Kubota Spears to play Waratahs in November
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Former League One champions Kubota Spears will play Super Rugby Pacific side NSW Waratahs at Spears Edoriku Field (Edogawa Stadium) in Tokyo on Friday 29 November.
The Spears, who won the second League One season in 2023, kicked off their pre-season campaign with a 55-26 win against Kurita Water Gush Akishima two weeks ago.
Sydney-based Waratahs announced their trip to Japan on Friday morning on X. Kubota has since announced that members of their fan club, Spears+, can attend the game for free.
Kubota will step up their pre-season campaign by travelling to play division one newcomers Urayasu D-Rocks on Saturday 2 November before hosting Brodie Retallick’s Kobe Steelers a week later ahead of welcoming the Waratahs.
Frans Ludeke’s star-laden Spears were plagued by injuries last season as they finished sixth and narrowly missed out on a top four play-offs spot.
Dan McKellar’s Tahs finished bottom of the Super Rugby Pacific table in 2024 but did manage to beat defending champions Crusaders both home and away.
Kubota celebrates their 50th anniversary in 2028 and recently announced that they are aiming to build a new 15,000-capacity stadium in Edogawa Ward.
Tonga-born number eight Faulua Makisi, who starts for Japan against the All Blacks on Saturday, will captain the Chiba-based side next season.
The 2022-23 champions have acted quickly to bolster their squad for the fourth League One season with six-time Super Rugby winner Bryn Hall joining from Shizuoka and young South African lock Merwe Olivier coming on board from URC outfit the Bulls.
Exciting Fijian wing Tsuyoshi Jennings has made the move to Chiba from rugby league side Kaiviti Silktails while South African number eight Tyler Paul left the D-Rocks to join neighbours Kubota.
Former England youth international Ollie Stonham, who played with new teammate Liam Williams at Saracens, has also made the move to Funabashi.
Ex-All Blacks defence coach Scott McLeod has joined the coaching setup as an assistant coach.
Kubota will kick off their 2024-25 League One season against Aaron Smith and Pieter-Steph du Toit’s Toyota Verblitz on Sunday 22 December in a mouthwatering clash at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Tokyo.
