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The damp farewell for a team that could have helped revolutionise Super Rugby
The Sunwolves’ four-and-a-half-year stint in Super Rugby has come to a rather unceremonious end.
The Japanese-based side’s addition to the competition in 2016 was met with trepidation in many circles.
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Yes, Japan’s historic win over the Springboks at the 2015 World Cup was impressive, but consistency wasn’t exactly the Brave Blossoms’ strong point.
Kieran Read went on a last-gasp quest to make it back to New Zealand from Japan:
In the build-up to that 2015 tournament, Japan struggled against the Pacific Island sides as well as the likes of Canada, USA and Georgia.
Even just one Super Rugby franchise for a country boasting a population 26 times the size of New Zealand’s seemed like a big ask.
And so it came to be, with the Sunwolves becoming the new whipping boys of the competition.
Throughout their Super Rugby history, the Sunwolves posted just 9 wins from 68 games.
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They mustered some impressive wins along the way – including knocking over former champions such as the Blues, Chiefs, Waratahs and Reds – but, more often than not, they found themselves well-accounted for.
For every surprise victory, there was a corresponding 50-point loss. Lowlights would certainly include the 17-92 drubbing handed to them by the Cheetahs in 2016 as well as the 17-83 crushing from the Hurricanes a year later.
This year’s 5-64 loss to the Reds is also up there, given that in 2018 the Sunwolves won the corresponding fixture 63-28.
To convert a 35-point victory into a 59-point loss in just two years underlines the inconsistency of the Sunwolves – not helped by the fact that the side has experienced more turnover than most other teams in the competition.
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That’s really the biggest disappointment surrounding the Sunwolves.
Instead of using the team to bolster the national side and strengthen rugby as a whole in Japan, the Sunwolves were propped up by countless foreigners.
Had those foreigners significantly strengthened the team then there would be some justifications for the recruitment decisions, but evidently that hasn’t been the case.
2020’s side is made up almost exclusively of foreign players after Japan shifted their local Top League competition to coincide with Super Rugby.
Even when the Sunwolves haven’t been at their strongest, fans have still been treated to seeing the likes of Michael Leitch, Kotaro Matsushima and Kenki Fukuoka – men who starred at the 2019 World Cup.
Evidently, despite a handy foreign contingent, Japan’s only Super Rugby side still helped strengthen the national team and gave national representatives more regular matches against high-level opposition.
The @Sunwolves have once again opted for a number of foreign players in their @SuperRugby squad – and it's not going to do them any favours with SAANZAR, writes @TomVinicombe. https://t.co/rjILxrltIB#SuperRugby #Sunwolves #Awoooo
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 27, 2019
Regardless of the side’s lack of local players in 2020, it will be a massive shame to see a Super Rugby sans the Sunwolves next year.
That loss is only further amplified due to the disappointing end to the current season which saw just seven rounds of competition completed before everything stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The abrupt finish is a huge kick in the teeth to the Sunwolves’ many fans, with the Japan side arguably the best-supported club in the whole competition and Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium regularly packed out with (literally) howling fans.
It also curtails any chances of the Sunwolves ticking off an accomplishment agonisingly close to achieving – securing a win over the four current Australian Super Rugby sides.
The Sunwolves’ thrashing of the Reds in 2018 marked their first win over an Australian side, with wins against the Waratahs and Rebels coming in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
Their final scheduled game of the year would have seen the Sunwolves take on the Brumbies in Canberra – but it’s no longer to be.
Instead, the Super Rugby season has stuttered to a disappointing halt and, somewhat like the Sunwolves’ tenure in the competition, will be written off as a massive disappointment.
Comments on RugbyPass
Must be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
7 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
3 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
3 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
3 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
25 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to commentsTrue Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to commentsThanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
25 Go to commentsI’m yet to see why Grace would be an ABs contender. He’s pedestrian and lacks the dominance required of a top flight 8.
11 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!
80 Go to commentsPot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
25 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
11 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
3 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.
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