The JRLO 2025-2026 Round 16 delivered plenty of tries as nearly every single game in Division 1 saw a team reach closer to 50 points in their wins this weekend.
The top three sides all won, and the Kubota Spears made it 25 wins in a row at Spears Edoriku Field
Urayasu D-Rocks look like a sure thing for the promotion/relegation games after they lost to Shizuoka BlueRevs, while the Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo were thumped at home by the Canon Eagles to leave them in serious doubt of making the top six.
Division 2 saw upsets as both the top two sides lost, Kyushu Electric Power Kyuden Voltex defeated Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi, and third-placed Shimizu Corporation Koto Blue Sharks beat D2 leaders Hanazono Kintetsu Liners. It means both the Liners and the Shuittles Aichi are on 44 points.
Photo Credit – JRLO- Akihito Yamada scored his 109th career try
Akihito Yamada scored his 109th career try in the win over Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi – a record for the most tries in the Top League and League One combined.
Division 3’s Skyactivs Hiroshima have made it 13 consecutive wins for a flawless season with two rounds remaining,
Division 1 JRLO 2025-2026 Round 16
Friday April 24
Photo Credit – JRLO – JRLO 2025-2026 Round 16
Urayasu D-Rocks 26-49 Shizuoka BlueRevs; at Tokyo (Chichibu)
12th-placed Urayasu D-Rocks stay at the bottom of the table after being defeated by Shizuoka BlueRev, who were 9th coming into the round but have now jumped to 8th and are only 5 points behind the defending champions, the Brave Lupus.
The visitors were 28-0 ahead at the break, scoring four tries. Semi Radradra scored the BlueRevs 5th try to start the second half before Samu Kerevi got the first points on the board for Urayasu D-Rocks with his 5th score of the season. Tamati Ioane bagged a brace of tries, and captain Jasper Wiese also got on the try-scoring, but two more tries to the BlueRevs saw them seal the win. This included a fifth try in his last seven matches for Brave Blossoms winger Malo Tuitama.
As we said in the round preview, for Urayasu, it is a 12th straight loss, and they will be competing in the Replacement Battle for a fourth consecutive season. The BlueRevs will now need maximum points in their final two matches and hope that the Brave Lupus slip up again.
Saturday April 25
Saitama Wild Knights 57-19 Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars; at Saitama
Japan Rugby League One 2025-2026 R16 Review
At the top of the division, Saitama Wild Knights comfortably defeated 11th-placed Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars and might have also seen them condemned to fight for D1 survival along with the Urayasu D-Rocks, as they are seven points behind the 10th-placed team, Yokohama Canon Eagles.
Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars lost by 30 points to the Wild Knights the last time they faced them this season, and this loss was just about bang on the average of 57 points per outing through the seven previous meetings between the teams.
The Wild Knights’ bonus-point win still sees them maintain a one-point lead over Kobe at the top of the Division.
They raced to a 26-0 lead after 30 minutes before the visitors got their first try to close out the half. Damian de Allende ended up with a brace of tries as the team ran in 9 tries in total to claim the victory.
Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo 26-50 Yokohama Canon Eagles; at Tokyo (Chichibu)
Photo Credit – JRLO
Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo occupied the final spot for the playoffs heading into the weekend, but the lowly visiting Yokohama Canon Eagles blew them away and notched up half a century of points in the win as Jesse Kriel was the player of the match.
That made it four wins from their last six for Leon MacDonald’s side. It was a hugely impressive win, and one that might see them avoid playing the promotion/relegation games.
Starting fly-half Richie Mo’unga was yellow-carded in the opening forty minutes, and his team trailed 5-19 at halftime. Kriel scored one try in each half, and in total, the Eagles scored 8 tries compared to the defending champions.
The Yokohama Canon Eagles play Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars next week, and a win there will ensure their safety and send the Dynaboars to the relegation matches.
For the Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo, they will face the team one place below them, the Shizuoka BlueRevs, and then the Wild Knights in the final games, so every point will be vital.
Kobelco Kobe Steelers 49-28 Tokyo Sungoliath; at Hyogo
Photo Credit – JRLO
Another big scoreline as Dave Rennie’s men keep up the points chase with the Wild Knights, and the bonus-point win sees them stay second on the log, while the big defeat for Tokyo Sungoliath sees them continue a stuttering 2026, but they are 5th and look set for the top six. The Sungoliath side has now lost five in a row.
Who else but Captain Fantastic and this season’s try-scoring machine, Brodie Retallick, who now has 16 tries as he scored another in the second period. Waisake Raratubua scored two more, and Ash Dixon scored the 4th to lead 28-14 at halftime.
Even two yellow cards for the hosts couldn’t stop the try-scoring spree as the Kobelco Kobe Steelers ended up with 7 tries to the visitors’ 4 tries.
Fullback Shunsuke Uenobo, who scored a hat-trick in the win last weekend, added another try this round.
Kubota Spears 54-21 Mie Honda Heat; at Tokyo (Edogawa)
Photo Credit – JRLO – JRLO 2025-2026 Round 1
Kubota Spears have now won 25 matches in a row at Spears Edoriku Field, and they effectively ended the small chance that Kieran Crowley’s Mie Honda Heat had of hoping to make the top six playoff spot.
It is two losses in a row for them and 103 points conceded in those two defeats. They had
Lost to Frans Ludeke’s Kubota 45-21 in early January, too, and the Kubota Spears scored 9 tries in the victory.
They were 20-7 ahead at halftime, with Malcolm Marx one of three try scorers for the hosts and he made it two tries immediately after the break. Ippei Okada also grabbed a brace with a try in each half.
Fijian Tevita Ikanivere was one of the three try scorers for the Mie Honda Heat in defeat.
Sunday April 26
BlackRams Tokyo 28-40 Toyota Verblitz; at Tokyo (Chichibu)
Photo Credit – JRLO
The game on Sunday was tied up 14-all at the halftime break in one of the weekend’s closer contests. The visitors pulled away in the second half to secure an important win, as their second half of the season has been inspired.
Two former All Blacks opened the scoring for either side, with Mark Telea getting the first try in the 4th minute for Toyota Verblitz, before BlackRams Tokyo captain TJ Perenara tied it up.
A Rameka Poihipi try gave the hosts the lead, but a 39th-minute Shinya Komura brought them back even.
An Isaac Lucas try in the second half gave the Blackrams the lead again, but a yellow card saw them concede twice. The sides both cross the whitewash, and even a yellow for Toyota couldnt halt them as they outscored the home side four tries to two in the second period.
Prop Hamdahn Tuipulotu, the younger brother of All Black second-rower Patrick, scored his second try of his first season in the Japan Rugby League One.
You can see all the fixtures and results on the JRLO website here.
Division Two
Friday April 24
- Kyushu Electric Power Kyuden Voltex 29-14 Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi; at Fukuoka,
Saturday April 25
- RedHurricanes Osaka 59-26 Hino Red Dolphins; at Osaka
- Nippon Steel Kamaishi Seawaves 24-37 Green Rockets Tokatsu; at Iwate
- Hanazono Kintetsu Liners 19-29 Shimizu Corporation Koto Blue Sharks; at Osaka
Photo Credit – JRLO
Division Three
Saturday April 25
- Chugoku Electric Power Red Regulions 29-55 SAYAMA SECOM RUGGUTS; at Hiroshima
Sunday April 26
- Yakult Levins Toda 17-33 Kurita Water Gush Akishima; at Tokyo (AGF Field)
- Le RIRO Fukuoka 12-47 SkyActivs Hiroshima; at Fukuoka
Japan Rugby News 2026
- Phil Greening – Sevens Is A Hugely Important For Developing Players.
- Japan Rugby League One 2025-2026 Round 16 Preview.
- Rassie Erasmus on the Good Relationships they have with the JRLO Clubs.
- Taiyo Seimei Women’s Sevens Series 2026 Details Confirmed.
Trending Now
The Best Social 2026 Rugby Tournaments In Asia
