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Semi-finalists confirmed as Quade Cooper earns League One promotion in Japan
An array of All Blacks, Wallabies, Springboks and Brave Blossoms stars will do battle for the inaugural Japan Rugby League One title after the competition’s semi-finalists were confirmed over the weekend.
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Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath, Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights, Kubota Spears Funasbashi-Tokyo Bay and Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo have all qualified as Division One semi-finalists following the final round of the regular season.
Suntory, Panasonic and Kubota had all confirmed their semi-final spots heading into the last weekend of action, but Toshiba were competing with Toyota Verblitz for the fourth and final playoffs spot.
However, Toshiba’s place in the top four was all but confirmed when Toyota’s must-win clash against Suntory was cancelled due to a Covid outbreak in the Verblitz squad.
As such, Springboks duo Pieter-Steph du Toit and Willie le Roux, All Blacks lock Patrick Tuipulotu and Japan star Kazuki Himeno were denied the chance to push for a semi-final berth as Suntory won all five competition to cement their top-of-the-table spot.
That means Suntory – headlined by All Blacks star Damian McKenzie and Wallabies pair Samu Kerevi and Sean McMahon – will face off against Toshiba in next week’s semi-final after the Brave Lupus beat the Shizuoka Blue Revs on Sunday.
Former All Blacks Matt Todd and Seta Tamanivalu, as well as ex-Brave Blossoms captain Michael Leitch, all featured for Toshiba in their 33-29 victory over Springboks loose forward Kwagga Smith’s Blue Revs.
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The other semi-final will see Panasonic host Kubota for a second successive week after the Wild Knights beat the Spears 35-14 on Saturday.
Wallabies wing Marika Koroibete and former England lock George Kruis featured among a plethora of Japanese internationals in the Panasonic side that overcame a Kubota team that was without ex-Wallabies pivot Bernard Foley, former All Blacks midfielder Ryan Crotty and Springboks hooker Malcolm Marx.
At the other end of the spectrum, Wallabies greats Quade Cooper and Will Genia have guided the Hanazono Kintetsu Liners to promotion Division One after helping clinch a 34-22 win over the Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars on Sunday.
The victory ensures Kintetsu finish the season as the top-ranked side from Division Two, meaning they have secured automatic promotion into League One’s top division next year.
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Mitsubishi and second-ranked Mie Honda Heat will now progress to promotion-relegation fixtures against the bottom-ranked Division One sides.
Those teams are yet to be finalised after Saturday’s clash between NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes Osaka and Tokyo Black Rams was cancelled due to a Covid outbreak in the Red Hurricanes squad.
League One officials are yet to determine how the competition points for that match will be distributed between the Red Hurricanes and Black Rams, both of whom sit inside the Division One relegation zone alongside the NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu.
Should either team be granted the full five competition points, they would overtake Israel Folau’s NTT Communications Shining Arcs Tokyo-Bay Urayasu following their heavy 74-34 loss to the Kobelco Kobe Steelers on Sunday.
Former All Blacks fullback Ben Smith, who partnered with Springboks star Lukhanyo Am in the midfield, scored a try in the closing stages of that match to likely close out his playing career and condemn the Shining Arcs to a ninth-place finish.
That leaves Folau and his teammates, which includes former Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw, prone to dropping into the relegation zone depending on how the cancelled match between the Red Hurricanes and Black Rams is dealt with.
Elsewhere, Toyota Shuttles Industries Aichi have won promotion into next year’s Division Two after finishing this season as champions of Division Three.
The Division One semi-finals, and the inter-divisional promotion-relegation matches, will begin next weekend, with the first-ever League One final to be held on May 29.
Comments on RugbyPass
Ben Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
86 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
4 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to comments