Premiership Rugby

FloRugby's Professional Club Power Rankings: March 4, 2026

FloRugby's Professional Club Power Rankings: March 4, 2026

FloRugby's Professional Club Power Rankings for March 4: Retallick and Kobe pile on points in Japan, URC flips, as Lions lift SA Shield and Glasgow falls.

Mar 4, 2026 by Philip Bendon
FloRugby's Professional Club Power Rankings: March 4, 2026

Brodie Retallick kept piling up tries in Japan Rugby League One, as the Kobelco Kobe Steelers ripped the Urayasu D Rocks 78-19 to stay second on the Division One table and tighten the title race.

Retallick scored twice in a 12-try rout that pushed his season total to 11, three clear of teammate Inoke Burua, who added a hat trick to move to eight. 

Brave Blossoms backrower Tiennan Costley also scored three times as Kobe, coached by Dave Rennie, continued a scoring surge that has produced 49 tries across their last six matches.

The Saitama Wild Knights responded to last week’s setback with a 66-19 win over MIE Honda Heat, powered by the return of Dylan Riley. 

The center scored his first try of the season in his third appearance, as Saitama raced to a 35-7 halftime lead, then finished with nine tries, the biggest haul of the campaign. Lachlan Boshier and Ben Gunter each scored twice.

The Kubota Spears stayed on top but missed a bonus point in a 28-10 win over Yokohama Canon Eagles after leading 21-0 early. Jesse Kriel’s Eagles rallied after halftime to cut the margin, before Rikus Pretorius scored late, leaving Kubota’s lead over Kobe trimmed to two points.

Tokyo Sungoliath surged closer to the top 3 by crushing the Shizuoka BlueRevs 57-24. Sungoliath dominated the first half on the way to a 38-5 lead, then finished with winger Seiya Ozaki completing a hat trick. Shizuoka slipped further from the playoff places with eight matches left.

Ricoh BlackRams Tokyo deepened Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo’s slide with a 33-14 win, highlighted by TJ Perenara’s second-half try. 

Toyota Verblitz made it two straight wins with a 31-29 victory over the Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars in Kyoto, where Shinya Komura’s late conversion proved decisive after Siosaia Fifita scored in the 78th minute.

In the BKT United Rugby Championship, the Fidelity SecureDrive Lions clinched the South African Shield by beating the DHL Stormers 24-10 in Johannesburg, then watched the Vodacom Bulls thrash the Hollywoodbets Sharks 41-12 in Pretoria. 

Lions captain Francke Horn said the last two derby wins had been a major step for the group, while coach Ivan van Rooyen pointed to improved consistency against South African rivals.

The URC weekend also shook up the table. 

Connacht beat the Glasgow Warriors 15-10 with Sean Jansen scoring from a line-out maul on the final play, while Cardiff stunned Leinster 8-7 in heavy rain to climb into third.

Power rankings reflect those swings, with the Northampton Saints still leading overall, Toulouse closing in and URC sides compressed behind them after a round of road upsets.

FloRugby's Professional Club Power Rankings Methodology

These power rankings are built from a long-running results model that updates after every finished match. 

Each team starts from a common baseline, then rises or falls based on opponent strength and match outcome. 

Winning away from home is valued more than winning at home, and results against stronger teams move the needle more than results against weaker opponents. 

Competition strength also is accounted for, so performance in elite tournaments carries more weight than lower tier leagues. 

Big wins matter, but the influence of margin is capped to avoid blowouts distorting the table. 

The model is designed to react quickly early in a season, then stabilize as teams accumulate games. When teams are close on points, recent head-to-head outcomes can help separate them. The goal is a clear, comparable snapshot across leagues without guessing future results. 

FloRugby's Professional Club Power Rankings For March 4, 2026

  1. Northampton Saints - 1,671

  2. Toulouse - 1,649

  3. Bath - 1,642

  4. Bristol Bears - 1,638

  5. Glasgow Warriors - 1,636

  6. Leinster - 1,634

  7. Montpellier - 1,625

  8. Brumbies - 1,590

  9. Bordeaux Bègles - 1,588

  10. Leicester Tigers - 1,583

  11. Vodacom Bulls - 1,577

  12. Saitama Wild Knights - 1,563

  13. Kobelco Kobe Steelers - 1,562

  14. Kubota Spears - 1,558

  15. ASM Clermont Auvergne - 1,553

  16. Racing 92 - 1,552

  17. Cardiff Rugby - 1,542

  18. Fidelity SecureDrive Lions - 1,538

  19. Crusaders - 1,537

  20. Stade Francais - 1,535

  21. Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo - 1,533

  22. Tokyo Sungoliath - 1,533

  23. Saracens - 1,532

  24. DHL Stormers - 1,528

  25. Ulster - 1,525

  26. Waratahs - 1,525

  27. Edinburgh - 1,514

  28. Exeter Chiefs - 1,514

  29. BlackRams Tokyo - 1,509

  30. Hollywoodbets Sharks - 1,506

  31. Ospreys - 1,506

  32. Pau - 1,503

  33. Fijian Drua - 1,501

  34. Reds - 1,501

  35. Chiefs - 1,499

  36. Munster - 1,497

  37. Western Force - 1,494

  38. Blues - 1,488

  39. Benetton - 1,485

  40. Shizuoka BlueRevs - 1,483

  41. Toyota Verblitz - 1,483

  42. Connacht - 1,481

  43. Hurricanes - 1,481

  44. Harlequins - 1,471

  45. Sale Sharks - 1,464

  46. La Rochelle - 1,459

  47. Urayasu D Rocks - 1,456

  48. Highlanders - 1,455

  49. MIE Honda Heat - 1,453

  50. Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars - 1,448

  51. Toulon - 1,443

  52. Castres - 1,442

  53. Scarlets - 1,437

  54. Cheetahs - 1,436

  55. Moana Pasifika - 1,430

  56. Yokohama Canon Eagles - 1,424

  57. Newcastle Red Bulls - 1,420

  58. Black Lion - 1,419

  59. Perpignan - 1,417

  60. Lyon - 1,412

  61. Dragons - 1,406

  62. Zebre - 1,403

  63. Bayonne - 1,392

  64. Gloucester Rugby - 1,346

  65. Montauban - 1,238

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