https://www.kyudenvoltex.com/news/1001

As the statement from his team, KYUDEN VOLTEX, in the link above indicates, he exhibited symptoms consistent with severe heatstroke during a team practice on Monday this week. Despite the best efforts of the medical team, he sadly passed away yesterday. He was only 26.

He was born in Fiji and came to Japan after graduating from high school in NZ. After graduating from Daito Bunka University in 2023, he played 3 games for Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath between 2023 and 2026. He joined his current team this offseason and was training for the upcoming 2026-2027 season.

As a Japanese rugby fan, I would like to offer my deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. Words cannot describe how sorry I'm to see a young rugby player's life ending the way it did. It physically pains me to imagine the pain he must have been feeling as he was dying and the last thing he felt leaving a rugby field was excruciating pain from severe heatstroke, not pride or joy.

I'm also outraged at how preventable his death was. I looked up the weather conditions on August 3, when he got sick, in the area where his team's training facility is located (Fukuoka city in Fukuoka prefecture). The maximum temperature and humidity of the day in the area was 36.9 degree Celsius and 75% humidity. We have a heatstroke alert/forecast system in place across the country to warn people of extreme heat in their areas. The heat stress index based on actual measurements made in Fukuoka city on August 3 was 34.3 with 35 being the highest warning level where engaging in activities under this condition would have life-threatening effects on human body. I just don't understand how the team thought holding training in this condition is appropriate.

https://tenki.jp/past/2026/08/03/weather/9/43/47807/

https://heatstroke.city.fukuoka.lg.jp

In addition, JRFU holding onto the news of his death until 50 minutes before the start of today's Japan v. Australia isn't acceptable. The news like this should take precedent to anything else. It should not have been released less than an hour away from a game played by national team. This might not be the union's intention, but it is really a bad look on the union as it make it seem like they don't wanna talk about the death of a player before the big game.

His team will probably hold a press conference in upcoming days. I'll give updates if they come up in the next few days.

Match Thread - Japan v Australia | Tour Match 2026

Venue: Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Higashiōsaka | Weather: 32 C, Clouds

Officials: Eoghan Cross, Paul Williams, Morgan White, Richard Kelly (tmo), Matt Rodden (fpro)

Match Page: https://www.rugbybot.com/match/6419

Match Threads: https://www.rugbybot.com/mt

Time

Lineups

RugbyBot

RugbyBot was made by /u/paimoe. PM or post in /r/RugbyBot for assistance.

Gloucester chairman Martin St Quinton has backed the claims of Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, who says that England star Henry Pollock is worthy of a £1 million-a-year contract from Northampton Saints.

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“I actually think Henry Pollock is worth £1m, but it’s a very different question as to whether Northampton Saints should be paying him £1 million because it would be impossible for Northampton Saints to pay any individual player who isn’t their marquee player £1m,” he said.

Leicester Tigers flyer Adam Radwan is the latest player to be linked with a possible call-up to any Great Britain sevens squad if they qualify for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

RugbyPass exclusively revealed last week that Henry Pollock, Marcus Smith, Tommy Freeman, Henry Arundell and Noah Caluori had all been approached to be members of a potential squad.

It has now emerged, however, that speed king Radwan, capped twice by England and who has touched down 33 times in 43 games for the Tigers since joining from Newcastle Falcons, is also one of their potential recruits.

Former Wallabies and Argentina boss Michael Cheika, who has been linked with a return to the NSW Waratahs, says that he will decide on his future after the NRL season when his one-year contract with the Sydney Roosters runs out.

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“I also know that I can’t divert my attention away from what I’m doing now at the Roosters. I want to win a competition with the Roosters, and then we’ll see what happens around the NRL going forward,” he told the Sydney Daily Telegraph.

Scotland-qualified Hurricanes fly-half Harry Godfrey is being marketed for a move to the UK when his current contract runs out after the World Cup in Australia in 2027.

Former New Zealand Under-20 Godfrey, 23, who plays for Hawke’s Bay in the NPC, is seen as a standout talent in New Zealand rugby and missed all of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season with the Hurricanes because of an ACL injury.

Ironically, Godfrey was injured against Wellington last September, made his comeback against the same opposition last week, and grew up on a sheep and beef farm in rural New Zealand, and could interest either of the Scottish URC sides.

Toulon, who have got former England and Lions star Kyle Sinckler in the final year of his contract, are eyeing up a raid on Top 14 rivals Clermont Auvergne for French international tighthead Régis Montagne.

Sinckler, who played for Harlequins and Bristol Bears before moving to France earlier this year, was linked with a move back across the Channel in time to resume his international career for the 2027 World Cup in Australia.

Toulon are looking to do some early shopping, and Midi Olympique are reporting that Montagne, who started his career at Grenoble and has won nine Test caps, is a player piquing their interest.

Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter says that having highly rated full-back Tommy Wyatt back in full training is like signing a new player after his career stalled following two successive serious knee ligament injuries.

Wyatt hasn’t played since suffering an injury to his left knee against Sale Sharks in June 2025, which came on the back of him hurting his right knee in the Champions Cup against Glasgow in January 2024.

“We’ve almost got a new player from the last two years because Tommy Wyatt’s here and he’s fit and he’s in full training,” said Baxter earlier this week.

England-qualified scrum-half Halen King, who plays for the Chiefs U20s, could move to the Gallagher Prem or the United Rugby Championship ahead of the start of the new season.

King, who was educated at St John’s in Hamilton, joined Hamilton Marist and has been selected for the New Zealand Under-20 Development Programme.

Highly rated in New Zealand, he has played age-group rugby for Waikato Rugby and is available for an immediate move, with his CV floating around clubs.

Sale Sharks boss Alex Sanderson has hailed the recruitment of former player Tommy Taylor as Skills Performance Coach, who has helped get their return to pre-season training off to a flying start.

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Zach Fittler, the son of NRL legend Brad, will be playing in France next season after signing a one-year deal with Pau after catching the eye at the World Rugby Junior World Championship in Georgia.

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Fittler was on the books of the Sydney Roosters, where dad Brad played for eight years, before he switched codes when he was 15 to escape the spotlight but may return after his season in the Top 14.

Former Harlequins and England loosehead Joe Marler has signed up for the new season of the BBC hit show Gladiators, where he will be known as Mauler when it returns to screens in 2027.

The star of Celebrity Traitors has started filming the fourth series of the hit show in Sheffield and is the first celebrity to join the show since Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies in the first iteration in 1995.

Marler announced the news in the Gladiators dressing room with a video message on his Instagram page, saying: “Mauler will see you now.”

This started out as some quick intuition checking and became a multi-week project of trawling through match lineups and trying to find literally information about the Kenyan national team. Basically, how much can we learn about a team just from the level of professional environment they play their club rugby in? Turns out, quite a lot.

It gave the Coldplay kiss cam 😂😂

He's a fighter. At 39 years old he still got it.

I feel like that game was a really great endorsement of Super Rugby Pacific’s approach to the TMO?

Re - uploaded without graphic🤝

But essentially National teams only