Richie Mo’unga’s remarkable run of nine consecutive club championships has ended in Tokyo, with his Toshiba Brave Lupus side beaten 26-3 by the Kubota Spears in a Japan One quarter-final. The result closes a winning streak the Crusaders flyhalf began building in 2017 and brings forward his return home to prepare for an All Blacks season and a year out from the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
According to 1News, the loss to a Kubota side packed with international experience was a sobering finish to Mo’unga’s two-season spell in Japan. The Spears fielded former All Black Shaun Stevenson at fullback, former Wallaby playmaker Bernard Foley at first five-eighth, and Springbok World Cup winner Malcolm Marx at hooker. Toshiba never threatened the result and the 26-3 scoreline reflected how comprehensively their season ended.
The defeat was the first championship loss in Mo’unga’s senior career. The flyhalf collected seven titles with the Crusaders between 2017 and 2022, then added two more in his first two Japan One seasons with Toshiba under head coach Todd Blackadder. That made nine in a row before Sunday’s quarter-final.
Toshiba reached the playoffs the hard way. They lost seven matches in a row during the regular season before steadying late and finishing sixth on the table. That left them with a difficult cross-over against the third-placed Spears, who had momentum on their side and an enviable mix of test-class operators across the park.
Two New Zealand coaches now sit one win away from a Japan One final. Dave Rennie’s Kobe Steelers and Robbie Deans’ Saitama Wild Knights finished the regular season first and second respectively and have an automatic place in next weekend’s semifinals. With Rennie also confirmed as the new All Blacks head coach, his Japan campaign carries a particular interest for New Zealand fans.
For Mo’unga, the loss closes a chapter he has clearly cherished. In a post on Instagram, quoted by RNZ Sport and 1News, he wrote, “Not to be. First and foremost, I want to thank all the people of Japan who have made my time here so enjoyable. An experience of a lifetime.”
“Me and my family are very grateful,” he added. “To my Toshiba family, thank you all. We did something pretty special and created memories I’ll never forget. Arigato gozaimasu.”
Mo’unga, who turned 32 over the weekend, has played 56 tests for the All Blacks and now returns to Christchurch with a packed calendar ahead. He has signed with the Crusaders and New Zealand Rugby through to the end of next year’s Rugby World Cup in Australia, and will turn out for Canterbury when the NPC starts in late July. That gives him a competitive lead-in to the Nations Championship in spring, where the All Blacks face France, Italy and Ireland in their first tests under Rennie.
His Japan stint was always going to define the back end of his career. Mo’unga left New Zealand after the 2023 World Cup as the incumbent All Blacks first five-eighth and chose Tokyo over a direct contract battle with Damian McKenzie. The deal made him one of the highest-paid players in world rugby and allowed him to play with friends and former Crusaders teammates while still keeping the door open for a return.
Now that return is locked in. Crusaders coach Rob Penney will have arguably the most experienced playmaker in the southern hemisphere available for Super Rugby Pacific 2027, just as the Christchurch club looks to rebuild from a punishing 2025-2026 stretch. Mo’unga’s recent form in Japan has been strong, and his ability to control a game, run a kicking strategy and play flat to the line will give Penney a clear platform.
The bigger question is what Rennie does at test level. Hurricanes first five-eighth Ruben Love has emerged as one of the form playmakers in Super Rugby Pacific and is being touted as a serious contender for the No. 10 jersey ahead of the July tests. McKenzie remains in the mix, Beauden Barrett is still around at the Blues, and Mo’unga, despite a long stint offshore, will not be ignored. The selection conversation around the All Blacks ten will only become louder once Mo’unga is back on home soil and playing club rugby.
Toshiba’s exit also adds to a broader pattern in Japan One. Veteran New Zealand and South African talent dominated the regular season again, with Rennie and Deans both proving the league’s appetite for experienced coaching from the southern hemisphere has not dimmed. Kubota will now play in one semifinal while Kobe host the other, and a final between two New Zealand-coached sides is firmly in play.
For Mo’unga, the focus shifts back to whites and reds rather than the blue and gold of Toshiba. After nine straight titles, ending his Japan spell with a loss is an unusual feeling, but he has rarely had cause to find out what it tastes like. The next test will be how quickly he can fold back into the Crusaders system, win the trust of a new All Blacks coaching group, and earn his way back into the test side ahead of a World Cup year.
What do you make of Mo’unga’s Japan stint, and where should he sit in the All Blacks pecking order when Dave Rennie picks his first squad in July? Drop a comment below and let us know.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
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