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Jason Ryan: All Blacks selectors feeling RGR pinch ahead of third Test
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Ex-All Blacks boss Steve Hansen confronts Dave Rennie
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All Black coaches past and present take centre stage on Saturday as Japan Rugby League One returns after its final regular season bye, with Steve Hansen and Ian Foster’s Toyota Verblitz taking on Dave Rennie’s Kobelco Kobe Steelers.
While the new All Black boss – aided by his New Zealand Test trio of second-rower Brodie Retallick, back-rower Ardie Savea and centre Anton Lienert-Brown – has second-placed Kobe humming, in Verblitz they face one of the competition’s form teams.
The ‘olive green machine’ have overcome a slow start to charge into finals contention, one point behind sixth-placed Toshiba Brave Lupus, on the back of five wins from their last six.
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Toyota’s prospects of farewelling Hansen, their long-time Director of Rugby, with a finals appearance or better were boosted when they flexed their muscles to overpower the then top-of-the-table Kubota Spears in the Aichi rain.
The 24-7 win served notice to their remaining rivals – three of whom are currently in the top six – that they are going to take some stopping.
Mie Honda Heat, who are one of the sides battling with Hansen’s troops for the final play-offs berth, made their own statement of intent when downing fourth-placed Tokyo Sungoliath.
Beating fifth-placed BlackRams Tokyo, who were outclassed by Kobe last week, is their next mission, and they look up to tomorrow night’s task if they can continue to ride on the back of the superb form of Argentine back-rower Pablo Matera and Flying Fijians hooker Tevita Ikanivere.
Champions Brave Lupus, who finally ended their agony against Urayasu D-Rocks after seven straight defeats, face an inconsistent Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars outfit focused on avoiding the promotion/relegation series.
Like the three teams ranked immediately above them, Shizuoka BlueRevs kept their finals hopes alive in the last round with a stirring come-from-behind win over Sagamihara, but keeping the flame burning will require a repeat of last year’s home win over the league-leading Saitama Wild Knights.
Although they have often struggled at Shizuoka, Damian de Allende’s Wild Knights continue to tick all the boxes which means his Springbok team-mate, BlueRevs skipper Kwagga Smith, carries a big load leading his team into a game that could be make-or-break.
After a hat-trick of defeats, and with a finals place almost certain but not mathematically confirmed, nerves may be starting to build in Sam Cane’s Sungoliath camp.
These might not be helped having to confront a Kubota side who put an astonishing 79 points on them earlier in the season and will be looking to rebound after their loss at Toyota.
Bottom two, Urayasu and Yokohama, have plenty at stake when they meet.
While D-Rocks are almost locked in for The Replacement Battle, the hopes of Faf de Klerk’s Eagles avoiding the same fate will take a major blow if they lose.
