Big weekend for Boks in Japan
WRAP: Two years ago, Kwagga Smith’s Blue Revs became the first team to beat Wild Knights in the regular season of Japan Rugby League One.
Yesterday, the Springboks’ side did it again.
In handing the inaugural champions just their second on-field defeat in 57 regular season matches, the Blue Revs completed a double over the top two sides in the league, with their 22-17 success against the Wild Knights joining the 34-28 defeat they inflicted on Brave Lupus in January.
Although the league’s leading point-scorer Kyohei Yamasawa scored all his side’s points, including the Wild Knights only try six minutes before the end, the Blue Revs were not to be denied as they again proved kryptonite for the competition’s inaugural champions.
Saitama were not helped by the loss of Springbok midfielder Damien de Allende to a finger dislocation, although they did gain some consolation from the sight of Wallaby winger Marika Koroibete running freely in his first outing since last year’s Bledisloe Cup series, on return after a significant hand injury of his own.
While they still trail on the league ladder by three points, Brave Lupus joined the Wild Knights on nine wins for the season after their fifth straight success against Verblitz, 33-22 at Aichi’s Stadium.
Led by two tries from All Black flyhalf Richie Mo’unga, which bookended their scoring, Brave Lupus overcame two yellow cards, and a second half comeback from Verblitz, to allow their coach Todd Blackadder to continue his domination of his former mentor with Canterbury in New Zealand’s national provincial championship, Steve Hansen.
Tries either side of halftime by ex-Wallaby skipper Michael Hooper and code-hopping outside back Joseph Manu – the latter’s sixth of his debut season in rugby union – brought Verblitz back to life after they had trailed 21-3, but although they closed to within four points in the final 10 minutes, Mo’unga’s second try a minute from time settled the issue.
Verblitz dropped back into the bottom two and the Replacement Battle promotion/relegation series positions because of their eighth defeat of the season, after Dynaboars’ upset 34-22 win over Sungoliath at Kyoto in today’s only Division One fixture.
The Dynaboars were led to their fourth – and best – win of the season so far by centre Matt Vaega, with the Kelston Boys High School (Auckland) product scoring a hat-trick on an unforgettable day for the 30-year-old which produced 24 points.
Not even a third try of the season from Springbok star Cheslin Kolbe – who also featured test loose forwards Sam Cane and Sean McMahon – could save Sungoliath, who missed the chance to draw level with sixth-placed Yokohama on the standings.
There were celebrations at Setagaya after Black Rams snapped a five-game losing streak in the ‘Photocopy Derby’ by taking down Eagles 27-20 at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium.
Led by All Black TJ Perenara, who took the bragging rights over his Springbok and Yokohama counterpart Faf de Klerk, the Black Rams were able to capitalise on the 42nd minute dismissal of Eagles winger Kippei Ishida for dangerous play.
The Black Rams had extended their advantage to 10 points by the time Yokohama was restored to a full complement 20 minutes later.
Although a try by ex-Jersey Reds fullback Brendan Owen did reduce the gap to three, Ricoh quickly responded with the final try of the afternoon from backrower Brodie McCurran to seal the deal.
Kobe Steelers had a much easier time of it against Heat, overwhelming their visitors with seven tries in a 47-5 romp.
Heat have never beaten Kobe in the top echelon of Japanese rugby, and it quickly became apparent that this was not about to change as the home side raced to a 26-0 advantage just before halftime.
Ex-(Auckland) Blues second rower Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, fellow New Zealand midfield back Michael Little, and fullback Matsunaga each scored twice, with the latter taking his tally for the season to eight, joining former (Waikato) Chiefs winger Ataata Moekiola as the team’s leading try-scorer.
Friday night saw bottom-placed Urayasu D-Rocks sink further into the mire after a dramatic collapse saw them pipped 33-22 by Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 14,000 in downtown Tokyo.
Greig Laidaw’s team, who had lost Springbok backrower Jasper Wiese to injury before the game, overcame that blow to produce some of their best rugby of the season in the first half, kicking on after Wallaby midfielder Samu Kerevi had muscled his way over to open the scoring in the 12th minute.
By halftime, D-Rocks were in front 15-0, which they extended to 22-0 shortly after the resumption when scrumhalf Ren Iinuma picked off an errant inside ball from Bernard Foley and raced 60 metres to score for the second week in a row.
The game’s turning point came when Tom Parsons was yellow carded for a professional foul just moments after taking the field, playing the ball on the ground during the movement that led to David Bulbring posting the Spears’ second try.
By the time the ex-(Wellington) Hurricanes and Urayasu second rower returned, the South African duo of hooker and man-of-the-match Malcolm Marx and centre Rikus Pretoria had both also scored, with the tries draining the confidence of D-Rocks, who wound up conceding 33 points in the final 35 minutes, after having held their opponents scoreless in the previous 45.
Japan Rugby League One
Divisions Two & Three
Aichi gained revenge for their only defeat of the season by beating Red Hurricanes Osaka 21-7 to stretch their lead at the head of the Division Two table to seven points.
Unusually all the points were scored in the first half, with ex-England test flyhalf Freddie Burns scoring the final try of the game – the Shuttles’ third – after the former Munster backrower Jack O’Sullivan had posted his side’s only score.
The 26-year-old, who was educated in Cork, was scoring his second try in as many weeks, but both have come in defeats as the one-time division leaders have slid to third in a rapidly congesting mid-table.
Just four points separate second from fourth as the race for the second berth in the Replacement Battle intensifies, with Wayne Pivac’s improving Green Rockets Tokatsu up to second after they twice overturned deficits to beat a valiant Kyushu Kyuden 35-30.
Although they out-scored their opponents five-tries-to-two en route to their third consecutive win, the Green Rockets trailed 21-7 at halftime, with winger Ren Hagiwara’s 20 points keeping the home side in the game.
Hanazono Liners kept themselves in the Replacement Battle calculations after a tight 17-10 win over Blue Sharks in a game which saw just three tries.
There were tries aplenty at Iwate, although the home side finished on the wrong end of it, with Kamaishi
Seawaves unable to back up last week’s excellent performance against the Red Hurricanes, falling to the bottom of the table after an agonizing 41-39 loss to Hino Red Dolphins.
Both sides scored five tries, with the clutch 78th minute penalty goal by Hino’s New Zealand-born flyhalf Simon Hickie splitting the pair as Hino recorded their second win of the season, both of which have come against the Seawaves.
The weekend’s only match in Division Three saw Akishima leap-frog Regulions into third after today’s 54-27 win over Fukuoka, where Tongan-born winger Lisala Amanaki became the first player to score a League One hattrick for the home side.
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