Watch: Ardie Savea double helps Kobe Steelers outclass Verblitz

There were a number of Kiwis involved in the round three contest, including Hansen, Foster, Mark Telea, Brodie Retallick, Anton Lienert-Brown, Aaron Smith, Josh Dickson, Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, Ash Dixon, and Savea.

Retallick, Lienert-Brown, Cowley-Tuioti, and Savea were on the scoresheet for the Kobe Steelers, as they ran away winners, 49-29, in Kobe.

It was the former All Black lock though, Retallick, who managed to cross the white line first, in the ninth minute.

Retallick was too big, too strong, as he scored from a pick and go less than a meter from the line.

Savea then found himself at the back of a rolling maul on the right side of the field, where the Verblitz defenders weren’t able to keep the home side out.

The second half in Kobe was all the home side, after Dixon was yellow-carded in the 49th minute.

Savea then took advantage of the momentum his side had, showing his class close to the line with another pick-and-go try in the 67th minute.

The final try from the Kiwi contingent was in the 70th minute by the 88-Test All Black midfielder, Lienert-Brown, where he scored almost a carbon copy of Savea’s try.

Itsuki Kamimura fired a pass to the Kobe Steelers midfielder, before the All Black stepped past one and dived over the line to score the home side’s seventh and final try of the game.

The Kobe Steelers currently sit third in the Japan Rugby League One standings after three games, behind Shaun Stevenson’s Kubota Spears and the Saitama Wild Knights.

Hansen and Foster’s Verblitz side have now lost two out of their opening three games, sitting in ninth before they host TJ Perenara’s Ricoh Black Rams on January 10.

Savea’s Kobe Steelers take on Tokyo Sungoliath on January 10, at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo.