Watch: Set-piece brilliance sends Koroibete over as Wild Knights cruise

Former Wallabies winger Marika Koroibete got on the scoresheet as the Saitama Wild Knights ran away with a dominant 33-3 win over the Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars last weekend, which kept their unbeaten start to the season alive.

Koroibete has retired from international rugby duty, telling reporters in Brisbane last October that he was “done with the Wallabies” after playing 63 Tests. But the two-time John Eales Medallist has continued to star in Japan Rugby League One, contributing to a big Wild Knights win.

The 33-year-old lined up on the left wing in a star-studded Wild Knights side that included Japan internationals Ben Gunter, Jack Cornelsen and Dylan Riley. Former Hurricanes midfielder Vince Aso was named in the midfield, with Springbok Lukhanyo Am in the opposing centre pairing.

After starting their season with a fascinating 46-0 win over defending champions Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo and a 37-19 win over Samu Kerevi’s Urayasu D-Rocks, the Wild Knights looked to make it three from three in their final match of 2025.

Gunter was shown a yellow card in the seventh minute and the home side made the most of that ill-discipline, with James Grayson knocking over a penalty goal. It took the Wild Knights another 20 minutes to strike, but once they did, the heavyweights of Japanese rugby didn’t look back.

Atsushi Sakate crashed over from a rolling maul with 12 minutes left in the half, with Takaya Saito adding the extras. The Wild Knights scored another two tries before the break, with Sakate completing a double and Gunter making amends.

Sakate’s eventful outing took another twist when the captain was shown a yellow card a few minutes into the second term. While the Wild Knights didn’t concede during that period, they failed to build on their lead as well.

Koroibete was next to strike, with the Wallabies great benefiting from a perfectly executed set-piece move off a lineout. Replacement hooker Kenji Sato threw an inside pass to the winger, who raced away untouched to score the decisive score.

Shota Fukui scored the only other try of the match, with the Wild Knights recording yet another confidence-building result. This 33-3 win kept them in pole position on the standings heading into the New Year, but there isn’t much between them and second.

Former Wallabies fly-half Bernard Foley was masterful in a huge win for the Kubota Spears against Tokyo Sungoliath. After falling to Toshiba Brave Lupus in last season’s decider, the Spears sit in second place on the standings with an unbeaten 3-0 record.

Kobelco Kobe Steelers, Tokyo Sungoliath, Toshiba Brave Lupus and Urayasu D-Rocks occupy spots three to six on the standings with 2-1 records. That sets up some important early-season showdowns in round four, which starts on January 10.

The Wild Knights host Shizuoka BlueRevs at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium, while the Spears take on a MIE Honda Heat outfit searching for their first win. Sam Cane and Cheslin Kolbe will take on Ardie Savea when Tokyo Sungoliath play the Steelers in arguably the game of the round.