After their 4-1 win over Paraguay, the Samurai Blue shifted their focus to an encounter with world No. 1 Brazil.
The 30-year-old scrum-half joins the growing list of prominent foreign players to join Japan Rugby League One squads.
The amateur team’s delegation has arrived in Tokyo before holding training camps in Oita and Ehime Prefectures for the 2022 World Games in the United States.
The departing Tokyo and Chiba bench bosses guided the perennial title contenders with astute leadership and passion.
Makoto Hiejima earns playoff MVP honors after scoring a game-best 24 points in the Brex’s title-clinching win.
The winning duo finished in a race-record 2 minutes, 21.9 seconds, earning Take his sixth Japanese Derby title.
Utsunomiya outscored Ryukyu 26-5 in the final period, turning a close game into a rout.
Ryukyu is making its first appearance in the circuit’s championship series, while Utsunomiya is back for the third time in six years.
For Rana, who spent the past three seasons as an assistant with the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, a rebuilding project awaits in Kyoto.
Ryukyu ended Shimane’s title hopes on the final play of their semifinal series, and Utsunomiya swept Kawasaki in the other series.
American Amanda Anisimova defeated Osaka for the second time this year in a Grand Slam match.
Listen in as power forward Luke Evans of the Fighting Eagles Nagoya, a B.League second-division club, reflects on his successful first season with the team.