De Allende stars as Kriel's Eagles remain winless
ROUND FIVE WRAP: Damian de Allende crossed the line for the Wild Knights whilst Jesse Kriel’s Yokohama Eagles remain winless in Japan Rugby League One.
De Allende bagged his first try in what was his second appearance of the campaign.
The Jesse Kriel-led Eagles were not helped by yellow cards on either side of half-time, as the club’s winless run, which started at the back end of last term, extended to nine, a new club record in the nationwide leagues.
A remarkable four tries from All Black second rower Brodie Retallick, and 27 points (including two tries) by former Chiefs flyhalf Bryn Gatland led Kobe Steelers to an emphatic 67-21 win over BlackRams Tokyo in Japan Rugby League One on Saturday.
Retallick had three tries on the board by half-time and boasts the statistics any winger would be proud of, having scored an impressive 30 from 54 appearances since his arrival in Kansai, as the home side raced to a 34-7 half-time advantage in the annual Kobe Earthquake Memorial match.
Gatland, who kicked seven out of 10 attempts off the kicking tee, scored his first try in the 14th minute of the second period to dash any realistic hopes the BlackRams might have had of a comeback, with the 30-year-old grabbing his second six minutes later as Kobe pushed towards the half-century mark.
Fittingly, it was Retallick who had the final say, with the Kobe skipper completing his quartet two minutes before time, to end the misery for the visitors, while completing the 46-point victory.
While it was not enough to catch the two sides above them on the championship ladder, Dave Rennie’s men continue to hold defending champions Brave Lupus Tokyo – one point below them – at bay, as they sit third.
Spears and Wild Knights are setting the pace, with the status quo remaining on points’ differentials – just one point apart – after both recorded 29-point victories in their latest outings.
As with last week against Mie Heat, the Spears took their foot off the gas at the back end of their match with Verblitz, with Frans Ludeke’s side conceding the final two tries of the game after they had romped to a 39-0 lead by the 51st minute.
Steve Hansen’s side has now lost their last four matches, conceding 160 points in that time.
Spears’ 39-10 victory, which was their 22nd in-a-row at Spears Edoriku Field, featured four tries and was enough to stay atop the standings, after the Wild Knights had earlier inflicted a fifth defeat of the season on the luckless Eagles.
Saitama coasted home after the home side had threatened to make a game of it when they closed to within eight heading into the final 18 minutes.
Two tries from Brave Blossoms hooker Atsushi Sakate, who shares top ranking on the individual try-scoring chart alongside Retallick with seven, headlined the Saitama effort, with Australian-born second rower Jack Cornelsen and winger Koki Takeyama also chiming in with try-scoring doubles.
Heat are above the Eagles on the points table on differentials, also winless but with fewer points conceded, after sinking to their fifth loss following a 30-15 defeat by Tokyo Sungoliath.
The Kosei One-coached Sungoliath, who had dropped their last two, were made to work, with Heat overcoming two first-half yellow cards to level 10-10 at half-time, and remaining tied, with the match level 15-apiece entering the final quarter.
The red card issued to Heat second rower Mark Abbott for foul play, 15 minutes before the end, didn’t help Kieran Crowley’s side, and the game was finally put to bed when Brave Blossoms veteran Kotaro Matsushima scored in the final minute of play.
Fifth-placed Sungoliath are one above Urayasu D-Rocks on the standings, with the latter falling to their second defeat, but only after a brave effort in a 38-27 loss to Brave Lupus.
After scoring a hat-trick last week against Sagamihara Dynaboars, ex-Hurricanes centre Tjay Clarke continues to enjoy his new life in Japan, bagging two more in Saturday’s win.
Two tries from Fijian international midfielder Semi Radradra helped Shizuoka BlueRevs overcome a two-point half-time deficit, and a first-half red card to the veteran South African midfielder Sylvian Mahuza, as last year’s play-off qualifiers ended a run of three defeats with a 47-36 victory at Sagamihara’s expense.
Former Dolphins cult figure from Australia’s National Rugby League, Valynce Te Whare, also touched down twice for the BlueRevs, while long-serving centre Matt Vaega scored twice for the Dynaboars to advance his tally to five tries for the season.
