Faf suffers injury and Marx scores again
JAPAN LEAGUE ONE ROUND SEVEN WRAP: Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk has picked up an injury while on duty for the Yokoyama Eagles in Japan.
The 31-year-old was forced to leave the field after 27 minutes in his team’s 34-13 win over the Black Rams due to that unspecified injury.
Ahead 14-0 after just 11 minutes, the Eagles never relinquished their early stranglehold, even though they suffered the De Klerk blow.
The Black Rams, who have proved a sticky opponent for most so far, showed they wouldn’t be shaken off easily, responding with a try by wing Taira Main and two penalty goals from former Queensland Reds fullback Matt McGahan, to get themselves back in the contest with just a four-point half-time deficit.
The Eagles were not to be denied though and held the Black Rams scoreless in the second period while adding two further tries, the second of which was scored by the former captain of Taranaki in the New Zealand national provincial championship, Mitchell Brown.
As well as putting the game beyond their visitors, the try also gained the Eagles a bonus point, returning the side to the top four.
Although the loss of their Springbok star will be cause for concern, the game did see the return of the Brave Blossoms veteran Yu Tamura, who played the final 25 minutes after having been sorely missed last weekend.
Meanwhile Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx got his name on the scoresheet again for the Spears.
A 22-point scoring burst in the 16 minutes before half-time, as well as 14 points off the boot of the competition’s leading point-scorer, Bernard Foley, proved enough to allow the Spears to see off Verblitz 44-34 in the Aichi prefecture.
The Spears led just 14-10 after a competitive opening 23 minutes but shot clear with three unanswered tries in the remaining period of the half, the second of which was scored by Marx.
While slightly behind last year’s strike rate of seven tries in five matches, the Springbok hooker’s production rate is still impressive, with Saturdays’ try the fifth from six games this year, all of which have been scored in his last four outings.
Although beaten, Verblitz have shown a lot more resilience since their ugly defeat by Brave Lupus two weeks ago, and they responded after half-time with three tries, briefly threatening to turn the tables on the Spears completely.
Verblitz closed to 29-36 with 25 minutes to play, and then 34-39 with two minutes remaining, after New Zealand-born midfielder Jamie Henry scored their sixth try to set up a nervy finish for the visitors.
The comeback proved to be in vain, as the Spears closed the door on full-time with a try by replacement fullback Halatoa Vailea in his maiden appearance of the season.
The win maintained the Spears’ unbeaten start to the campaign, although the concession of 72 points in the last two matches won’t please coach Frans Ludeke given defence was an issue that proved costly last year.
They were denied a bonus point by the Spears’ late try but outscoring one of the competition’s leading contenders 24-8 in the second spell, along with a much-improved disciplinary performance, provides more for Verblitz Director of Rugby Steve Hansen to build on after last weeks against the odds victory over Kobe.
Three tries from the competition’s leading try scorer, Suntory Sungoliath win Seiya Ozaki, led his team to glory in a thrilling Fuchu derby, as Sungoliath edged Brave Lupus Tokyo 40-34 at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium in Tokyo on Sunday.
Both sides scored four tries on a dramatic afternoon, and the lead changed hands four times in the second half with Sungoliath, who had led 20-17 at halftime, reclaiming the lead for the final time after Ozaki completed his hattrick in the 63rd minute.
The win was settled by a Keisuke Moriya penalty goal in injury time, with the result keeping Suntory third on the standings, while Brave Lupus dropped to fifth.
The Wild Knights maintained their advantage at the top of the table, collecting just their second try-scoring bonus point of the season after flogging the Green Rockets Tokatsu 45-0 in Chiba.
In Sunday’s other matches, the Kobe Steelers returned to the winners’ circle after a high-scoring win over the Sagamihara Dynaboars, while the Shizuoka Blue Revs backed up last weekend’s first win of the season against the Green Rockets by beating bottom-of-the-table Hanazono Liners 34-14 at Osaka.
Division Two saw the Heat consolidate their grip on second place, staging a remarkable comeback to beat Aichi 46-24.
The other game in the section between the Red Dolphins and the Koto Blue Sharks was cancelled after the Red Dolphins withdrew.
The Voltex are the new leaders of Division Three after they comfortably despatched the Skyactives 30-6 on Saturday.
Akishima have moved up to third, jumping above the Red Regulions courtesy of a 49-22 win in Tokyo on Sunday.
Division One results:
Yokohama Eagles 34-13 Black Rams Toyko
Spears 44-34 Verblitz
Kobe Steelers 49-30 Sagamihara Dynaboars
Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath 40-34 Brave Lupus
Wild Knights 45-0 Green Rockets Tokatsu
Shizuoka Blue Revs 34-14 Hanazono Liners
