TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Kubota Spears flyhalf Bernard Foley overcame a nightmare afternoon from the kicking tee Sunday as he nailed a drop goal after the hooter to give his team a 30-27 comeback win over Toyota Verblitz in their Japan Rugby League One opening-round clash.

Dealing with windy conditions and the newly introduced 60-second shot clock, the former Wallabies playmaker missed his first four conversion attempts but found the target when it mattered late in the contest at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground.

"I actually hit it quite well," Foley said of his 83rd-minute match-winner. "It would have been nice to have nailed a few kicks beforehand and not have to leave it so late, but credit to Toyota, they're a good side and we knew we had to play till the end."

High-profile rugby league defector Joseph Manu scored a try in his professional rugby union debut for a star-studded Toyota side coached by former All Blacks tacticians Steve Hansen and Ian Foster.

Brave Blossoms 2023 World Cup flyhalf Rikiya Matsuda and Scotland lock Richie Gray also debuted for the visitors from Aichi Prefecture, who led until Merwe Olivier's try and Foley's first successful conversion knotted the scores at 27 in the 76th minute.

Manu, the 28-year-old former superstar for the Australian National Rugby League's Sydney Roosters, started at inside center for Toyota and eventually headed to the bench midway through the second half.

The Spears drew first blood in the 12th minute when their lineout near the opposing tryline enabled hooker Hayate Era to burst across from a maul.

Kubota winger Halatoa Vailea was yellow carded for a reckless tackle and Verblitz were able to capitalize, with Viliame Tuidraki dotting down in the corner and Matsuda nailing the conversion for a 7-5 lead in the 21st minute.

Captain Kazuki Himeno carried a tackler with him over the tryline to extend Toyota's lead before Kubota skipper Faulua Makisi answered at the other end, bringing head coach Frans Ludeke's men within a single score at 14-10.

Toyota took a 21-10 lead into the break after ex-All Blacks No. 9 Aaron Smith gathered the ball from a ruck at the line and sent Manu over on the stroke of halftime.

Kubota roared back into the contest following the break, with tries from Tyler Paul and Yuhei Shimada cutting their deficit to 24-20. After a Matsuda penalty pushed Toyota's lead back to seven, Olivier dotted down near the posts and Foley finally slotted a conversion to bring Spears level.

The men in orange carried the momentum on a final drive down the field that set the stage for Foley to break the deadlock.

Toyota's World Rugby Player of the Year Pieter-Steph du Toit, who has reportedly been dealing with a shoulder issue since wrapping up the test season with South Africa, was not in the Verblitz squad.

In Sunday's other results, defending champions Brave Lupus Tokyo beat the Yokohama Eagles 28-21 at Nissan Stadium, while the Sagamihara Dynaboars were 31-19 winners against the visiting Urayasu D-Rocks.

(By Sean Miyaguchi)