Willie le Roux shows his class at flyhalf

JAPAN LEAGUE ONE, ROUND EIGHT WRAP: Director of Rugby Steve Hansen’s bold decision to move Wille le Roux to flyhalf for Verblitz’s clash against the Green Rockets paid off.

The Springbok played an integral role in Verblitz’s 21-18 win on Saturday. Each of their three tries featured involvement from Le Roux

Bringing Le Roux into the front line of the attack was designed to allow the experienced South African to increase his influence with the ball and it worked, providing the spark Verblitz had needed to break down their determined opponents.

After floating a cut-out pass that allowed wing Taichi Takahashi the space to complete an athletic aerial corner post finish for Verblitz’s opening try, Le Roux scored the second, backing up an initial break from former Maori All Black, Rob Thompson.

The veteran Springbok popped up again in the play that led to the match winner, supporting the initial break by Tongan loose forward Lautaimi Fetuani before Kenta Fukuda shot over from the fringes of a ruck near the goal-line to finish the move, and break Rockets’ hearts.

Prior to Fukuda’s intervention, the Green Rockets had looked on course for just their second win of the season, having taken a three-point advantage at half-time, before responding after Verblitz had edged ahead with le Roux’s try, to reclaim the front when flank Ryoi Kamei scored with 16 minutes to play.

When Verblitz prop Shunsuke Asaoka was sent to the sin bin in the 66th minute for dangerous play, and Green Rockets skipper Lemeki Lomano Lava extended the lead to four with a dropped goal, it appeared to be falling into place for Michael Cheika’s men.

Unfortunately for the Green Rockets’ Director of Rugby, and his team, the game had one final twist, leaving the Green Rockets 11th in the league while Verblitz remain ninth, but have closed the gap to one log point on the seventh-placed Sagamihara and Shizuoka in eighth.

Meanwhile, a dramatic finish at Kobe, and wins for the ‘big three’, highlighted Matchday Eight which was completed in Tokyo on Sunday.

Kobe Steelers, who were bidding for back-to-back wins for just the second time this season, trailed the Blue Revs for much of the game, but got over the line thanks to a last-minute penalty goal which secured a 32-29 victory.

The Spears had no such problems at home to the Sagamihara Dynaboars, scoring seven tries in the second half as they romped to a 38-point win that leaves them just two points behind the Wild Knights as the top two shape up for a head-to-head meeting in two weeks.

While the nine tries scored in the second half at Kubota kept the scoreboard attendants busy, they had it easy compared to their counterparts at Oita, who must have struggled to keep up as fourth-placed Eagles and fifth-placed Brave Lupus Tokyo rattled on 15 tries between them.

Tries for each side within the first four minutes by the South African midfielders Burger Odendaal (Brave Lupus) and Jesse Kriel (Eagles) gave an inkling of the rapid scoring that was to come, with the Eagles eventually edging the try count eight to seven as they gained a crucial victory.

Meanwhile, the bonus point the Green Rockets gained moved them further away from bottom side Kintetsu Liners, who were well beaten at Saitama despite that Wild Knights having made wholesale changes to the combination that had blanked the Green Rockets in the previous round.

Despite Springbok centre Damien de Allende being employed only as a late substitute, while star Wallaby wing Marika Koroibete wasn’t used at all, the league-leaders still had far too many guns for the winless Liners, claiming the try-scoring bonus point after a comfortable 41-6 win.

The bonus point eluded the previously free-scoring Suntory Sungoliath who were made to work hard by the Black Rams Tokyo as they eked out an 18-7 win to stay third on the points table.

Round Eight results:

Division One:

Black Rams 7-18 Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath
Eagles 59-48 Brave Lupus Tokyo
Wild Knights 41-6 Hanazono Liners
Verblitz 21-18 Green Rockets
Spears 60-22 Sagamihara Dynaboars
Kobe Steelers 32-29 Blue Revs