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Report: NRL star set to sign new deal with Japanese Division One club
By Henry Lee
After leaving Australian rugby and the Waratahs after the 2024 season, current NRL star Mark Nawaqanitawase is reportedly set to sign a deal with a Japanese Division One club in 2027.
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that Nawaqanitawase’s next move will be to Japan in 2027, after playing the 2026 season with the Sydney Roosters in the NRL.
Nawaqanitawase has played eleven times for the Wallabies so far in his short international career, but is also eligible to play for either Italy or Fiji at the next Rugby World Cup.
The star winger impressed for the Roosters in 2025, topping the try-scoring charts and starting all three games for the Kangaroos in their three-Test series against England.
The 25-year-old winger in the NRL told the Roosters that his aim is to play in a home Rugby World Cup in 2027, which he would be able to do if he signs in Japan, through the selection process for the Wallabies.
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Joe Schmidt, who has been coaching the Wallabies for the past couple of years, said in September last year that having a player of Nawaqanitawase’s quality will always be a positive for Australian rugby.
“I don’t think we discount anyone in terms of players who have either been in the gold jersey previously or have come through the school system and potentially would like to be back involved with rugby union,” Schmidt said in 2025.
“Just because there’s so much talent among some of those players, and his athleticism in the air is not too different from Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii. To have athletes like that, it’s always something that would add value.”
Unlike the All Blacks in New Zealand, Rugby Australia let players play for their country that play overseas, meaning Nawaqanitawase’s contract in Japan will allow him to be selected by Les Kiss in 2027.
Nawaqanitawase won’t be the only Australian playing in the Japanese Rugby League One, with the likes of Samu Kerevi, Noah Lolesio, Marika Koroibete, and Bernard Foley also in Japan.
One of Kiss’ goals in 2026 will likely involve securing the signature of Nawaqanitawase and getting him up to speed before the home Rugby World Cup in 2027, with pool matches against the All Blacks, Chile, and Hong Kong China on the horizon.
The opening game of the tournament will be a blockbuster in 2027, with the All Blacks in town to open the tournament, either at Perth’s Optus Stadium, the MCG, or possibly in Sydney.
A first-place finish in Pool A will likely see the top-seed play against the Springboks in the quarter-final, as Rassie Erasmus’ side will be expected to win their pool, which includes Italy, Georgia, and Romania.
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