Latest news with #ToshibaBraveLupus
BBC News
30-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
All Black Frizell among first names for Aus/NZ combined side
Flanker Shannon Frizell, who started the 2023 Rugby World Cup final for the All Blacks, is one of the first four players named to take part in Lions' final pre-Test series match against a combined Australia and New Zealand who now plays for Toshiba Brave Lupus in Japan, is joined fellow All Blacks David Havili, Shaun Stevenson and Folau of the fixture, to be staged at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday 12 July, have failed with approaches to All Black fly-half Richie Mo'unga, who is out with a hand injury suffered on club duty in Japan, and retired Wallaby great Michael Hooper, who has said he would struggle to get back to the level required to do himself justice."There is plenty of excitement about this fixture, and that's been demonstrated by the number of quality international players eager to be involved," said Rugby Australia's Director of High Performance, Peter Horne."We are delighted with the quality of the New Zealand contingent announced today and look forward to naming more players as the squad comes together."The Lions beat an Anzac XV in the final match of their 1989 tour Down Under, with All Blacks Frano Botica, Kieran Crowley and Steve McDowall playing in a mostly Australian side.
RNZ News
24-06-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Hurricanes sign NZ born Japan lock Warner Dearns for next Super Rugby season
Photo: Japan Rugby Football Union The Hurricanes have bolstered their tight five ahead of next Super Rugby season with the signing of Japan international Warner Dearns for 2026. Twenty-three-year-old Dearns was born in Wellington and grew up in Hawkes Bay, where his father Grant was a strength and conditioning coach for the NPC side. Photo: Japan Rugby Football Union His mother is former Silver Ferns netballer Tanya Dearns. Warner Dearns moved to Japan as a teenager when his dad worked for the Green Rockets team near Tokyo. "I'm really excited about the opportunity to join the Hurricanes and take on a new challenge in Super Rugby," Dearns said. "I'm looking forward to continuing to grow as a player and giving everything I have for the jersey," Dearns will take a sabbatical from his Japanese club Toshiba Brave Lupus to join the Hurricanes for a season. "I'm also incredibly grateful to Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo for supporting me in taking on this challenge in 2026." The 2.02m and 124kg lock, who has made 21 appearances for Japan, adds height and strength to the Hurricanes forward pack. "It's really exciting news for the club to sign an international lock in Warner," Hurricanes head coach Clark Laidlaw said. "He's a young Kiwi guy who's plying his trade in Japan. His family moved up there, he's qualified for Japan, and he's taking a sabbatical from Toshiba. He had a lot of interest, not just in New Zealand, but around the world, so for him to choose to join the Hurricanes is really exciting. "Warner has family ties to the Hurricanes region - his sisters live in Wellington, his mum's the chief executive of Wairarapa Bush Rugby Football Union, his dad has been involved with Hawke's Bay in the NPC - so there's a lot of connection to the club." Photo: Toshiba Brave Lupus Laidlaw believes Dearns will have an immediate impact. "We're looking forward to welcoming him when he comes after the November tests. He's an exceptional athlete. He's got a good set piece, particularly at the lineout, as well as around the field, so we think he can really add to our game. "Warner's also experienced around the world, in Japan and international rugby, so he'll be really valuable as we build the team towards next season." Date of birth: 11 April, 2002 Place of birth: Wellington, New Zealand Position: Lock Height: 2.02m Weight: 124kg International side: Japan (21 tests, 4 tries) Club side: Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo (62 matches, 11 tries) Honours: 2x Japan Rugby League One champion (2024, 2025)
NZ Herald
24-06-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Hurricanes sign Kiwi-born Japan lock Warner Dearns for 2026 season
The Hurricanes have signed Kiwi-born Japanese international Warner Dearns for the 2026 Super Rugby season. The 2.02m , 124kg lock has been allowed a temporary break from his contract with Toshiba Brave Lupus club, in Japan. 'I'm really excited about the opportunity to join the Hurricanes and take on a
Japan Today
01-06-2025
- 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
