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How a Robbie Deans rivalry is fuelling stellar-cast Japanese final
Frans Ludeke knows Robbie Deans very well. The two-time title-winning coach from Super Rugby has locked horns with the former Crusaders and current Saitama mentor several times, with their history dating back to the South African’s stints coaching the Johannesburg-based Cats (whom we now know as the Golden Lions), and the Pretoria-based Bulls.
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The rivalry then was brief, with the Deans-coached Crusaders beating the Ludeke-prepared Cats 43-15 in 2006 and his Bulls side 54-19 two years later, but it has taken on a more substantive form since Ludeke arrived to take over at Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay in 2016.
While Ludeke has taken his side to three semi-finals since relocating to Japan, alongside Saturday’s maiden appearance in a final, he has rarely got the better of Deans, either in Super Rugby or Top League/Japan Rugby League One and is going to have to do it if his men are to land Kubota’s first title.
The Spears were defeated four times during Saitama’s 47-game undefeated run, which only ended last month when the defending champions were toppled by an inspired Shizuoka Blue Revs. Although the regular season contest between this year’s finalists saw the Wild Knights home by 15, the Spears had led 12-10 at the mid-point.
They were ultimately undone by a man-of-the-match performance from Saitama’s Brave Blossoms fly-half Takuya Yamasawa, who scored 25 points (including two tries), to bring his side home. That Yamasawa started last weekend’s 51-20 semi-final win on the bench and will do so again for the final, is indicative of the strength within the Saitama squad.
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Test colleague Rikiya Matsuda, who missed out on last year’s final, and the subsequent Test season due to injury, wore the Saitama No10 jersey against Yokohama Canon Eagles, and will do so again on Saturday. With Yamasawa watching on, Matsuda put on a show, feasting on the Eagles to the tune of a 24-point haul.
The strength of Saitama’s ‘finishers’ is something Ludeke knows all too well, after having seen his side fall away in the second half of their loss earlier in the season. The ruthless nature of last weekend’s blitz, which saw the Wild Knights run in five tries without reply in a 36-3 second period scoreline, was ominous for their opponents in the final.
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So too was the hat-trick scored by Saitama’s star winger Marika Koroibete who, after a relatively quiet regular season, sprang to life in the second half, almost toying with the Yokohama defence. Although not good for Kubota, Wallabies coach Eddie Jones is sure to have been pleased to have seen Koroibete hit full stride with the Rugby World Cup looming on the horizon.
While the muscly Fijian is one of the aces in the Panasonic deck, Ludeke is not without cards of his own to play, with Jones also sure to be watching closely the performance of Kubota backline pivot Bernard Foley. The 33-year-old Australian will finish as the competition’s leading point-scorer, starting the final with 187 to his name from 16 games.
Such is the growing logjam among the Wallabies’ options at fly-half, the final carries huge importance for Foley, not just in guiding his club to a maiden title, but also in potentially stamping his passport on QF (Qantas) 2023 bound for France.
Springbok internationals and Rugby World Cup certainties Malcolm Marx, Damien de Allende and Lood de Jager will also be on show, with de Allende and de Jager both chasing their first silverware in Japan after joining the Wild Knights this season.
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Marx, who is in his second season with Kubota, might be the world’s best hooker but astonishingly he has never won a top-tier professional club title, either in Super Rugby with the Lions, or since he took his career to Japan.
The 28-year-old may never get a better chance than on Saturday where the Spears will be relying on his physicality around the field, but also his nose for the try line. Last weekend’s five-pointer against Suntory was the 11th from the 15 games that the South African has played this season.
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Freshman winger Haruto Kida, who seems certain to be named rookie of the year at next Monday’s Japan Rugby League One awards, is one of just three players in the league who have scored more tries this season than Marx, and the Spears will need to provide him with the opportunity to add to the 16 he has already scored if they are to thwart the Wild Knights’ coronation.
The 48-cap All Blacks centre Ryan Crotty has been named to start in what will be just his eighth appearance of a campaign dogged by injury, but the 34-year-old’s title-winning experience – having won Super Rugby three times during his 152-game career with the Crusaders – should be a major asset for the Spears, in what promises to be a tight contest.
Saturday’s League One decider between the Wild Knights and the Spears at the National Stadium in Tokyo has a 2:35pm local time kick-off and it is preceded by Friday night’s third-place play-off between Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath and Yokohama Canon Eagles at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium (7pm KO).
Wallabies midfielder Samu Kerevi will take an important step in his preparation for this year’s World Cup when he starts for the first time this season for Suntory. Test coach Jones, who is already a coaching advisor at Sungoliath, will be keeping close tabs on Kerevi, who played the last 20 minutes of the 24-18 loss to Kubota on Sunday.
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The two sides are coming off contrasting, but no less emotive, semi-final defeats, with Sungoliath having battled bravely against Kubota despite playing all but five minutes of the contest with just 14 players, while the Eagles soared in the first half of their clash with Saitama before crashing to earth after the break.
While third represents a step back for a Suntory side that has won the title five times, and appeared in each of the last two finals, the placing would be a meritorious finish for Canon, who have climbed up the rankings in the last two campaigns, shaping themselves as genuine title contenders.
Semi-final red cards to Hendrick Tui (Suntory) and Jesse Kriel (Canon) mean both players miss Fruday’s game, with the absence of the Springboks midfielder handing an opportunity to Luteru Laulala – the younger brother of All Blacks Casey and Nepo – to play just his third game of the season.
Even without Kriel, Springbok coach Jacques van Nienaber is sure to be keeping a close eye on proceedings, hoping that his star half-back Faf de Klerk, who has proved a wonderful addition for Canon, comes through his final outing of the campaign unscathed.
Comments on RugbyPass
I’m yet to see why Grace would be an ABs contender. He’s pedestrian and lacks the dominance required of a top flight 8.
7 Go to commentsGee 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
7 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…)
2 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 comments