Saitama Wild Knights

24 - 28

Full Time

Kubota Spears

Kubota Spears vs Saitama Wild Knights

Events

Commentary

Live Updates

The 80 minutes is up! The referee has blown their whistle to end the second half.

80'

Penalty Goal

Halatoa Vailea kicks the penalty.

77'

Saitama Wild Knights decide to make a substitution, with Ryuji Noguchi getting some game time.

71'

Saitama Wild Knights decide to make a substitution, with Koki Takeyama being replaced.

71'

Kubota Spears decide to make a substitution, with Hayate Era getting some game time.

70'

Kubota Spears decide to make a substitution, with Malcolm Marx being replaced.

70'

A gap opened in the defence and Malcolm Marx took full advantage.

70'

Saitama Wild Knights make a substitution with Yuta Takagi coming on.

67'

Saitama Wild Knights make a substitution with Taiki Koyama coming off.

67'

Kubota Spears make a substitution with David Van Zeeland coming on.

67'

Kubota Spears make a substitution with Ruan Botha coming off.

67'

Kubota Spears make a substitution with Hibiki Yamada coming on.

67'

Kubota Spears make a substitution with Koga Nezuka coming off.

67'

Kubota Spears make a substitution with Kota Kaishi coming on.

65'

Kubota Spears make a substitution with Yota Kamimori coming off.

65'

Kubota Spears make a substitution with Bryn Hall coming on.

65'

Kubota Spears make a substitution with Shinobu Fujiwara coming off.

65'

Saitama Wild Knights make a substitution with Kenji Sato coming on.

65'

Saitama Wild Knights make a substitution with Atsushi Sakate coming off.

65'

Saitama Wild Knights sub Itsuki Onishi comes onto the field.

62'

Lood de Jager departs for Saitama Wild Knights.

62'

The touch judges have waved away the attempt by Bernard Foley as they hook it left.

61'

Finau Tupa comes on for Kubota Spears.

59'

Tyler Paul leaves the field.

59'

Conversion

The touch judges raise their flags as Kyohei Yamasawa kicks the conversion.

57'

Try

Kyohei Yamasawa scores! That alone was worth the admission price!!!

56'

What a run here by Kyohei Yamasawa as they get over the gainline!

56'

Taiki Koyama played a key part in that try.

56'

Pieter Labuschagne comes on for Kubota Spears.

55'

Takeo Suenaga leaves the field.

55'

Keijiro Tamefusa comes on for Kubota Spears.

55'

Opeti Helu leaves the field.

55'

Tyler Paul comes on.

51'

Finau Tupa comes off.

51'

Conversion

The touch judges raise their flags as Kyohei Yamasawa kicks the conversion.

51'

Try

Koki Takeyama scores! That alone was worth the admission price!!!

50'

Penalty Goal

Halatoa Vailea makes no mistake with that penalty goal attempt.

47'

Saitama Wild Knights make a substitution with Marika Koroibete coming on.

44'

Saitama Wild Knights make a substitution with Tomoki Osada coming off.

44'

Saitama Wild Knights make a substitution with Esei Haangana coming on.

44'

Saitama Wild Knights make a substitution with Liam Mitchell coming off.

44'

Kubota Spears make a substitution with Finau Tupa coming on.

40'

Kubota Spears make a substitution with Tyler Paul coming off.

40'

Saitama Wild Knights make a substitution with Asaeli Ai Valu coming on.

40'

Saitama Wild Knights make a substitution with Lisala Kisina Finau coming off.

40'

Saitama Wild Knights make a substitution with Craig Millar coming on.

40'

Saitama Wild Knights make a substitution with Keita Inagaki coming off.

40'

The second half kicks off.

40'

The half-time whistle blows and both teams head for the dressing rooms.

41'

Fabulous play by Saitama Wild Knights has led to Taiki Koyama being able to wriggle through a gap.

39'

Fabulous play by Saitama Wild Knights has led to Takuya Yamasawa being able to wriggle through a gap.

34'

Conversion

Bernard Foley does the business as their conversion attempt goes over.

32'

Try

The pressure has finally told as Shinobu Fujiwara scores from close range.

31'

Spellbinding play by Malcolm Marx is finished off with a try.

31'

Trouble here as Rikus Pretorius breaches the defence.

30'

Penalty Goal

The touch judges raise their flags as Bernard Foley kicks the penalty goal.

28'

This is dangerous for the defence as Koki Takeyama bursts through to advance the Saitama Wild Knights attack.

20'

Conversion

Kyohei Yamasawa converts the try.

14'

Try

Jack Cornelsen scores the try from close range.

13'

Conversion

Bernard Foley has kicked a conversion.

Try

A bit of individual brilliance by Shinobu Fujiwara leads to a try for Kubota Spears

A gap opened in the defence and Shinobu Fujiwara took full advantage.

Penalty Goal

Kyohei Yamasawa kicks the penalty.

Bernard Foley has hooked the conversion to the right of the posts.

Try

Kubota Spears are only a few metres out, surely they must score! And they do with Malcolm Marx touching down.

David Bulbring sets up the try.

The defensive line has been broken as Harumichi Tatekawa goes through the gap.

We are underway as the referee blows their whistle.

Match Details

  
 Saitama Wild Knights v Kubota Spears 
  
 Semi Final 
  
 Sun 25th May 2025, 12:30am CDT 
  
 Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium 
  
 RugbyPass TV 
  
 Katsuki Furuse

Points Flow Chart

Kubota Spears win +4

Time in lead

Mins in lead

% Of Game In Lead

99%

24%

Possession Last 10 min

76%

Points Last 10 min

Key Events

Full Time

Vailea

77'

24 - 28

Yamasawa

24 - 25

57'

Yamasawa

22 - 25

56'

Yamasawa

17 - 25

51'

Takeyama

15 - 25

50'

Vailea

47'

10 - 25

Half Time

Foley

32'

10 - 22

Fujiwara

31'

10 - 20

Foley

28'

10 - 15

Yamasawa

10 - 12

14'

Cornelsen

8 - 12

13'

Foley

3 - 12

Fujiwara

3 - 10

Yamasawa

3 - 5

Marx

0 - 5

Start

22m Entries

Avg. Points Scored

2.4

Entries

Avg. Points Scored

3.6

Entries

Attack Profile

Saitama Wild Knights

Kubota Spears

More Less

Defence Profile

Saitama Wild Knights

Kubota Spears

More Less

Ruck Speed

0-3 secs

59%

52%

3-6 secs

36%

34%

6+ secs

14%

Rucks Won

Last 5 Penalties

60'

63'

67'

75'

78'

Saitama Wild Knights

Kubota Spears

Saitama Wild Knights vs Kubota Spears Kick Off Times & TV Channel

Saitama Wild Knights face off against Kubota Spears in Japan Rugby League One Semi Final on Sun 25th May 2025 at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium. Kick-off in the UK is scheduled for 06:30 and is broadcast on Premier Sports. In South Africa it’s at 07:30 SAST on SuperSport, 17:30 NZST on RugbyPass TV in New Zealand, 15:30 AEST on RugbyPass TV in Australia and 22:30 EST on RugbyPass TV in the US.

Saitama Wild Knights won the last encounter but both teams are in the same form for their last 5 games.

Table Standings

Heading into the fixture the two sides are separated by just 1 place in the league table with Kubota Spears in 1st and Saitama Wild Knights in 2nd underlining just how tight this match could be.

Saitama Wild Knights vs Kubota Spears Squads

The official squads for Saitama Wild Knights vs Kubota Spears will become available around 24- 48 hours before kick-off. Teams can still make changes up to an hour before the match however.