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Fissler Extra: RWC winner on URC shortlist, Italian eyed as Faf back-up
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The one memory that won’t have sat easily with Dave Rennie
As good as last season was, when Dave Rennie’s Kobelco Kobe Steelers achieved their highest placing since the title-winning season of 2018, there was one memory that won’t have sat easily over the summer.
Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo.
Not only did the champions wipe the floor with the third-place getters three nil in their head-to-head clashes, but they did it with brutality, scoring 19 tries in 240 minutes of playing time.
This included a ridiculous 73-28 humiliation on their visit to Kobe, as well as a 31-3 semi-final thumping which ended the Steelers’ title hopes.
Kobe return to Tokyo in the better form of the Sunday’s combatants, having won six on end since their narrow opening day defeat by Kubota Spears.
That’s one win in advance of Brave Lupus following the defending champion’s shock loss to Mie Honda Heat last weekend.
Lose again and Richie Mo’unga’s side risk their title defence stalling, especially as they are already trailing Kobe by five points on the log.
With Kobe (43) just one behind Kubota among the competition leading try-scorers – skipper Brodie Retallick has provided a league high nine of them – the Steelers will approach the game with confidence, especially as All Black backrower Ardie Savea has make a significant impact since his return to Japan.
Kobe are not the only ones seeking redemption after enduring a lop-sided experience last term.
While Shizuoka BlueRevs went on to win 14 of their 18 regular season games and had won six of eight when they ran into Kubota Spears, they were simply steamrolled by World Rugby Player of the Year Malcolm Marx’s side.
The result was a 62-14 romp for the eventual runners-up, who piled on nine tries – two by All Black Shaun Stevenson and one by Marx – during a rout which, as with Kobe, left a stain that the BlueRevs couldn’t completely cleanse.
Shizuoka haven’t managed to achieve the same momentum this season, and conceding 60 points against Kobe last time was hardly the best preparation before facing last season’s tormentors.
Saturday also sees the quaintly named ‘Photocopy’ derby where the teams representing office products producers, Ricoh BlackRams Tokyo and Yokohama Canon Eagles, do battle in an always entertaining rivalry.
The TJ Perenara-led BlackRams hadn’t beaten the Eagles in the League One era until last year but will be favourites this time as they continue their quest for a maiden playoffs qualification.
With seven wins in as many starts, Saitama Wild Knights already look a shoe in for that, and always enjoy ‘feasting’ on troubled Toyota Verblitz, whom they have beaten nine times in the post Covid era, exceeding 40 points in six of them.
Denied last Sunday by snow, Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars and Tokyo Sungoliath are playing catchup, which brings an extra edge to their matches with Honda and Urayasu D-Rocks respectively.
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