Malcolm Marx's Spears thump Cheslin Kolbe's Sungoliath in Japan

ROUND THREE WRAP: Malcolm Marx’s Spears romped to their third straight win in Japan Rugby League One after the Frans Ludeke-coached outfit dismantled Cheslin Kolbe’s Tokyo Sungoliath 79-20 in the battle of two unbeaten teams.

A 29-point haul from veteran Wallaby flyhalf Bernard Foley, alongside 11 tries, paved the way for the Spears.

No one could have foreseen the extent to which Saturday’s contest would deteriorate into such a mismatch when the Spears led just 8-6 after 20 minutes.

The competitive element to the afternoon didn’t last.

Despite fielding a playing roster that featured South African star Kolbe, former All Black skipper Sam Cane, Wallaby veteran Sean McMahon, and nine past or present Japanese representatives, the big names counted for little as Sungoliath was torn apart.

The second quarter saw the Spears run in four tries, with All Black Shaun Stevenson completing a double, which propelled the Spears to a 39-6 advantage at the break, leaving the remainder of the game as an exercise in damage limitation for Sungoliath.

It is not something they did well, with the Spears continuing to run amok, scoring a further six tries.

Foley’s haul, which was made up of a try and 11 goals from 14 attempts, was a personal best in Japan for the 36-year-old, who was the leading individual point-scorer in League One three seasons ago when the Spears claimed their maiden title.

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The Wild Knights are the section’s other unbeaten side and hold top spot on the standings by points differential, with Atsushi Kanazawa continuing the fine start to his debut as head coach after his side made it three from three following a 33-3 win over the Dynaboars.

After a hat-trick last week against the D-Rocks, the coaches’ namesake, hooker Atsushi Sakate, added a further two tries to his ‘collection’ on Sunday, while Wallaby wing Marika Koroibete scored his second in as many weeks as the Wild Knights achieved an eighth consecutive win over the Dynaboars.

After an eight-game stretch where they bounced between win and loss, the Steelers have finally put back-to-back wins on the board, following up last week’s win over the Heat with a comprehensive 49-29 success against Verblitz to claim third on the rankings.

The win was Kobe coach Dave Rennie’s third against the Steve Hansen-coached Verblitz since the pair resumed their rivalry from the Bledisloe Cup, where Rennie had headed the Wallabies, while Hansen and his assistant Ian Foster oversaw the All Blacks.

The irony won’t have been lost on the Verblitz bosses at full-time after Kobe’s All Black trio of back rower Ardie Savea, centre Anton Lienert-Brown and second rower Brodie Retallick were at the forefront of the win.

Savea, who had scored four tries against Hansen’s Verblitz during his first stint in League One two years ago, bagged a double this time, while Lienert-Brown and Retallick also featured on the scoresheet.

The only blot for the home side on an otherwise almost perfect day was the concession of two tries in the game’s final moments which, while not threatening their try-scoring bonus point, did leave a slightly misleading scoreline.

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Kwagga Smith’s BlueRevs suffered the upset of the weekend as they were beaten at home 21-34 by the D-Rocks.

The ‘Graham Rowntree’ effect already appears a positive one for D-Rocks, who have won twice in three matches under the Englishman, after winning just three games in the whole of the last regular season.

BlackRams Tokyo gained their first win, while leaving Heat still searching for theirs, after All Black scrumhalf TJ Perenara’s men edged a tight contest where the lead changed hands four times, 32-28.

Springbok lock Franco Mostert and Fijian test hooker Tevita Ikanivere were try-scorers for the Heat, who have now lost 12 regular-season games in a row.

Yokohama Eagles are the only other side in the section yet to celebrate a win after Sunday’s 41-19 defeat by Brave Lupus Tokyo.

Division Two saw the Seawaves continue their wretched run at home, with Toutai Kefu’s side blowing a 17-3 half-time lead in their 17-22 loss to Voltex.

The ‘Iron Man of the North’ has won just four of 22 regular-season home matches since the advent of League One five years ago.