1
Brave Blossoms flyhalf upstages stars in Japan rugby
There might have been three Springboks and two Wallabies on the field but the foreign internationals were upstaged by a local as Marika Koroibete’s Saitama Wild Knights stayed unbeaten in Japan Rugby League One.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Wallaby winger’s teammate, Brave Blossoms flyhalf Takuya Yamasawa, was the star of the show, claiming 25 of the Wild Knights’ points in a 30-15 win over the previously unbeaten Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay.
The Spears, who were bidding to become the first side to topple the Wild Knights in 43 matches, led 12-10 at halftime but were unable to counter Yamasawa’s brilliance, despite fielding Wallaby flyhalf Bernard Foley and Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx in their ranks.
Arriving as the leading try-scorers in the league, the Spears were held tryless, with Marx unable to add to his tally of seven tries for the season.
Koroibete didn’t cross the try-line either, but he didn’t need to, as Yamasawa scored tries in each half, as well as kicking two penalty goals, three conversions and a dropped goal.
Of all of his points, it was arguably the dropped goal, calmly taken in the 68th minute, that was of the most importance.
Having seen the lead taken from them after the break, Foley’s fifth penalty goal of the afternoon,
ADVERTISEMENT
dragged the Spears back to within five, entering the game’s final 15 minutes.
Yamasawa’s goal extended the Wild Knights’ advantage beyond the range of a converted try, with the home side sealing their victory, and picking up a valuable try-scoring bonus point in the process, when their rookie winger Tomoki Osada scored with two minutes remaining.
While Foley’s 15 points extended his lead as the league’s highest individual point-scorer, boosting his tally to 128, it was his Saitama counterparts’ day, with the 28-year-old showing he is up to the hype which has many astute judges of the game in Japan promoting him as the most influential player in the star-studded league.
Yamasawa, who also has Springbok inside centre Damien de Allen de and lock Lood de Jager among his teammates, was man of the match in last year’s final, where his goal-line tackle on All Black Damien McKenzie prevented a certain try in the Wild Knights’ 18-12 win over Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath.
He was then a try-scorer for Japan during their gallant performance to get within seven of the All Blacks in Tokyo in October.
ADVERTISEMENT
Yesterday’s haul took Yamasawa’s tally of points to 58 from the last three matches, as the Robbie Deans-coached Wild Knights established a seven-point break on Kubota at the top of the table.
Third-placed Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath, who play the Wild Knights next week, will have disappointed club advisor Eddie Jones, being unable to take advantage of Kubota’s defeat when they were upset 27-20 by Toyota Verblitz.
At Osaka, ex-Wallaby Matt Toomua came off the bench to steer the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars to a thrilling 38-29 win over Will Genia’s Hanazono Kintetsu Liners.
Both Toomua and Genia scored tries, as did fellow Wallaby centre Curtis Rona, but it was Toomua and Rona who got to do the celebrating in the end, with the win ending Sagamihara’s five-match winless run.
The other Division One results of the weekend saw two tries by Springbok loose forward Kwagga Smith help Shizuoka Blue Revs to draw with fourth-placed Yokohama Canon Eagles 27-27, while the Todd Blackadder-coached Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo hammered Kobelco Kobe Steelers 51-12.
Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo were big winners over ex-Wallaby coach Michael Cheika’s former team, NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu, with Queensland’s Isaac Lucas amongst their seven try-scorers in the 54-7 hammering, while Matt McGahan, son of Kiwis rugby league legend Hugh McGahan, kicked 12 points to join Foley in exceeding 100 for the season.
Comments on RugbyPass
Gee my Highlanders were terrible. They have gone backwards since the start of the season. The trouble began when we left Millar behind to prep as the 10 against the Brumbies and he was disconnected from the team that came back from Aussie. We rested Patchell for that game and we blew an avalanche of ball in good attacking positions in the 1st half. Against the Rebels we seem to of gone into a pod system with forwards hanging off from the breakdown leaving Fakatava to secure our ball!
72 Go to commentsPot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
19 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
4 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
2 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes are good, especially with a decent coach now. However, let’s be real, the Crusaders and Chiefs are clearly a good degree weaker without the players they’ve lost overseas now. The Canes lost one player. It’s also why the aussie teams ‘seem’ to be stronger.
9 Go to commentsOr you could develop your own players instead of constantly taking from the SH competition and weakening it in the process? With all the player and financial resources these unions have compared to SH countries you’d think they could manage that, or is weakening the SH comps and their national sides an added bonus? Probably.
3 Go to commentsNot so fast Aaron, we might need you in black yet lol. God knows he’d be a lot less nerve-racking than hot and (very) cold players like Perofeta. It’s really a shame Reuben Love isn’t playing 10, we’ve got enough 15 options.
4 Go to commentsAnd those from the NH still seem to be puzzled (and delighted) why NZ’s depth isn’t what it once was. Over 600 NZ players overseas, that’s insane. This sort of deal is why Super Rugby coaches have admitted they struggle now to find enough quality to fill out their squads.
6 Go to commentsArticle intéressant ! La question devrait régulièrement se poser pour les jeunes français originaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis-et-Futuna et de Polynésie entre la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Métropole… Difficile pour la fédération française de rugby de se positionner : soit le choix est fait de dénicher les jeunes talents et de les faire venir très tôt en Métropole, au risque de les déraciner, soit on prend le risque de se les faire “piller” par les All Blacks qui, telle une araignée, essaye de récupérer tous les talents des îles du Pacifique… À la France de se défendre en développant l’aura du XV de France et des clubs français dans ses collectivités d’Outre-mer !
3 Go to commentsWrong bay. He needs to come to the REAL BAY which is Bay Of Plenty and have a crack at making the Chiefs.
3 Go to commentsIs Barrett going play full back??? They already have all the centers…
15 Go to commentsForgive my ignorance, I might not fully understand so would appreciate clarification: Didn’t the Bulls have to fly with three different carriers, paid for by the South African Rugby Union, whilst Edinburgh got a chartered flight sponsored by EPCR? Also, as far as I understand it South African teams don’t yet share in the revenue from the competition and are not allowed to host Semi-finals or Finals at home. Surely if everyone wants South Africans to “take the competition seriously” then they must make South Africans feel welcome, allow them to share in the revenue, and give them the same levels of access as the teams from the other countries. Just a reminder that South Africa has a large and passionate Rugby audience. Just by virtue of our teams being a part of these competitions means that more of us are likely to watch the knockout games, even if our teams haven’t qualified. It would be silly to alienate such a large audience by making them feel unwelcome.
19 Go to commentsFirst of all. This guy is very much behind the curve. All the bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning took place days ago already. Not adding anything to the topic other than more bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning. 🍼 Second of all, not one mention of the fact that South African teams can’t get home semi finals or finals. The tournament was undermined and devalued by the administrators. 🤡 Thirdly, football teams often have to juggle selections in mid week games, premier games, champions league games etc. and will from time to time prioritize certain titles over others. 🐒 And lastly FEK Neil, and anyone else for that matter, for insisting on telling teams how to manage themselves. If they make what is largely a business decision that suits them and doesn’t suit you - tough shite. 💩 It’s not rocket science as to why the Bulls did what they did. If this guy is too slow to figure it out (and is deliberately not mentioning one of the key reasons why) then he isn’t a journalist. He should join the rest of us pundit plebs in comments section. 🥴
19 Go to commentsSo the first door to knock on Rob is Parliament followed by HMRC. The Irish Revenue deliver a 40% tax relief rebate on the HIGHEST EARNING TEN YEARS of every pro Irish rugby players contract earnings at retirement. That goes a long way to both retaining their best talent and freeing up wages for marquee players. Who knows, if that had been in place in the UK, you might not have been able to poach Hoggy and Jonny Gray from Glasgow…!!!
3 Go to comments1. True, if that “free” ticket means access to all but the prized exhibit - EVIP only. SA cannot host semis, even if they’ve earned it (see Sharks vs ASM Clermont Auvergne at… Twickenham Stoop). 2. Why no selective outrage over Lyon doing the exact same thing a week earlier? Out of all the countries France send the most “B teams”, why nobody talking about “disrespect” and “prioritising domestic leagues” and “kicking them out”? 3. Why no mention of the Sharks fielding all of their Springboks for the second rate Challenge cup QF? No commitment? 4. Why no mention of all the SA teams qualifying for respective euro knock out comps in the two seasons they’ve been in it? How many euro teams have qualified for KO’s in their history? Can’t compete? 5. Why no mention of SA teams beating French and English giants La Rochelle and Saracens? How many euro teams have done that in their history? Add no quality? The fact is that SA teams are only in their second season in europe, with no status and a fraction of the resources. Since joining the URC, SA has seen a repatriation of a number of players, and this will only grow once SA start sharing in the profits of competing in these comps, meaning bigger squads with greater depth and quality, meaning they don’t have to prioritise comps as they have to now - they don’t have imports from Pacifica and South America and everywhere else in between like “European” teams have - also less “Saffas” in Prem and T14, that’s what we want right? 'If the South Africans are in, they need to be all in' True, and we have to ensure we give them the same status and resources as we give everyone else to do just that. A small compromise on scheduling will go a long way in avoiding these situations, but guess what, France and England wont compromise on scheduling because they ironically… prioritise their domestic comps, go figure!
19 Go to commentsthe success of the premiership can be summarized by : only 10 teams. It makes a huge difference with the overcrowded top 14 (let us not talk about Leinster and URC…)
1 Go to commentsGood for him. The ABs were fooling around again with converted fullbacks that had a penetration of a marshmallow. Laumape or as Aki has shown for Ireland, go forward is important in the centres. If it had been DMac - Aki- Aumua - Ioane- Telea- Jordan in France the final result would have been different.
4 Go to commentsDan Carter a apporté son professionnalisme, des méthodes de travail, un esprit qui manquaient à l’USAP. Son influence, même une fois blessé a été énorme. Et pour citer une anecdote, certains soirs il venait de lui-même à l’entraînement des jeunes pour dispenser ses conseils. On ne peut pas compter ce qu’il a apporté au club en heures de jeu sur le terrain. Est-ce que le club en a eu pour son argent ? Avec la publicité sur son nom et le titre, je suppose que oui.
1 Go to commentsThe SA sides are suffering from a bum rap here. There isn’t a side anywhere in the world that would do things differently in their shoes. They’ve been set up to fail in the EPCR comps by vested interests, with last minute intercontinental travel requirements that costs an arm and a leg to book in advance just on the possibility they might be required. And the total nonsense that denies any chance of home venues is entirely biased and absolutely unsporting. Either EPCR, the Top14 & the Gallagher Premiership get it sorted on a fair and equitable sporting basis for ALL participants or expect the ridicule to continue. Right now, these comps are a joke!
19 Go to commentsSA sides should do the right thing and leave the champions cup, they are lowering the standard with completely one sided games, not up to the right level. The greatest club tournament in the world is being banjaxed by the weak SA sides.
19 Go to comments