Wild Knight makes historic point

Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights flyhalf Kyohei Yamasawa has emerged from the shadow of his test capped elder
brother Takuya to become the first Japanese to score most points in a regular season in Japan Rugby League One.
The 26-year-old, who has been part of the setup at Kumagaya for a while but is in his first full season as a regular
starter, tallied 209 points from 16 appearances to head home Toshiba Brave Lupus fullback Takuro Matsunaga,
Kobelco Kobe Steelers pivot Bryn Gatland and Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath flyhalf Mikiya Takamoto
Gatland had finished at the head of the standings last term with bumper yield of 217 points.
Yamasawa’s achievement makes him the fourth different highest regular season point-scorer from the league’s first
four editions, following in the footsteps of All Black Damien McKenzie (191) and Wallaby Bernard Foley (173) as well
as Gatland, who was an accomplished performer in Super Rugby.
The injury which sidelined his brother after only two matches left the younger Yamasawa in the hot seat as the
side’s only regular goal-kicking option, replacing the vastly experienced Rikiya Matsuda, who departed for Toyota
Verblitz in the off-season after running up 487 points for the Wild Knights across the first three regular seasons in
the league.
It is testament to how well Yamasawa handled the responsibility that his tally exceeded the 192 his predecessor
scored from the same number of appearances last term during what had been the long-time Brave Blossoms
international’s most productive season since the League One era kicked off.
Matsunaga performed to a similarly high level at Brave Lupus after taking on the goalkicking responsibility ahead of
the club’s star All Black Richie Mo’unga, contributing 174 points, while Takamoto’s tally of 159 represented a fine
follow up from his golden rookie season as Sungoliath’s lead goalkicker last term, when he reeled off 157 points.
Brave Lupus winger Jone Naikabula, the star of last year's grand final, finished as Division One’s leading try-scorer
with 15, failing to score in just four of his 16 outings.

The 31-year-old, who surpassed 50 appearances in League One last month, was disrupted by injury last term, but
still managed nine tries from as many games in the regular season before providing his side’s point of difference in
a hotly contested finals series, where he scored three tries, two of which came in the dramatic 24-20 win over the
Wild Knights in the final.
Winger Koki Takeyama, who scored just three tries last season, finished joint second behind Naikabula, producing
14 tries from 16 appearances on the edge of an at times lethal Wild Knights backline.
He tied with the boom Shizuoka youngster Shuntaro Kitamura who enjoyed a stella rookie season behind the
BlueRevs pack, scoring 14 tries from his first 18 appearances in League One after having replaced Maori All Black
scrumhalf Bryn Hall.
Kitamura joined some illustrious international company, with the upper echelon of the individual try-scoring
standings also including Mo’unga (11), Wallaby and D-Rocks midfielder Samu Kerevi (10), high profile Toyota Verblitz
code hopper Joseph Manu (11), Kobe and Toshiba’s All Black forwards Shannon Frizell (11) and Brodie Retallick (10),
as well as Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay’s prolific Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx (9).
BlueRevs teammate and winger Malo Tuitama – who topped last year’s try count with 15 – finished the round robin
phase joint fourth this time with 11, seemingly running out of tries after the 29-year-old had made a hot start,
opening with 10 in the first seven matches.
This included back-to-back hattricks against Urayasu D-Rocks and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara
Dynaboars.
Test capped English and Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi flyhalf Freddie Burns (172) was a runaway winner for the
most points in the second tier, finishing 45 clear of another experienced northern hemisphere test star, Wales and
NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu pivot Rhys Patchell (127).
Patchell finished level on points with Red Hurricanes Osaka fullback Taiki Yamaguchi but played two games less.
Former Highlanders and Crusaders flyhalf Mitchell Hunt (Nippon Steel Kamaishi Seawaves) rounded out the top four
on the rankings, scoring 123 points.
Burns was also the section’s most prolific try-scorer with 11, leading home Hanazono Kintetsu Liners’ 10-try veteran
Wallaby scrumhalf Will Genia.

While his side missed out on a place in The Replacement Battle, Kurita Water Gush Akishima winger Yuta Sugiyama
has good reason to remember his first full year in the league with fondness after totting up 134 points from 13
appearances to comfortably lead the individual point’s table in Division Three.
The 26-year-old had only played four matches in League One prior to the start of the season.
Well-travelled former Super Rugby performer Chase Tiatia topped the division’s try-scoring charts.
The on-debut New Zealander scored 14 tries, 11 of which came in his first seven appearances, including four during
Sayama Secom Rugguts’ 57-3 win over Le RIRO Fukuoka.
Chugoku Electric Power Red Regulions hooker Kentaro Iwanaga, who finished second with 12, was following up on
some outstanding work from last season, where only four players had scored more than his tally of eight tries.