Quade Cooper, left out of Eddie Jones’s Rugby World Cup 2023 squad, is set to play for Hanazono Kintetsu Liners in the Japan Rugby League One.
The 35-year-old will face the Ricoh Black Rams, coached by Peter Hewat, in a match in Tokyo. Last season, Cooper, returning from injury, helped Kintetsu avoid relegation in a crucial game against Israel Folau’s Urayasu D-Rocks.
Cooper will join forces with Will Genia, his long-time Test halves partner, to compete against a team that includes former Queensland Reds Isaac Lucas and Matt McGahan.
In other notable matchups, former Wallabies coaches Robbie Deans and Dave Rennie have challenging games ahead. Deans’ undefeated Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights will host Steve Hansen’s Toyota Verblitz.
This encounter is significant as Hansen and Deans have a long history of coaching against each other, both internationally and now in Japan. Hansen’s team features stars like Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith, Pieter Steph du Toit, and Kazuki Himeno. Deans, however, has left Marika Koroibete on the bench but will play Damien de Allende and ten members of Japan’s recent World Cup team.
Dave Rennie’s Kobelco Kobe Steelers, who have improved this season with two wins from three games, will face Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath, where Eddie Jones, Rennie’s successor with the Wallabies, is an advisor. The game will see Rennie against his former Super Rugby captain, Sam Cane, and Rugby World Cup teammates Brodie Retallick and Ardie Savea.
The weekend also features a big match-up between defending champions Kubota Spears of Funabashi Tokyo Bay, led by former Wallaby Bernard Foley, and the undefeated Toshiba Brave Lupus of Tokyo.
Kubota has had a shaky start to their title defense, losing two of their first three matches, while Toshiba has shown strong form, bolstered by All Blacks Shannon Frizell and Richie Mo’unga.
