The ever-changing poses of Tokyo Fox!!

The first half of 2026 has been a busy one for watching rugby and I’ve already managed to attend enough matches to warrant another compilation post series. There’s a couple of international matches coming up but it’s highly likely that they’ll be covered in a separate post or two. I also went to a Premiership match when back in the UK in early January but I’ve decided to not include that in the top ten ranking. It does appear as a bonus at the end of this post though!

These rankings certainly shouldn’t be taken too seriously as they’re based on a mixture of occasion, weather, people I met, and maybe even the rugby itself! Unlike the football compilations, the stadia won’t play too much of a part as all but one of them took place at the same stadium!

10. Mie Honda Heat 5-49 Tokyo Black Rams @ Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Minato-ku (Tokyo), Friday 17th April (19:00 KO)

Huge discounts and ticket giveaways (not for me sadly!) meant it was quite possibly the busiest I’ve ever seen it at Tokyo’s iconic rugby stadium. I switched things up a bit by taking a seat in the main stand but it was a bit of a tight squeeze. It was a very one-sided match ensued with Black Rams playing some fine rugby in the first half to take the game out of sight.

Weather: Cloudy, Price: 4,000-yen, Attendance: 15,934

9. Kubota Spears 26-3 Toshiba Brave Lupus @ Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Minato-ku (Tokyo), Sunday 24th May (14:30 KO)

The Japan Rugby League One championship isn’t won by the team that comes top and is instead decided by play-off matches meaning that the 2024 and 2025 champions Toshiba Brave Lupus had a chance of winning three in a row despite finishing sixth! They were outclassed here though by the 3rd-placed team in what was actually a bit of a lackluster contest. More details here.

Weather: Cloudy, Price: 3,000-yen, Attendance: 12,579

8. Urayasu D-Rocks 26-49 Shizuoka Blue Revs @ Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Minato-ku (Tokyo), Friday 24th April (19:00 KO)

It was a carnival-like atmosphere with 500-yen beers on sale all night plus free Hawaiian-style shirts, flags and snack packs. On the field though it was pretty much over as a contest by the interval as the visitors racked up a 28-0 lead which was then extended to 35-0 at the start of the second half. There was something of a fightback by D-Rocks after that but the game was already done and dusted.

Weather: Cloudy, Price: 3,700-yen, Attendance: 11,173

7. Tokyo Black Rams 33-7 Mitsubishi Dynaboars @ Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Minato-ku (Tokyo), Sunday 29th March (14:30 KO)

This was actually my first time to ever see Black Rams play and they were the superior side in this match which wasn’t particularly great. As ever, the Dynaboars fans created a good atmosphere but their team just never got going and it was a really poor performance from a side that were so impressive the last time I saw them.

Weather: Sunny, Price: 4,500-yen, Attendance: 8,263

6. Yokohama TKM 21-12 Artemi-Stars @ Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Minato-ku (Tokyo), Sunday 1st February (13:00 KO)

The 12th Japan National Women’s Rugby Championship final took place in much better conditions than the previous showpiece occasion. Artemi-Stars were the superior team in the first half, but TKM scored a try on their first attack. TKM had the upper hand in the second and despite being behind briefly they came back to score a couple of tries to put the contest beyond doubt.

Weather: Sunny, Price: 2,100-yen, Attendance: 3,537

5. Tokyo Black Rams 28-40 Toyota Verblitz @ Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Minato-ku (Tokyo), Sunday 26th April (14:30 KO)

A closely fought contest swung back and forth for the first 65-70 minutes with some very tight TMO decisions necessary on a number of occasions. The away team eventually outmuscled the Black Rams with a couple of late tries to take maximum points.

Weather: Sunny/Cloudy, Price: 0-yen, Attendance: 10,007

4. Kobe Steelers 22-13 Kubota Spears @ MUFG Stadium, Shinjuku-ku (Tokyo), Sunday 7th June (15:05 KO)

The title decider at the National Stadium was a hotly contested affair and for a while in the first half it looked like the Tokyo Bay team might sneak a surprise win but they failed to lead at the break despite being the better team. Kobe Steelers showed the 50,00o spectators why they finished top of the table and they deservedly went to win the match and the championship.

Weather: Cloudy, Price: 2,000-yen, Attendance: 50,451

3. Toshiba Brave Lupus 22-24 Mie Honda Heat @ Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Minato-ku (Tokyo), Sunday 22nd March (14:30 KO)

This game took quite a long time to get going but once it did it was pretty good and the climax was very exciting as the away team snatched it with a penalty in the dying seconds having missed one just a minute before that. It had looked like Brave Lupus would get the win with a late surge having been behind for much of the game but it wasn’t to be. It was also nice to be joined by a work colleague who was attending his first rugby match in Japan!

Weather: Cloudy, Price: 4,000-yen, Attendance: 8,419

2. Tokyo Sungoliath 60-21 Toshiba Brave Lupus @ Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Minato-ku (Tokyo), Sunday 15th March (14:30 KO)

The Fuchu Derby was a bright and colourful affair played out in really sunny conditions and I got sunburnt. Brave Lupus were a shadow of their former selves this season and were totally outplayed by their rivals who ran riot with tries galore.

Weather: Sunny, Price: 0-yen, Attendance: 12,562

1. Urayasu D-Rocks 28-22 Yokohama Canon Eagles @ Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Minato-ku (Tokyo), Saturday 10th January (12:00 KO)

Just 36 hours after arriving back in Japan from the UK I finished work very early and was able to attend this match. It turned out to be a great game with the home team scoring multiple first half tries. It reminded me of a match D-Rocks were involved in the season before which saw them eventually lose. I was pretty much resigned to history repeating itself when they only had a six-point advantage with 20 minutes remaining. A converted try would win it for Yokohama but D-Rocks surprisingly held firm to take the win.

Weather: Sunny, Price: 3,800-yen, Attendance: 5,169

Bonus: Leicester Tigers 36-28 Saracens @ Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium, Leicester (UK), Sunday 4th January (15:00 KO)

Had I included this match from my UK in the list, it would undoubtedly have been number one. It was my first time to watch Leicester Tigers in 23 years and I loved it. The first half saw some absolutely wonderful tries before things slowed down in the second period and Saracens clawed it back a bit during a period of light snow. I met a few players after the final whistle too which I really didn’t expact at this level. More details here.

Weather: Cold/Light snow, Price: 20 pounds, Attendance: 25,849

Click here to read ‘My 1st Leicester Tigers Rugby Match For 23 Years!’

Click here to read ‘TF Top 10……Rugby Match Day Experiences in 2025’

Click here to read ‘TF Top 10……Rugby Match Day Experiences in 2024’

Click here to read ‘I Met a Leicester Tigers & England Rugby Union Legend’