Cheslin Kolbe's interesting afternoon in Japan Rugby League One

They might be under new management but otherwise things have remained largely the same as regular season ‘Kings’ Saitama Wild Knights enter Japan Rugby League One’s second bye weekend on top of the table.

A try by Damien de Allende helped the competition leaders to a dramatic 31-30 win over Tokyo Sungoliath yesterday, on a day of mixed fortunes for the Springbok midfielder’s test colleague, Cheslin Kolbe.

The South African speedster earned his second yellow card of the season for slapping down an opposition pass, also conceding a penalty try in the act, which allowed the home side to take momentum into the break leading 14-11.

This became 31-16 entering the final 10 minutes before two late tries by Sungoliath – the second by Kolbe – set up a nervous finish, with the Wild Knights clinging to a one-point advantage for the final two minutes of play.

Atsushi Kanazawa’s side are now the only unbeaten outfit in the league after Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo ended Kubota Spears’ 13-game regular season winning streak with a gutsy 24-20 success in the replay of last season’s championship decider.

Toshiba had just seven of their grand final winning starting XV available and seemed destined for defeat after ex-Wallaby Bernard Foley kicked a penalty goal with three minutes remaining to nudge the Spears ahead 20-17.

The champions weren’t done though, working their way up-field to pressure the Kubota defence, which allowed the hero of the final – All Black flyhalf Richie Mo’unga – to KO the Spears again, when his quick feet stood up three defenders to score in the game’s final play.

The win was the fifth in a row for Brave Lupus against the Spears, all of which have been by a margin of five points or less.

Elsewhere, Mie Honda Heat ended a 14-match losing run in regular season games after a 32-23 win over Graham Rowntree’s Urayasu D-Rocks.

D-Rocks were up against it after the first half red card issued against second-rower Manaaki Selby-Rickit.

Honda’s Springbok skipper Franco Mostert was a try-scorer for the Heat, but his international teammate, Urayasu’s Jasper Wiese, experienced the other end of the fortune spectrum, lasting just 10 minutes before he was forced from the field with injury.

Yokohama Canon Eagles are now the only winless side in Division One, despite a valiant late comeback spearheaded by their Springbok skipper Jesse Kriel, with the centre scoring two late tries in a 38-32 loss to Kobelco Kobe Steelers.

All Black and Kobe second rower Brodie Retallick ended the weekend as the competition’s leading try-scorer after bagging his eighth try of the season.

BlackRams Tokyo beat Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars 33-24, and Shizuoka BlueRevs outclassed Toyota Verblitz 43-19 in the weekend’s other matches.