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Steve Hansen's ex-NRL All Blacks prospect shines in basement battle
Mie Honda Heat will join Urayasu D-Rocks in the post season relegation series after they were beaten 38-30 by Toyota Verblitz in today’s crucial bottom-of-the-table clash in Japan Rugby League One.
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After a season punctuated by frustration, Steve Hansen’s side chose a good moment to produce one of their best halves of the season, rocking Heat with five tries in the first half to establish what proved an insurmountable 24-point lead.
Joseph Manu’s 11th try of the season featured among the blitz, and while ex-Wallaby fullback Tom Banks scored twice for the home side, with Springbok second rower Franco Mostert also contributing, the head start Honda had conceded proved fatal.
Eleventh-placed Heat can no longer catch Verblitz on the standings.
The slim playoffs hopes of Yokohama Canon Eagles were also dashed after they self-destructed with three yellow cards in this afternoon’s 47-29 loss to Kobelco Kobe Steelers.
Yesterday’s big ‘winners’ were Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath and Toshiba Brave Lupus who both made important moves towards finalising the playoffs equation.
Sungoliath confirmed their qualification after a magic 28-point performance from Springbok Cheslin Kolbe led his side to a 43-34 win over TJ Perenara’s Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo.
Kolbe kicked seven from nine attempts, but his artistry will be best remembered for a stunning try, where he collected an errant pass and rocketed around three defenders, before stabbing the ball ahead at speed and winning the race to the goal-line to score.
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The try was the first of the 31-year-old’s two for the afternoon which, coupled with the ill discipline of the Black Rams who conceded three yellow cards, ensured Suntory achieved the outcome they needed.
Brave Lupus produced an unusual scoring pattern during their win over Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars, being held scoreless in each of the first and last 20 minutes but scoring 45 points in-between.
The 45-28 success allowed the defending champions to return to the head of the standings at the expense of the Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights and Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay, who each dropped a place following their thrilling 29-29 draw.
While he won a title for the Waratahs by kicking a long-range penalty goal in injury time, Bernard Foley can’t seem to get his accuracy right when it comes to the same circumstances against the Wild Knights.
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Japan Rugby League One
Group Standings
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo
17
14
2
1
66
2
Saitama Wild Knights
17
13
2
2
66
3
Kubota Spears
17
13
2
2
64
4
Shizuoka BlueRevs
17
13
4
0
59
5
Kobelco Kobe Steelers
17
10
7
0
50
6
Tokyo Sungoliath
17
8
7
2
40
7
Yokohama Canon Eagles
17
6
11
0
30
8
BlackRams Tokyo
17
5
12
0
28
9
Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars
17
6
11
0
26
10
Toyota Verblitz
17
4
12
1
24
11
Mie Honda Heat
17
4
13
0
18
12
Urayasu D-Rocks
17
2
15
0
10
Conference A
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo
17
14
2
1
66
2
Shizuoka BlueRevs
17
13
4
0
59
3
Kobelco Kobe Steelers
17
10
7
0
50
4
Yokohama Canon Eagles
17
6
11
0
30
5
Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars
17
6
11
0
26
6
Urayasu D-Rocks
17
2
15
0
10
Conference B
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Saitama Wild Knights
17
13
2
2
66
2
Kubota Spears
17
13
2
2
64
3
Tokyo Sungoliath
17
8
7
2
40
4
BlackRams Tokyo
17
5
12
0
28
5
Toyota Verblitz
17
4
12
1
24
6
Mie Honda Heat
17
4
13
0
18
The 2014 Super Rugby winner was astray with a conversion in the game’s final act, having missed a late penalty attempt when Saitama won by two points earlier in the season.
Although Shizuoka Blue Revs have marched into the playoffs on the back of an expansive all action approach, hooker Shunsuke Sakuta was Saturday’s star with three tries, all from mauls, during a madcap 62-52 win over Urayasu D-Rocks in front of a bumper crowd at Yamaha Stadium.
The teams shared a remarkable 17 tries, with internationals Samu Kerevi and Nathan Hughes both scoring for D-Rocks.