Kwagga key to BlueRevs' top three charge

ROUND 18 PREVIEW: It is commonly called ‘shadow boxing’ – the act of sparring with an imaginary opponent as a form of preparation for a live contest against that opponent.

A similar but more awkward experience is ahead of BlueRevs and Kobe Steelers as the pair meet in the final round of Japan Rugby League One’s regular season.

Saturday’s game will be played a week before the fourth-placed BlueRevs and fifth-placed Steelers do battle again in the first round of the division’s three-week finals series, making it a tricky proposition for both camps, who will be eager to continue with their impressive momentum, but equally reluctant to show their full hand ahead of an elimination contest.

Kobe coach Dave Rennie appears to have betrayed his priorities by omitting skipper Brodie Retallick, and fellow international and hooker George Turner, from his matchday squad.

Test stars Kwagga Smith and Charles Piutau will feature for BlueRevs.

Meaningful defence was a rarity during the BlueRevs’ remarkable win over D-Rocks last weekend, with the 52 points they conceded the second occasion an opponent has topped a half-century, during a season where they have leaked points at an average of 28 per game.

Kobe are no more watertight, having conceded just one point less than BlueRevs.

On the credit side, the pair are third (Kobe) and fourth (BlueRevs) for points scored.

Those statistics fly in the face of their first-round meeting, where both scored just two tries as BlueRevs loose forward Vueti Tupou scored in the 85th minute of his side’s 15-13 victory.

The unpredictability adds to a puzzle which could make an ostensibly ‘dead’ rubber a decent watch.

The second-placed Wild Knights also face a fellow play-off entrant in Tokyo Sungoliath, although the stakes are higher at Kumagaya, with the home side needing to win to secure direct access to the semifinals.

Coach Robbie Deans will want to see a stronger finish from the Wild Knights who have been out-scored in the final 20 minutes on six occasions, including during last week’s dramatic draw against Spears Tokyo-Bay.

Sungoliath, who have named their strongest XV, are looking to win three-in-a-row for just the second time this season but have yet to beat their fierce rivals from five attempts during the League One era.

This includes the inaugural Final which the Wild Knights took out 18-12, as well as their earlier meeting this season when Saitama prevailed 33-12.

The Spears’ hopes of securing a bye in the first weekend of the play-offs rest on a slip-up by one of the Wild Knights or Brave Lupus Tokyo, allied to their beating of a Verblitz outfit finally freed of the prospect of a ‘call up’ to the upcoming promotion/relegation series.

While injuries have played their part in the club’s worst season to date in League One, an inability to hold onto what they have has also been a factor, with that trend having started on the opening weekend when Verblitz led Spears by seven points with five minutes to play before conceding the game 30-27, being finished off by a dropped goal from Wallaby Bernard Foley in referee’s time.

Verblitz, with a star-laden squad, has won just four times and will be a source of bewilderment to all associated with the Aichi-based club, most likely spurring a thorough season review to determine what must be done better.

One thing that has gone right is the ambitious recruitment of former National Rugby League star Joseph Manu, who heads into the last assignment of his time in Japan joint 4th on the try-scoring standings with 11, which is a grand return on their investment.

It is also one try more than fellow code-hopping former NRL star Israel Folau achieved during his stellar introduction to Japan in the final season of League One’s forerunner, Top League.

Ironically, both men achieved their numbers playing in teams that struggled.

Struggling is a word that has been associated with Yokohama Eagles a lot in the past three months, with any hopes of making the play-offs for a third season in a row blown to bits by a run of nine defeats from the last 11 matches.

While the competitiveness of the mid-table competition, and the expansion of the elimination series to six, allowed the Eagles to remain a chance until the season’s penultimate weekend despite their gradual disintegration, the way their exit from the race was finally completed – with three yellow cards in the loss to Kobe – reflected a side who’d had their last remaining confidence sucked out.

The loss of scrumhalf Faf de Klerk for much of the season undoubtedly impacted, as it did last season, although they covered his absence better in that instance than they have been able to do this time.

Their star Springbok was a try-scorer when the Eagles fully stretched Brave Lupus at the start of the season, racing to a 16-0 lead before the defending champions came back to prevail 28-21.

As well as ensuring they skip the opening day of the play-offs, Brave Lupus needs to match or better the result achieved by the Wild Knights to finish top-of-the-table.

D-Rocks will finish at the other end of the rankings, but after scoring seven during last weekend’s try-fest at Iwata Stadium, coach Greig Laidlaw will be looking for a more all-round performance against Sagamihara Dynaboars in his side’s final hit-out ahead of their Replacement Battle against Shuttles Aichi.

While Folau’s return to the bench after a two-game absence is a boost for the section’s bottom side, sadly the Dynaboars will end without their international trump card, with Springbok winger Kurt-lee Arendse finished for the campaign after injuring his shoulder against the BlueRevs three weeks ago.

The 28-year-old has been a great addition to the league during his season-long sabbatical from the Bulls, thrilling crowds with his dazzling pace and tricky feet.

Arendse has ended his time with a return of seven tries from 12 appearances.

While Sagamihara dropped out of play-off discussions after losses in four of the last five games, Friday night offers the Dynaboars a shot at achieving the best return of their three seasons in Division One.

They are currently level with last year’s figure of six wins.

That haul was good enough for a ninth-place finish, a ranking they can better this time with a win if either of the sides immediately above them lose.

One of those is Black Rams Tokyo, who will be trying to equal their highest finish in League One from two years ago when they host Heat in the 108th and final game of the division’s regular season.

Currently eighth, Black Rams could go above the Eagles in the finishing order with a win in Sunday’s only Division One fixture, if the Eagles have already lost.

A win would also equal the six they achieved when finishing seventh, which would represent a good body of work by first-season coach Tabai Matson and his staff after they inherited a side fresh from last season’s Replacement Battle.

Their opponents Mie Heat are well used to the relegation series. This will be the fourth time in the four seasons of League One where they have featured, having won promotion via the system two years ago, and survived in it last year.

Although Kieran Crowley’s side may be distracted a little by the outcomes in the section below – which will determine who they will play in the Replacement Battle – Black Rams won’t be taking Heat lightly, having been felled by an 81st-minute penalty goal from ex-Saracens man Manu Vunipola during a 23-21 defeat on the opening day of the season.

The success was the first of the back-to-back wins Heat scored to open the season.

That they find themselves contemplating another promotion/relegation series 16 weeks later will be a source of intense disappointment, although they will need to park the emotion ahead of the defining segment of their season.