DIVISION 1 Schedule and Venues Confirmed
Kobelco Kobe Steelers to open their title-defending campaign at home in Kobe; Urayasu D-Rocks to host regular-season matches at MUFG Stadium for the first time
Japan Rugby League One (JRLO) is pleased to announce that the match schedule and venues for DIVISION 1 (D1) of the NTT Japan Rugby League One 2026-27 season have been confirmed as outlined below.
The 2026-27 season will kick off on Saturday, December 12, 2026, with the Play-Off Tournament Final scheduled for Sunday, June 6, 2027.
The opening round of the 2026-27 D1 season will see reigning champions Kobelco Kobe Steelers, who secured their first Japan Rugby League One title last season, host Toyota Verblitz at Noevir Stadium Kobe as they begin their title defence under a new team structure.
Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath, who finished fourth last season, will face Ricoh BlackRams Tokyo, who finished fifth, in a repeat of the fiercely contested quarter-final from last season.
Tochigi Honda Heat, who will relocate their base to Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, and compete under their new team name from the 2026-27 season, will face Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo at Honda Heat Green Stadium.
Meanwhile, Sagamihara Gion Stadium will host a Kanagawa derby between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars and Yokohama Canon Eagles, both of whom are based in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay, who have finished runners-up for two consecutive seasons, will face Shizuoka BlueRevs.
Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights, who are aiming to win their first title since the inaugural Japan Rugby League One season, will host Urayasu D-Rocks at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium. The two sides finished last season with one win apiece in their two meetings.
In addition, Urayasu D-Rocks will host regular-season matches at MUFG Stadium (National Stadium) on Friday, January 22, and Friday, February 5, in Rounds 6 and 7, respectively.
These matches will mark the first time that a regular-season match of the Japan Rugby Top League/Japan Rugby League One era has been held at the current MUFG Stadium (National Stadium), which was completed in its current form in November 2019.
Further details regarding venues, kick-off times and broadcast schedules for matches where these details have yet to be confirmed will be announced on the official Japan Rugby League One website as they are finalized.
For ticket information, please check the official website of the home team (the team listed first in each fixture) and Ticket Rugby.
NTT Japan Rugby League One 2026-27 Division 1 Match Schedule
The match schedule is available as a PDF file.
Please click the link below to view it.
DIVISION 1 Format
As in the 2025-26 season, the 12 D1 teams will each play 18 regular-season matches in the 2026-27 season.
Each team will face the other 11 teams, playing seven teams twice and four teams once. The number of fixtures against each opponent has been determined based on the final standings from the 2024-25 season, with the aim of avoiding an imbalance in the strength of opponents.
The conference system previously used in D1 has been discontinued. Under the previous format, the 12 teams were divided into conferences, with teams playing a different number of matches against opponents depending on their conference. From the 2026-27 season, the conference system has been phased out in order to simplify the competition structure.
JRLO will continue to consider the future competition format, including the number of matches and participating teams, with the aim of eventually introducing a full home-and-away format in which every team plays every other team twice.
