Australian fly-half Bernard Foley led Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay's relentless attack in a 23-14 win Sunday over Kobe Steelers in Japan Rugby League One's first division.

Foley opened the scoring with a pair of first-half penalties before setting up and converting the visitors' first try at Hanazono Rugby Stadium. He exploited a gap in the defense before swinging the ball out wide, where Faulua Makisi crossed after a series of offloads against Steelers' outnumbered defenders.

Haruto Kida (2nd from R) of Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay is pictured in action during a Japan Rugby League One match against Kobe Steelers at Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Higashiosaka, western Japan, on March 26, 2023. (Kyodo)

A penalty from the Wallaby back made it 16-0 three minutes after the break. Richard Buckman scored a sixth-minute try for the hosts, but the Steelers spent the bulk of the second half defending their besieged try-line.

The win kept Spears in second place, four points ahead of Tokyo Sungoliath, who earned a 32-7 bonus-point win over Green Rockets Tokatsu behind a brace of tries from Ryoto Nakamura.

In Sunday's other game, Shizuoka BlueRevs got two tries from Chikara Ito in a 30-20 win over Sagamihara Dynaboars.