SA players shine in Japan League
WRAP: A host of South African players were on the try scoring list in round five of Japan Rugby League One.
Malcolm Marx’s fourth try of the season for the Kubota Spears looked like it might have finally killed off the Kobe Steelers challenge when it advanced the score to 25-14 with 16 minutes to play but the visitors wouldn’t lie down, closing to four after a
South African of their own, backrow Marcel Coetzee, scored two minutes after the re-start to bring the Steelers
back into contention.
A tight first half which featured tries for each side by Japan international loose forwards – Pieter Lappies Labuschange (Kubota) and Amanaki Saumaki (Kobe) – ended with the home side ahead 10-7, which they pushed out to 18-7 after a try by the South African-born Brave Blossoms fullback Gerhard van den Heever, followed by a penalty goal from Wallaby flyhalf Bernard Foley
Meanwhile Robbie Deans’ Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights continue to lead the way while only five points separate the top four sides after an exciting weekend.
Deans’ team is still unbeaten, although their failure to collect a try-scoring bonus against the Ricoh Black Rams – for the fourth time in their five wins – has allowed the chasing Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay and arch-rivals Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath to close the gap.
Just three points separate the top three as Saitama gears up for its toughest test to date in round six when it hosts the rapidly improving fourth-placed Yokohama Canon Eagles.
Although star South African halfback Faf de Klerk was only required for 17 minutes from the bench, scoring a try during that time, Canon were still far too good for Michael Cheika’s NEC Green Rockets, entering the top four for the first time since the opening weekend.
Frans Ludeke’s Kubota survived a scare to beat Kobelco Kobe Steelers, whose performance belied their seventh- placed ranking, while there were big wins for Suntory at Kintetsu, and for Toshiba Brave Lupus, who added to the mounting problems facing Toyota Verblitz.
After opening the season with a comeback win over the Shizuoka Blue Revs, Verblitz have slumped to four defeats on the spin, with the side, who were captained today by Pieter Steph du Toit and fielded his Springbok teammate Willie le Roux, collapsing completely in the second half.
Ominously for Toyota Director of Rugby Steve Hansen, Verblitz conceded 153 points during those defeats at an average of 38 per game.
The only change to the top four came because of the final game of the weekend after English flyhalf James Shillcock missed a conversion on the bell that would have given the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars a comeback victory over the Shizuoka Blue Revs.
The 27-27 draw dropped the Dynaboars one place to fifth, while the Blue Revs remain winless after five outings, with just Kintetsu below them on the table.
The status quo was retained in Division Two after wins for a Urayasu D-Rocks side that was without Israel Folau, and the Mie Honda Heat.
The only match in Division Three saw the Kyushudenryoku Kyuden Voltex take advantage of league-leaders NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes having the week off, overtaking them on the table after a win at Mazda Skyactives Hiroshima.
Rugby World Cup-bound Australian referees Nic Berry and Angus Gardiner were action through the weekend to warmup for their upcoming engagements, with Berry handling the Brave Lupus/Verblitz match while Gardiner took the whistle for the Dynaboars/Blue Revs encounter.
DIVISION ONE
Saturday, January 21
YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES 34 NEC GREEN ROCKETS KOKATSU 12
SAITAMA PANASONIC WILD KNIGHTS 38 RICOH BLACK RAMS TOKYO 17
KUBOTA SPEARS FUNABASHI TOKYO-BAY 25 KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS 21
Sunday, January 22
TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH 51 HANAZONO KINTETSU LINERS 10
TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO 63 TOYOTA VERBLITZ 25
MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES SAGAMIHARA DYNABOARS 27 SHIZUOKA BLUE REVS 27
DIVISION TWO
Saturday, January 21
URAYASU D-ROCKS 41 HINO RED DOLPHINS 26 at Tokyo
MIE HONDA HEAT 29 SHIMIZU CORPORATION KOTO BLUE SHARKS 10
DIVISION THREE
Sunday, January 22
KYUSHUDENRYOKU KYUDEN VOLTEX 38 MAZDA SKYACTIVES HIROSHIMA 14
