Japan League One Round 10 Review
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Division One – Crowley off the mark as Honda fires up
Mie Honda Heat has given ex-Italy coach Kieran Crowley his maiden win in Japan Rugby League One after a
courageous 20-19 victory over fellow winless side, Hanazono Kintetsu Liners, in Osaka today.
Crowley’s men prevailed to gain their first win of the season despite being the third side of the weekend to suffer
a red card offense, when scrumhalf Takuro Hojo was dismissed at the half an hour mark for dangerous play.
While this year’s newly promoted side were ahead 14-5 at the time, having opened the scoring with Wallaby
fullback Tom Banks’ second try of the campaign, Honda were forced to draw on all their resilience throughout the
final 50 minutes of the contest, eventually getting the result despite some late nerves when Hanazono hooker
Kazuma Matsuda scored with one minute remaining.
The win, achieved against a Kintetsu outfit that fielded the Wallaby halves Quade Cooper and Will Genia, lifted
Heat off the bottom of the point’s table, leaving their rivals as the only club across the three sections of the
competition that has yet to win a game.
Crowley joined Honda this season, having presided over a renaissance in the Italian game by backing youth,
promoting several players out of the country’s successful Under-20s, which led to upset wins over Wales in
Cardiff, as well as a first ever win over Australia, prior his departure after last year’s disappointing Rugby World
Cup.
Italy’s improvement continued in the just concluded Six Nations, where it beat Scotland and Wales, as well as
drawing with France.
It’s former coach, meanwhile, has found himself in the deep end guiding a team that was promoted from last
season, but with largely the same playing group, now matching up against superior opposition.
While today’s win is unlikely to spare Honda from a nervous finish to the season in the Replacement Battle series,
the victory, and the manner it was achieved, will undoubtedly give everybody associated with the club a major lift
as the critical stage of the season approaches.
At the other end of the point’s table, second-placed Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo put the disappointment of last
week’s first defeat of the campaign at Kumagaya behind them, despatching Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Sagamihara Dynaboars 41-19 to continue their advance towards semi-final qualification.
Todd Blackadder’s men out-scored the Dynaboars seven-tries-to-three, with the result rarely in doubt after Brave
Lupus breezed to a 24-0 lead from the first 26 minutes of the contest.
After a three-match stretch without a try, All Black backrower Shannon Frizell was back on the scoresheet, picking
up his seventh of the season, before Mitsubishi self-destructed in the second half when it conceded two yellow
cards at the same time.
Having closed to 24-14 at the tail end of the opening period, the Dynaboars essentially conceded any hopes they
had when prop Hayato Hosoda and English flyhalf James Grayson left the field from the same incident, leaving
their side reduced to 13 for a period in which Brave Lupus took full advantage.
Tries within a minute of the pair’s departure, and again five minutes later, settled the contest, even though the
Dynaboars briefly closed the margin to 15 when their former All Blacks XV backrower Marino Mikaele-Tu’u scored
his first try in Japan with 12 minutes remaining.
Robbie Deans won the battle of the two former Wallaby coaches at Kobe’s Universiade Memorial Stadium, with
the Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights seeing off Kobelco Kobe Steelers, prepared by one of his successors in the
Wallaby job, Dave Rennie.
The Wild Knights overturned an 18-14 deficit early in the second half to score their 10th win, posting the final two
tries of Saturday’s contest to finish with a 28-18 victory.
There were two yellow cards for dangerous play within two minutes of each other in the opening period;
Saitama’s ex-Hurricanes second rower Mark Abbott being followed to the sidelines by Kobe midfield back and
fellow ex-Super Rugby player Michael Little, with each side adding a penalty goal while their players were absent.
Kobe scored the opening try in both halves, with Brave Blossoms backrower Amanaki Saumaki giving the home
side the perfect start with a try in the third minute before the rival flyhalves, Bryn Gatland and Rikiya Matsuda,
traded penalty goals to advance their season tallies.
Although he finished up on the wrong side of the result, Gatland ended the afternoon with 130 points for the
season, three ahead of his Brave Blossoms’ counterpart, Matsuda.
Another Japanese international, winger Tomoki Osada, scored Saitama’s first try just before halftime, beating two
defenders on an angled run to give the Wild Knights the lead for the first time.
Even though Kobe replied after the break with a try by scrumhalf Atsushi Hiwasa, who benefited from a delicious
back flicked pass from centre Seungsin Lee, tries by backrower Itsuki Onishi and the returning Brave Blossoms
utility back Takuya Yamasawa ensured the league-leaders would remain undefeated while denying the fourth-
placed Steelers a bonus point.
Spears Not Broken Yet
Friday night saw 14-man Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay breath new life into their campaign after a frantic
three-point win over Yokohama Canon Eagles from a thrilling contest in downtown Tokyo.
The Eagles had appeared home when they led 26-15 at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium with just four minutes
remaining, but the yellow card awarded against backrower Kobus van Dyk for repeated infringements proved
ruinous as the defending champions conjured up a miracle by scoring two tries in the final three minutes to
manufacture a dramatic 29-26 win.
This outcome had seemed unlikely 43 minutes earlier, after Spears backrower Faulua Makisi was given his
marching order for dangerous play just before halftime, with his side trailing by four.
Yokohama quickly took advantage of their numerical superiority, finding space on the edge to create the
opportunity for the Kelston Boys High School (Auckland) educated centre Viliame Takayawa to score tries either
side of halftime, to push the Eagles out to 26-8, five playing minutes after the Kubota man’s departure.
That they were unable to further extend the lead against a depleted opponent ultimately cost the Eagles, with the
first hint of an alternative outcome being offered 14 minutes from time when a beautiful piece of backline
deception saw Spears flyhalf Tomoki Kishioka narrow the gap to 11 by scoring his side’s second try.
Any thoughts the Eagles may still have had about a comfortable finish were completely erased when van Dyk was
ejected after he cynically pulled down an advancing Kubota maul, with the Spears replacement hooker Hayate Era
setting up the grandstand finish when he scored from the rebooted maul with three minutes to go.
Canon were then left dumbfounded as to how the game had gotten away when winger Koga Nezuka crossed from
the re-start after a brilliant chip in behind and regather from Kishioka, handing the Spears a much-needed victory,
while denying the Eagles a chance to return to the top four.
South Africans were try-scorers for both sides, with starting hooker Schalk Erasmus scoring the second of the
Spears’ four tries from a lineout drive, while Yokohama’s recently arrived Springbok midfield back Rohan Janse
van Rensburg won the race to a chip in behind by veteran flyhalf Yu Yamura to post his second try from four
appearances in the league.
The win allowed Kubota to leap-frog Toyota Verblitz on the championship table after the latter was felled 39-38
by Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath in an even more dramatic finish at Aichi on Saturday.
Verblitz had seemed on course for a comfortable win over their third-placed rivals at a buzzing Toyota Stadium
thanks to two tries by All Black scrumhalf Aaron Smith, who backed up breaks by centre Siosaia Fifita and fullback
Taichi Takahashi respectively.
The double helped propel the home side to a 31-10 lead in the early stages of the second period, but a 21-point
advantage, that should have proved decisive, wasn’t.
For the second time in three weeks, Verblitz dramatically lost their way, conceding 29 points in the game’s final
29 minutes, after having leaked 42 at over a point a minute during the second half of their loss to Kobe.
The fightback was led by Suntory hooker and captain Kosuke Horikoshi, who plunged over from a well worked
lineout drive for his ninth try of the season.
This score was added to five minutes later by the impressive ex-Queensland Reds second rower Harry Hockings,
who popped up on the wing to pull in a pin-point wide pass from the man usually stationed there, winger Seiya
Ozaki.
Toyota’s hopes looked to have expired when backrower Sione Lavemai rammed over from close range in the
62nd minute, with a penalty goal from flyhalf Mikiya Takamoto six minutes later suddenly giving Suntory an
unlikely 32-31 lead, and the momentum with the finish line in sight.
The drama was only just beginning though, and Toyota then appeared to have won it when winger Shuhei
Yamaguchi scored their fifth try after reclaiming the rebound from a penalty attempt by All Black flyhalf Beauden
Barrett which had bounced back off the goalpost.
The try restored the home side’s lead, 38-32, but there was more to come, starting with a red card which left the
34,568 patrons stunned as Toyota prop Gaku Shimizu was dismissed for illegal head contact in a tackle, just as the
final siren sounded.
The 25-year-old’s error threw Sungoliath a lifeline they took, as Brave Blossoms scrumhalf Naoto Saito scored at
the end of a feverish attack which saw the game tick into the fourth minute of referee’s time before the Toyota
defensive shield finally cracked.
Takamoto converted from in front of the posts to complete a remarkable one-point win which has taken Suntory
eight points clear of fourth, while dropping Verblitz to seventh on the standings with a 50 percent record.
Steve Hansen’s men are now only four points ahead of Shizuoka Blue Revs, who snapped a three-game losing
streak by accounting for Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo 36-29.
Shizuoka was helped to the win by another try-scoring double from the season’s leading try-scorer, Malo Tuitama.
The 27-year-old’s tries took his tally for the season to 12, two ahead of Takahashi of Verblitz, while bookending an
entertaining contest which the Blue Revs never looked like losing, even though the Black Rams kept themselves
within striking distance throughout.
Blue Revs’ Scottish-born second rower Murray Douglas also scored twice, once in each half, as Shizuoka overcame
the shock of a sixth minute try by the Black Rams’ ex-England backrower Nathan Hughes to work to a 21-17
halftime lead.
Led by two tries from winger Netani Vakayalia, the Black Rams closed to within two, but they were held scoreless
for the last 14 minutes as Tuitama’s second five-pointer, Shizuoka’s fifth, saw the Blue Revs home.
The loss leaves Ricoh eight points from safety with six matches of the regular season to play, and needing to stage
an unlikely revival if they are to avoid the jeopardy of the Replacement Battle.
Division Two – One hand on the Trophy
Urayasu D-Rocks took an important step towards retaining the Division Two title after beating Toyota Industries
Corporation Shuttles Aichi, 19-14, in the top-of-the-table clash.
The reigning section champions were always in front in today’s match after opening the scoring in the eighth
minute via the South African-born backrower Tyler Paul.
A further try by second rower Levi Douglas after 13 minutes later extended the visitor’s lead to 14 points, and
while that was pulled back to 14-6 at halftime after two penalty goals for the Shuttles by ex-England flyhalf
Freddie Burns, D-Rocks always held their rivals at arm’s length.
Burns missed the conversion of winger Go Nakano’s try, which had moved the Shuttles to within three points
after the break, and a try six minutes later by D-Rocks’ South African second rower Francois Marais proved
decisive.
Although unconverted, the five-pointer created a margin the Shuttles were unable to overhaul despite a further
goal by Burns, as D-Rocks held on for a crucial win.
As well as taking Urayasu five points ahead of the Shuttles, who drop to third in the section’s standings, the win
completed a double for D-Rocks, having been awarded the first encounter because they were leading when a
lightning strike halted play.
The visitor’s win completed a disappointing weekend for the Aichi-based clubs after Verblitz were also beaten.
NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu appear the only threat to D-Rocks retaining the division title now after easily
disposing of Japan Steel Kamaishi Seawaves on their re-arranged trip north to Iwate.
After the original fixture was cancelled due to snow, the Green Rockets returned to Kamaishi today, and leap-
frogged the Shuttles on the point’s table courtesy of a 63-26, nine-try-to-two victory.
The out-gunned home side restricted the Green Rockets to a 28-19 halftime lead, having at one point led 9-0, but
they were blown away in the second period.
Brave Blossoms fullback Lemeki Lomano Lava scored two tries for NEC, who are still to play D-Rocks and the
Shuttles before the regular season in the division concludes.
Japan Rugby League One Fixtures Round Ten (all kick offs, Japan Time)
Division One
Friday March 15
Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay 29, Yokohama Canon Eagles 26; at Tokyo
Saturday March 16
Shizuoka Blue Revs 36, Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo 29; at Tokyo
Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath 39, Toyota Verblitz 38; at Aichi
Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights 28, Kobelco Kobe Steelers 18; at Hyogo
Sunday March 17
Mie Honda Heat 20, Hanazono Kintetsu Liners 19; at Osaka
Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo 41, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars 19; at Tokyo
Division Two
Sunday March 17
Urayasu D-Rocks 19, Toyota Industries Corporation Shuttles Aichi 14; at Aichi
NEC Green Rockets 63, Japan Steel Kamaishi Seawaves 26; at Iwate