand made 'things just a little bit harder' but did not affect his game. 'Once you get out there, you just play rugby and try not to think about it too much,' he said. Toshiba's victory denied Kubota's Australian fly-half Bernard Foley and South African hooker Malcolm Marx a second title in Japan. Marx said he was not aware that Mo'unga was carrying an injury. 'He's a great player, he showed that how he performed today even with a broken hand,' said Marx. 'It shows his resilience.' Toshiba finished the regular season in first place, which earned them a bye into the play-off semi-finals. Third-placed Kubota had to come through a quarter-final and were looking to regain the title that they won in 2023. Toshiba coach Blackadder hailed Mo'unga's influence on his side, calling him the 'ultimate team man'. 'At the start of the week, we weren't sure,' he said of Mo'unga's injury. 'It was 70-30 that he wouldn't be available and he just found a way.'
France 24
3 days ago
- Sport
- France 24
Mo'unga shrugs off broken hand to win Japanese title
The fly-half has finished every season in top-level domestic rugby since 2017 with a winner's medal and he picked up another as Toshiba beat Kubota Spears 18-13 in the Japan Rugby League One final. He had to do it the hard way after breaking his right hand in the closing stages of last week's semi-final win, with coach Todd Blackadder expecting his star man was "70-30" to miss the final. Mo'unga said he spent three days in an oxygen chamber in the build-up to the game and "knew all along that I was going to play". "I knew it wasn't impossible to play this weekend, and obviously a final, it's a no-brainer really," said the 31-year-old. "You want to give yourself the best chance to be part of something special." Mo'unga joined Toshiba on a three-year deal after helping New Zealand reach the 2023 World Cup final, where they lost to South Africa. He gave another playmaking masterclass in front of more than 50,000 fans at Tokyo's National Stadium. Mo'unga scored his team's first try with less than 10 minutes on the clock and set up their second with a crafty dummy early in the second half. He also scored eight points with his boot. Mo'unga won seven Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders in New Zealand and said he was "so grateful to be part of winning teams". "I try to tell some of the boys in our team not to take this moment for granted because a lot of people don't win, and a lot of people don't win back to back," he said. 'Ultimate team man' Mo'unga jinked through the opposition defence to open the scoring in the eighth minute. He also started the second half strongly, taking out a defender with a dummy before slipping the ball to Yuto Mori for Toshiba's second try. Mo'unga said the pain in his hand made "things just a little bit harder" but did not affect his game. "Once you get out there, you just play rugby and try not to think about it too much," he said. Toshiba's victory denied Kubota's Australian fly-half Bernard Foley and South African hooker Malcolm Marx a second title in Japan. Marx said he was not aware that Mo'unga was carrying an injury. "He's a great player, he showed that how he performed today even with a broken hand," said Marx. "It shows his resilience." Toshiba finished the regular season in first place, which earned them a bye into the play-off semi-finals. Third-placed Kubota had to come through a quarter-final and were looking to regain the title that they won in 2023. Toshiba coach Blackadder hailed Mo'unga's influence on his side, calling him the "ultimate team man". "At the start of the week, we weren't sure," he said of Mo'unga's injury. "It was 70-30 that he wouldn't be available and he just found a way." © 2025 AFP
Kyodo News
3 days ago
- Sport
- Kyodo News
Rugby: Brave Lupus outlast Spears for back-to-back League One titles
KYODO NEWS - 8 minutes ago - 18:20 | Sports, Rugby, All Former All Black star Richie Mo'unga led Brave Lupus Tokyo to back-to-back Japan Rugby League One titles in a tightly fought 18-13 win against the Kubota Spears in Sunday's championship decider. The 31-year-old flyhalf scored the opening try and set up his team's second, while adding eight points with the boot in front of 51,009 at Tokyo's National Stadium. The Todd Blackadder-coached Brave Lupus went into the final as favorites after finishing the regular season on top of the table and cruising past the Kobe Steelers in last weekend's semifinals. As third-place finishers, head coach Frans Ludeke's Spears were coming off an extra round of playoff rugby, followed by a grueling semifinal win against the Saitama Wild Knights. Mo'unga opened the scoring in the eighth minute, creating space with a clever dummy and stepping across in the corner. The playmaking maestro missed the conversion, allowing Kubota to cut the lead to a single kick on Bernard Foley's penalty nine minutes later. Another penalty each from Mo'unga and Foley saw Brave Lupus lead 8-6 at the break after a defensive arm wrestle in the first half. Brave Lupus ran in their second try from a scrum inside their own half, with Mo'unga breaking the line and sending over center Yuto Mori, then kicking the extras for a 15-6 lead in the 48th minute. Kubota's defense held firm as winger Halatoa Vailea sat in the sin bin, before veteran center Harumichi Tatekawa scored the first try for the 2022-2023 champions, cutting the lead to five points at 18-13 with Foley's conversion in the 73rd minute. Brave Lupus were able to soak up the defensive pressure in the final minutes under cloudy skies before heavy rain began soaking the Tokyo Olympic venue. Related coverage: Japan Rugby League One to give domestic players more time on pitch
