Japan Top League 2020: Top Players To Watch Out For

The Japan Top league kicks off this weekend (January 12) in its first ever winter slot, after the Rugby World Cup pushed the 2019/20 season back from its usual fall schedule. While this has had adverse effects on the Sunwolves’ Super Rugby franchise (dual-contracted players have, primarily, not been released from Top League obligations), there’s a host of exceptional rugby talent lining up for Japan’s corporate clubs this season.

From southern hemisphere veterans and World Cup winners to fresh-faced talents who made their name during the world showcase, the Top League’s allure appears to be greater than ever. The league brims with can’t miss talents.

Youth Meets Experience at Toyota Verblitz

Kieran Read had his international swansong in a New Zealand All Black shirt in the bronze final of the 2019 World Cup. Though third place in the tournament was not the fitting end he would have hoped for, it drew a close to a glittering career which included over 120 international caps, two World Cup winners medals, and continuous domestic success with the Canterbury Crusaders. The next step for the talismanic number eight will be a stint at Toyota Verblitz in the 2020 Top League.

To liven things up he’ll be competing for the jersey with, or potentially lining up alongside, Kazuki Himeno, one of Japan’s breakout stars this fall. Combined they could form a formidable back row balancing Himeno’s youthful exuberance and raw physical power with Reid’s experience and cerebral rugby nous.

Verblitz’ best result in the past 15 years was a runner-up finish in the 2007 All-Japan Championship, so they’ll be expecting Reid to be a galvanizing force this season en route to new heights. To make things even more interesting for the team from Aichi Prefecture, former All Black head honcho Steve Hansen has become their overseeing director of rugby for the upcoming season.

Wild Knights Acquire Terrific Trio

The Panasonic Wild Knights have also carried out some wily business in the transfer window, securing my personal player of the World Cup, South Africa’s Damian De Allande. The Springbok inside center of Spanish descent was immense this fall, bringing power, aggression, and deft touches of skill to South Africa’s backline. His defensive capabilities, in particular, shone, as he proved to be a key component of the impenetrable dark green wall against Japan in their World Cup quarterfinal, with a match-leading 17 tackles and three crucial turnovers.

The Saitama-based team has also secured New Zealand’s most capped player this decade, Sam Whitelock, who amassed 115 appearances in the black jersey between 2010 and 2020, and Australia’s David Pocock, arguably the finest breakdown technician to have played the game. The trio will be lacing up their boots in one of Japan’s rugby heartlands, which is sure to reinvigorate them going into a new year of club rugby.

Steelers Aim for Back-to-Back Titles with Top-Class Half-Backs

Dan Carter quickly became the poster boy of Kobe Kobelco Steelers after he signed for the port city club in June 2018. During his tenure, he has guided them to a Top League trophy while picking up a player of the tournament award in his first season. As possibly the greatest out-half to have ever graced the playing paddock, he’s naturally one of the leagues top A-listers. At 37 years old, he may be coming into his last season or two as a professional athlete, so if you want to catch some final glimpses of Carter in action, 2020 is the time to do it.

Spicing things up at the Steelers is the inclusion of Hayden Parker in the squad, who was exceptional for the Sunwolves in 2019, quickly becoming one of Super Rugby’s most sought after number 10s. Playing inside them is another fellow Kiwi (and former half-back partner to Carter at the Crusaders) in captain Andrew Ellis, adding weight to the case that the Steelers have the finest on-field control room in the league. They are once again the favorites to claim Japanese rugby’s top prize.

New-Look Kubota Spears Littered with Talent 

On paper, the Kubota Spears have one of the Top League’s finest rosters. The beastly Duane Vermeulen of South Africa, and 2019 World Cup final man of the match, has moved to the Chiba-based club in 2020. Not only will he bring his bruising ball carrying and dogged breakdown skills to the team, but also arrives with 15 years of professional rugby experience under his belt. He’ll be accompanied in the back row by Pieter Lappies Lauschange of Japan, a man whose inimitable spirit embodied the Brave Blossoms’ sensational campaign this fall.

In the backline, Australia’s Bernard Foley will make his second appearance in the Top League after a short stint with the Ricoh Black Rams in 2015-16. He has amassed 622 points for the Wallabies in 71 international tests, and will bring some balance to the Spears’ attacking game plan. New Zealander Ryan Crotty, one of the world’s most intelligent centers, will be lining up just outside him in the 12 shirt. If these four men can stay fit and firing, the Spears could be in with a shout of claiming their first ever Top League championship.

Sizzling Suntory Sungoliath Look to Usurp The Throne

Five-time champions Suntory Sungoliath were walloped 5-55 in last year’s final by a rampant Kobe Kobelco Steelers. This year, they are out for revenge and certainly have the individual quality to turn the tides.

Australia’s Matt Giteau, one of the best utility backs in recent memory, is entering his third year on the Sungoliath’s roster. He will operate as the wise-old head in an otherwise electrifying backline consisting of Japan’s try-scoring phenomenon Kotaro Matsushima and Australia’s Samu Kerevi, who recently won his second back-to-back player of the season award at former club Queensland Reds. At the base of the scrum is Yukata Nagare, a close second to Faf de Klerk for best scrum half at the World Cup, who will inject serious pace into the Sungloiath’s frightening strike force. If I was a betting man, this is where my money would be.

Just the Beginning…

Frivolous acquisitions have been made right across the Top League board, with Santiago Gonzales lining up for the Makata Sanix Blues, Malcolm Marx and Christian Lealiifano signing for NTT Communications Shining Arcs, and Jesse Kriel making his way to the Canon Eagles of Tokyo. The list goes on and on and on as the financial juggernaut that is Japanese corporate rugby only continues to grow.

In 2020, the Top League has the most star-studded roster in its history, and though it may not be entirely aligned with Japan’s rugby development goals, it sure to throw up some fantastic encounters this season. Don’t miss it.

On the cusp of a fresh Japanese Top League season, the league is bolstered by an influx of scintillating talent on the heels of an exciting Rugby World Cup.