Bernard Foley delivers 29 point haul in Kubota Spears’ statement win

Kubota Spears fly-half Bernard Foley stole the show in a statement 79-20 win over a star-studded Tokyo Sungoliath outfit last weekend, with the former Wallaby finishing with a 29-point haul opposite the likes of Cheslin Kolbe and Sam Cane.

After leading the Spears to the Japan Rugby League One decider last season, where they were beaten by Richie Mo’unga’s Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo 18-13 on June 25, Foley has hit the ground running with a series of strong performances in 2025/26.

Foley is the top point-scorer (57) in division one after three rounds, which is 23 points more than Rikiya Matsuda from Toyota Verblitz. Takuya Tamasawa from the Saitama Wild Knights and Mie Honda Heat’s Manu Vunipola are equal third with 31 points to their names.

There is some daylight between Foley and Matsuda on the point-scoring charts after the 36-year-old fell just shy of a 30-point blitz against Tokyo Sungoliath, who took an unbeaten 2-0 record into that round three showdown.

Foley opened the scoring in the second minute with a penalty goal, before one-Test All Black Shaun Stevenson added to the Spears’ advantage with a try. After Foley made a significant break up-field, Stevenson reaped the rewards by crashing over the try line two phases later.

Springboks flyer Kolbe struck back for the visitors with two penalty goals about nine minutes apart, before the Spears truly took control. Tyler Paul scored the next try, which was converted by Foley, before Stevenson completed a double on the 30-minute mark.

Foley converted that and added another three points off the kicking tee soon after, as the Spears ran out to a commanding 25-6 lead. Faulua Makisi and Rikus Pretorius scored one try each before the half-time break, with Foley adding the extras on both occasions.

33 points separated the teams at the break, but the Spears didn’t take their foot off the gas as they continued to extend their advantage. Haruto Kida was first to strike eight minutes into the half, before it was Foley’s turn to get in on the try-scoring fun.

Outside centre Halatoa Vailea threw a well-executed offload to Foley, who had too much pace for former All Blacks captain Cane, who was running across in cover. The Australian added the extras yet again, giving the home crowd yet another reason to celebrate.

Foley added another four conversions to Kubota’s score during the rest of the half, with the home side scoring four tries to two in the final 19 minutes. Shinobu Fujiwara, Rikuto Fukuda, Halatoa Vailea and Yamada Hibiki all made their mark on the scoreboard.

Isaiah Punivai scored a five-pointer with about 10 minutes left, before a yellow card to Foley and a penalty try saw Sungoliath strike late. Foley outscored the visitors in the end, who will look to bounce back at home against Kobelco Kobe Steelers on Saturday.

As for Foley’s Kubota, their undefeated record will again be put to the test when they face MIE Honda Heat. The Heat are searching for their first win of the season, having fallen to Toyota Verblitz, the Steelers and BlackRams Tokyo early in the season.