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Israel Dagg weighs in on All Blacks' ongoing high-ball struggles
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All Blacks great Dane Coles robbed of swansong
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With the semi-finalists and Replacement Battle (promotion/relegation series) candidates all but sorted, the final round of the regular season in Japan Rugby League One, which kicks off on Saturday, will be as much about individual goals as it will be team ones, for many of the players involved.
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Those preparing for their final hit-out split into two distinct groups: for the foreign players, it is the chance to leave Japan on a high, signing off on a positive note before they head home.
For those locals whose league trail ends – which includes eight members of last year’s Rugby World Cup squad – it is the one remaining opportunity to impress returning Brave Blossoms coach Eddie Jones, as he closes in on his selections for the mid-year tests, including against his former team England, which will be followed by the Pacific Nations Cup.
There is also the not inconsiderable matter of gaining the highest possible finishing places for their clubs, especially in the congested mid-table, where three candidates are still in the running to finish fifth.
Kobelco Kobe Steelers hold the best cards as the current occupants of the position, even though they will be without World Rugby Player of the Year Ardie Savea.
With a final day assignment at eleventh-placed Mie Honda Heat, against who they have won the last eleven, theirs is a strong hand.
Toyota Verblitz (sixth) and Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay (seventh) can still trump them but only if Dave Rennie’s men fold.
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Following last week’s dramatic finish to beat Yokohama, Steve Hansen’s Verblitz will be hoping to make their final bow just as successful against Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo.
Unfortunately, Dane Coles won’t get the chance for an on-field sign off for Kubota against Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath following the hamstring injury that rubbed him out of last weekend’s win over the Heat.
After 90 tests, and 140 games for the Hurricanes, the All Black hooker’s career was over until the call came from Kubota, although the 37-year-old is unlikely to be around the club next season, when their Springbok talisman Malcolm Marx returns.
Mind you, Coles had retired once already – and came back to enjoy the lifestyle and rugby in Japan – so who knows?
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Major League Rugby perhaps?
In a sign of what was to come for the Spears’ title defence, Sungoliath won this match-up on the opening weekend, gaining revenge after the eventual champions took them down three-times during last year’s historic season.
The Spears have found form of late, disposing of Kobe and Honda over the last two weekends, and will be eager to put an exclamation mark on their revival by knocking over one of their would-be successors.
At the top end of the standings, leaders Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights will go back to the start when they visit Yokohama Canon Eagles; their semi-final opponents, who they thumped 53-12 on the opening day.
With 15 wins already, the Robbie Deans-coached side are 80 minutes away from the completion of their third unbeaten regular season in four since the game resumed after Covid.
As Panasonic has not lost to Canon since 2013, only the brave would bet against them.
Further down the ladder, the bottom three; Ricoh, Honda, and Hanazono Kintetsu Liners have mustered just five wins between them.
The final round is a last chance to tune up before their two-legged survivor series against the top three Division Two clubs.
