Top League targets England superstars in bid to top rugby world Sorry, but your browser needs Javascript to use this site. If you re not sure how to activate it, please refer to this site: https://www.enable-javascript.com/
Top League officials are trying to lure England star Owen Farrell to Japan. | REUTERS
AFP-Jiji Mar 16, 2021
Japan’s Top League is hoping to lure England stars Owen Farrell and Maro Itoje as it pursues its soaring ambition of becoming the world’s leading rugby competition, its chairman said.
The well-heeled league has swelled its ranks of foreign players since the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, with New Zealand’s two-time World Player of the Year Beauden Barrett chief among them.
Feb 19, 2021
The final edition of the Japan Rugby Top League kicks off Saturday with a plethora of world superstars on show and plenty to play for as the sport looks to make the transition from a corporate-run entity to a more professional competition from 2022.
Beginning next year, the top 25 teams in the nation 16 from the Top League and nine Top Challenge League sides will play in a new three-tier competition, and this year’s results will play a major role in determining which teams enter which division.
The season was originally slated to begin Jan. 16 but was postponed after multiple teams suffered COVID-19 outbreaks.
Top Story Replay: State of Emergency Officially Declared in Tokyo 01/09/21
State of emergency announced 197 days until the Opening Ceremony for Tokyo 2020. (ATR)
(ATR) Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency for the Tokyo metropolitan area on Thursday evening with 197 days to go until the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.
The anticipated announcement followed the news of another record-breaking number of new coronavirus cases in the capital and across the host country of the delayed Olympiad.
On Thursday Japan reported over 6,000 new cases with Tokyo reporting 2,447, a single-day record – up from 1,591 the previous day - with the hospitals now feeling the strain of the third wave as medical experts had predicted a New Year spike in cases.
State of Emergency Officially Declared in Tokyo 01/07/21
(ATR) Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency for the Tokyo metropolitan area on Thursday evening with 197 days to go until the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.
State of emergency announced 197 days until the Opening Ceremony for Tokyo 2020. (ATR)
The anticipated announcement followed the news of another record-breaking number of new coronavirus cases in the capital and across the host country of the delayed Olympiad.
On Thursday Japan reported over 6,000 new cases with Tokyo reporting 2,447, a single-day record – up from 1,591 the previous day - with the hospitals now feeling the strain of the third wave as medical experts had predicted a New Year spike in cases.