Wallabies veteran Foley delivers again for ladder-leading Kubota Spears

Former Wallabies fly-half Bernard Foley remains at the top of the overall point-scoring charts in Japan Rugby League One’s first division, proving effective off the kicking tee in the Kubota Spears’ 39-10 win over Toyota Verblitz last weekend.

Kubota entered round five with an unbeaten record, which saw them take hold of first place on the standings. Marika Koroibete’s Saitama Wild Knights were the only unbeaten side after four rounds, but the Spears had a better points difference.

Foley had been instrumental in the Spears’ strong start to the season, sitting clear of anyone else as the competition’s top point-scorer. The Australian continues to hold that title after another impressive outing at Edogawa Athletic Stadium.

Backrower Tyler Paul opened the scoring inside the first couple of minutes, allowing Foley to score his first points of the afternoon off the tee. Foley knocked over the conversion attempt and added another eight points to Kubota’s score before the 20-minute mark.

The Wallabies veteran was successful with two penalty attempts and a conversion, with Merwe Olivier scoring a try in the 19^th minute. Olivier benefited from a perfectly weighed short ball, running through a gap and to the house for the team’s second try.

Kubota continued to pile on the points during an eye-catching first-half performance, with Rikus Pretorius and Gerhard van den Heever crossing for a five-pointer each. Foley converted one of the two tries as the Spears took a commanding 32-0 lead into the sheds.

2023 World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year Mark Tele’a was shown a yellow card about 10 minutes into the second term, with a penalty try also awarded against Toyota. It was scoreless for the next few minutes, with Taichi Takahashi touching down for Toyota’s first try.

Shinya Komura missed the shot at the uprights, with the scoreboard reading 39-5 in favour of the Spears. Both teams made a series of substitutions during a tense period of the contest, which lasted more than 20 minutes without any points being scored.

Toyota’s Ryusei Kato had the final point-scoring say of the match, crashing over from a rolling maul with time almost up. The match went another few minutes with the clock in the red before a maul turnover saw the match come to an end.

Foley finished with 12 points, with the playmaker extending his season tally to 80. BlackRams Tokyo’s Ichigo Nakakusu is second on that list with 56 points, and Bryn Gatland from the Kobelco Kobe Steelers rounds out the top three with 53.

Gatland is the big mover, rising ahead of Takuya Yamasawa (40) from the Wild Knights. Former All Blacks Richie Mo’unga and Brodie Retallick are both in the top six, with Retallick crossing for four tries as a second-rower last weekend.

Retallick is equal-first with the Wild Knights’ Atushi Sakate for tries scored this season with seven, slightly ahead of Tjay Clarke with six. Matt Vaega and Haruto Kida are equal fourth with five tries to their names so far in the 2025/26 season.