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All Black Richie Mo'unga faces near-impossible task that's never been achieved
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Test scrum-halves, Springbok Faf de Klerk and All Black Aaron Smith, renew their acquaintance on Saturday when Yokohama Canon Eagles clash with Toyota Verblitz in Japan Rugby League One.
With 185 Test caps between them, which includes nine opposing each other – for four wins apiece as well as the 16-16 draw at Wellington in 2019 – the pair know each other’s strengths well.
In Japan, they have faced each other twice, with the South African winning both times.
Their familiarity is sure to up the ante in a match of huge importance to the trajectory of both sides’ seasons.
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While Toyota’s loss to Shizuoka BlueRevs saw them drop a place on the standings, Smith’s side remain in the finals conversation, six points from the last qualifying position with six matches remaining.
Yokohama, led by de Klerk’s first League One hat-trick, caused the shock of the season last weekend against Kobe.
The win took them above a struggling Urayasu D-Rocks, but they remain in the post-season relegation series zone, three points behind 10th placed Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars.
Kobe, who dropped to third, now meet an opponent they know well, in Kwagga Smith’s Shizuoka BlueRevs.
The teams played three times last term. Shizuoka won the first two, before being stunned by Kobe in the semi-finals.
Back-to-back wins for the BlueRevs would keep the pressure on Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo, who are hanging on to sixth, despite losing their last six matches.
The two-time defending champions welcome back All Black back-rower Shannon Frizell, who was injured on the season’s opening day, but they face a daunting task against Kubota Spears.
Although an injury time try by Richie Mo’unga allowed Brave Lupus to steal victory when they met in January, Toshiba haven’t won since, and visit Spears Edoriku Field, where Malcolm Marx and his crew have never been defeated.
Kubota are level on points with Saitama Wild Knights, who face a testing challenge themselves, against a Tokyo Sungoliath side they beat by just one point in January.
Arguably the most glamorous fixture on the Japanese club calendar, the pair have won 11 nationwide league titles between them.
BlackRams Tokyo, who had a four-game unbeaten run halted by the Wild Knights, will be aiming to reboot against the Dynaboars, who are probably out of the running despite their back-to-back wins over playoffs-bound Sungoliath.
One of four sides to have won four matches, a lack of bonus points means Glenn Delaney’s men may have to settle for trying to better their best winning return for a League One season, which currently stands at six.
Mie Honda Heat, who have also won four times, will be looking for number five against a D-Rocks outfit that has lost its last eight matches.
