Japan Rugby League One preview (Round Eight)

Crunch time has come early.

While neither Toyota Verblitz nor Yokohama Canon Eagles will become relegation series certainties should they lose at Aichi’s Paloma Mizuho Rugby Stadium on Saturday, the chances of the current 11th and 12th ranked sides avoiding that jeopardy will decrease significantly with a further defeat. Steve Hansen’s Verblitz have endured another disappointing run following last season’s 10th placed finish, having lost their last five since the short-lived encouragement of an opening day win over Mie Honda Heat.

Worryingly for the Toyota boss is the manner of his side’s defeats, having leaked points at an average of a tick over 40 per game during their losing run. It is easily the worst concession rate in the league, 31 points greater than their next opponent, and will make The Replacement Battle unavoidable if Hansen and his assistant Ian Foster cannot effect change in the side’s defensive habits.

Verblitz have been hit by a further blow with the loss of Springbok backrower Pieter Steph du Toit, who has returned to South Africa for shoulder surgery, and has been deregistered by the club, to allow for a replacement to be sought.

Although new Yokohama boss Leon MacDonald, who was coached by Hansen at the Crusaders, is yet to experience his first win in League One, the Eagles have had their moments and were far from disgraced in their recent six-point defeat by Kobelco Kobe Steelers.

The level of the Eagles’ competitiveness is indicated by the fact that they have earned a losing bonus point, for finishing within seven of their opponents, in half of their matches so far. This has kept them in touch with the teams above, a point behind Toyota, two behind 10th placed Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars, and three from ninth-placed Mie Honda Heat.

With Honda, fresh off their first win of the season, facing a difficult task against Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo, and the Dynaboars seeking to arrest a run of one win from their last nine against Tokyo Sungoliath on Sunday, it’s not inconceivable that the Eagles could rise as high as ninth should they snare maximum points from their first win of the season.
That outcome would leave Verblitz bottom of the pile; an indignity that for all their struggles last term, they managed to avoid. Expect it to be close: three of the last four matches between the pair have been decided by four points or less.

Shizuoka coach Yuichiro Fujii may be referencing last years’ experience to his troops in the run up to Saturday’s clash with Kobe after his charges, having twice bettered their opponents in the regular season, were subsequently beaten when the two met on the opening weekend of the playoffs, ending a fairy tale run which had seen the unheralded BlueRevs previously win 14 of their 18 matches.

Although Shizuoka have recovered from a three-game losing streak this season to climb into the top six after stringing together back-to-back wins, they will have to be at the top of their game facing a Kobe side that has lost just once since they beat the BlueRevs 35-20 in the quarterfinal on their way to a third placed finish; the same position Dave Rennie’s men occupy on the point’s table now.
Having won five-in-a-row, Kobe are enjoying their best winning streak since the club won 21 in succession between their 2018 title and the league’s resumption post-Covid in 2021.

Kobe are just a point behind Kubota Spears, who could not be returning to Spears Edoriku Field – where they have won 22 times without defeat in League One – at a better time, following their last gasp defeat against Toshiba. The Spears will be aiming to get back on track against a Urayasu D-Rocks outfit whose momentum has slowed after they won three of their first four, which included a 34-21 win over the BlueRevs.
While their loss to Honda was a bump in the road, Spears coach Frans Ludeke will have noted how competitive Graham Rowntree’s side was in 37-19 and 38-27 losses to the Wild Knights and Brave Lupus respectively.

He will also remember that in a season where they won just three times; D-Rocks reserved their best 40 minutes of last year for the Spears, against whom they led 22-0 early in the second half before collapsing in the final 25 minutes to lose 33-22. Despite winning 20 of the last 21 games between the teams, league leaders Saitama Wild Knights still have cause to be wary of BlackRams Tokyo as they bid to maintain the competition’s only unbeaten record.

The hosts have won three of their last four and ran Saitama close in the most recent meeting between the two sides,
with All Black scrumhalf TJ Perenara scoring two tries before the Wild Knights prevailed, 27-21 such is the mid-table congestion, it is only a lack of bonus points keeping Tabai Matson’s side out of the playoffsplaces, with each of the sides ranked fifth to seventh, Sungoliath (16 points), BlueRevs (15) and D-Rocks (12) having won three matches, same as the eighth-placed BlackRams.

Second hosts first in Division Two as Hanazono Kintetsu Liners visit Shimizu Corporation Koto Blue Sharks in the section’s headline act, while SkyActivs Hiroshima will be looking to increase their lead at the top of the standings when they host Yakult Levins Toda in Division Three.
Last weekend in the lower sections saw Toyota Industries Corporation Shuttles Aichi close the gap on Kintetsu to three points after crushing bottom-of-the-table Hino Red Dolphins 62-12.

Fullback Josua Kerevi – younger brother of Wallaby Samu – and winger Raia Takashima each scored three tries, while Wallaby flyhalf Noah Lolesio kicked 12 points on his League One debut. The Australians’ arrival brings to four the number of test-capped flyhalves featuring in Division Two with Springbok

Manie Libbok at Hanazono, ex-Wallaby Christian Lea’li’ifano a teammate of Lolosio at the Shuttles, while Irish- capped Billy Burns is leading the backline for the much-improved Blue Sharks.

Division Three saw Toda upset the Wycliff Palu-coached Kurita Water Gush Akishima 25-20 thanks to an 83rd minute try by prop Haruka Egihata, while SkyActivs Hiroshima and their closest challenger SAYAMA SECOM RUGGUTs both scored commanding wins.