Frans Ludeke and Malcolm Marx get a shot at glory
REPORT: Kubota Spears centre Halatoa Vailea was the man-of-the-moment after two decisive interventions that helped his side to a breathless 26-24 win over Saitama Wild Knights on Sunday, which secured for his side back-to-back appearances in the Japan Rugby League One Final.
The Spears replacement, who joined the game in the 34th minute, made an impact almost instantly, blasting through a hole in the Wild Knights’ midfield defence that had been left vulnerable after Brave Blossoms centre Dylan Riley had been yellow-carded for a deliberate knockdown.
Vailea’s try, four minutes before half-time, helped the Spears to a 10-7 lead after a first half high on intensity, but low on quality, with both sides riddled with errors and hamstrung by injuries on a 31-degree day in Tokyo.
Frans Ludeke’s side, which also contains Springbok superstar Malcolm Marx, were never headed in the second spell, despite a remarkable ending which saw the Wild Knights score two tries in the last three minutes to set up a grandstand finish for the 18,695-strong crowd.
The two-point margin owed much to Vailea, who, as well as scoring the first of his side’s two tries, crucially charged down a conversion attempt by the Wild Knights substitute flyhalf Takaya Saito from in front of the posts, when a try by replacement winger Maurice Marks had threatened to bring Saitama back into the match.
The charge down left the Wild Knights eight behind, with the failed conversion ultimately splitting the two sides.
While the frantic finish meant the Wild Knights had outscored their opponents four-tries-to-two by full-time, they were left to rue a high error count alongside ill-discipline in kickable positions on the field that saw each of flyhalf Bernard Foley and fullback Shaun Stevenson kick two penalty goals.
The win, which was the Spears’ third in a row against the Wild Knights in play-off matches, continued the trend of razor-thin margins between the pair, being the fifth time in the last eight meetings that four points or less had separated the teams, with another match drawn.
Kubota, who were champions in the second edition of League One, will meet Kobelco Kobe Steelers in next week’s championship decider at Tokyo’s National Stadium after the latter set records galore yesterday, running rampant in the second half to crush Tokyo Sungoliath 69-23.
Wiese on the board
*In The Replacement Battle, it briefly appeared possible that Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi might challenge their 22-point deficit from the first leg, when they sprang to an early 12-0 advantage over Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars, but order was soon restored, with the Division One side overwhelming their rivals in the final 10 minutes with three tries as they drew out to a 52-28 victory.
The win, which clinched an 88-42 win on aggregate over the two legs, featured 20 points from the Dynaboars’ 31- year-old centre Matt Vaega, taking the Kelston Boys’ High School (Auckland) old boy’s tally for the season to 106, which included 15 tries.
There was also a nice finishing touch when Vaega’s 78th-minute try was converted by ex-All Black back rower Jackson Hemopo, in the final act of his seven years at the club.
Defeat denied the Division Two champions for the fourth year running, with their 46-point aggregate defeat following on from losses by margins of five, nine and 67 points across their previous three attempts in the promotion/relegation series.
Urayasu D-Rocks also comfortably saw off the relegation threat, sweeping challengers Shimizu Corporation Koto Blue Sharks aside 57-19, to complete a 60-point trouncing on aggregate across the two matches.
D-Rocks winger Kai Ishii scored a first-half hat-trick as the home side romped to a 40-12 half-time advantage, with Springbok back rower Jasper Wiese also on the scoreboard for the second week running.
While the scoring rate calmed down after the break, D-Rocks coasted home, with Ishii adding a fourth to his tally.
Although outclassed, the Blue Sharks could still reflect on a season of achievement, having come from nowhere to give themselves a shot at Division One, after narrowly avoiding demotion to Division Three last year.
The win allowed D-Rocks to end an up-and-down season on a positive note, being the side’s fourth victory on end; the run started by one of the upsets of the season against the Wild Knights.
After opening with three wins in their first four, Graham Rowntree’s men dropped 12 in a row, but the English coach will now get another crack at Division One next season.
