Kobe Steelers 40 - 24 Wild Knights

Full time

21 Feb 2026

Stage: Conference B Round 9

Kobe Universiade

Kobe Steelers vs Wild Knights head to head

Kobelco Kobe Steelers secured a convincing 40-24 victory over the Saitama Wild Knights. The Wild Knights started strong with early tries from Koyama and Takeyama, taking a 12-0 lead. However, the Steelers responded with a flurry of scoring, including tries from Dixon, Matsunaga, and Cowley-Tuioti, closing the half at 26-12. In the second half, Ueda and Raratubua extended the Steelers' lead, showcasing their attacking prowess. The Wild Knights managed a late try from Noguchi but could not close the gap. Seungsin Lee's kicking was instrumental, as he converted five tries for the Steelers. This match highlighted the Steelers' dominance at home, continuing their strong form in the Japan League One D1.

Weather

Temperature: 13.2°C (Feels like 14.8°C) Condition: Clear Wind: 7.3 km/h, gusting to 15.9 km/h Humidity: 43% Cloud Cover: 0%

Highlights

Events

Kickoff
2'

Try

Taiki Koyama · Wild Knights

0 - 5
3'

Conversion

Takuya Yamasawa · Wild Knights

0 - 7
17'

Try

Koki Takeyama · Wild Knights

0 - 12
24'

Try

Ash Dixon · Kobe Steelers

5 - 12
25'

Conversion

Seungsin Lee · Kobe Steelers

7 - 12
28'

Try

Kanta Matsunaga · Kobe Steelers

12 - 12
35'

Try

Damian de Allende · Wild Knights

12 - 17
36'

Conversion

Takuya Yamasawa · Wild Knights

12 - 19
40'

Try

Gerard Cowley-Tuioti · Kobe Steelers

19 - 19
40'

Conversion

Seungsin Lee · Kobe Steelers

14 - 19
40'

Substitution

Takara Imamura on for Gerard Cowley-Tuioti · Kobe Steelers
40'

Substitution

Jiwon Gu on for Hiroshi Yamashita · Kobe Steelers
Halftime 19 - 19
Second Half
41'

Try

Kazuma Ueda · Kobe Steelers

24 - 19
42'

Conversion

Seungsin Lee · Kobe Steelers

26 - 19
47'

Try

Tali Ioasa · Kobe Steelers

31 - 19
47'

Conversion

Seungsin Lee · Kobe Steelers

33 - 19
48'

Substitution

Tomoki Osada on for Marika Koroibete · Wild Knights
54'

Try

Waisake Raratubua · Kobe Steelers

38 - 19
55'

Conversion

Seungsin Lee · Kobe Steelers

40 - 19
55'

Substitution

Ryota Hasegawa on for Ben Gunter · Wild Knights
55'

Substitution

Hikaru Moriwaki on for Shigure Takao · Kobe Steelers
55'

Substitution

Sione Mau on for Ash Dixon · Kobe Steelers
55'

Substitution

Esei Haangana on for Juan Wilson · Wild Knights
60'

Substitution

Keita Inagaki on for Craig Millar · Wild Knights
65'

Substitution

Michael Little on for Tali Ioasa · Kobe Steelers
65'

Substitution

Kenji Sato on for Atsushi Sakate · Wild Knights
65'

Substitution

Lisala Finau on for Asaeli Ai Valu · Wild Knights
65'

Substitution

Bryn Gatland on for Seungsin Lee · Kobe Steelers
66'

Substitution

Takaya Saito on for Takuya Yamasawa · Wild Knights
69'

Try

Ryuji Noguchi · Wild Knights

40 - 24
73'

Substitution

Solomone Funaki on for Waisake Raratubua · Kobe Steelers
73'

Substitution

Shu Hagihara on for Taiki Koyama · Wild Knights
74'

Substitution

Atsushi Hiwasa on for Itsuki Kamimura · Kobe Steelers
Fulltime 40 - 24

Player ratings

Kobe Steelers

15 Shunsuke Uenobou 5.8
14 Kanta Matsunaga 8.1
13 Anton Lienert-Brown 7.9
12 Tali Ioasa 9.2
11 Kazuma Ueda 8.3
10 Seungsin Lee 6.8
9 Itsuki Kamimura 7.1
1 Shigure Takao 6.9
2 Ash Dixon 8.0
3 Hiroshi Yamashita 6.3
4 Brodie Retallick 7.6
5 Gerard Cowley-Tuioti 7.0
6 Tiennan Costley 7.5
7 Ardie Savea 7.9
8 Waisake Raratubua 7.8
16 Sione Mau 6.4
17 Hikaru Moriwaki 6.2
18 Jiwon Gu 6.6
19 Takara Imamura 6.8
20 Solomone Funaki –
21 Atsushi Hiwasa –
22 Bryn Gatland 6.4
23 Michael Little 6.4

Wild Knights

15 Ryuji Noguchi 7.9
14 Koki Takeyama 6.4
13 Hayata Taniyama 5.7
12 Damian de Allende 7.1
11 Marika Koroibete 6.1
10 Takuya Yamasawa 6.1
9 Taiki Koyama 7.7
1 Craig Millar 7.2
2 Atsushi Sakate 6.9
3 Asaeli Ai Valu 5.9
4 Liam Mitchell 6.1
5 Jack Cornelsen 6.7
6 Ben Gunter 5.7
7 Lachlan Boshier 7.0
8 Juan Wilson 7.1
16 Kenji Sato 6.1
17 Keita Inagaki 6.1
18 Lisala Finau 6.0
19 Esei Haangana 6.2
20 Ryota Hasegawa 6.0
21 Shu Hagihara –
22 Tomoki Osada 5.5
23 Takaya Saito 5.8