ROUND FIVE WRAP: Eight matches since the game resumed after the global pandemic and Verblitz are still to beat the Wild Knights in Japan Rugby League One, with Sunday’s entertaining 22-38 defeat stretching the tale of woe to 16 losses from the last 17 meetings between the clubs.
While poor goal-kicking and missed opportunities cost Verblitz in front of the 13,000-strong crowd at Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu, Verblitz struggled at times to live with the speed of the Wild Knights, most notably in transition, with poor option taking at times coughing up possession to the Knights too easily.
Springbok inside centre Damian de Allende was one of the chief beneficiaries, scoring two tries and setting up a third, while ex-Sydney Roosters rugby league star Joseph Manu came off the bench to involve himself in the final two tries of the afternoon for Verblitz, scoring one and setting up the other.
The Wild Knights, who claimed their 50th win of the regular season (from 53 matches) since League One began four seasons ago, are already five points clear at the top of the standings as Division One heads into its first bye week0end.
In further good news for the league leaders and for the Springboks, lock Lood de Jager made his first appearance since suffering a serious shoulder injury in the first half of last year’s Final, coming off the bench for the final 20 minutes.
The 32-year-old has endured a wretched run over the last two years, missing both his country’s successful Rugby World Cup defence in 2023 due to a rare chest issue, before the damaged shoulder wiped out the last Test season.
Rugby paid its respect to the 30th anniversary of the Great Hanshin earthquake, with players and management from the Kobe Steelers attending a special remembrance candle lighting ceremony in the city early on Friday morning, before suiting up on Sunday to end a solemn week by outclassing D-Rocks by 50-22.
The magnitude 7.3 earthquake, which struck the southern part of the Hyogo prefecture at 5.46 on the morning of January 17, damaged or destroyed nearly 400,000 buildings, while it was estimated over 6000 people (out of a then resident population of 1.5 million) lost their lives in nearby Kobe.
Understandably the biggest week of the year in the prefecture, the Steelers donned a special one-off jersey as part of the remembrance before they swamped winless D-Rocks with seven tries, three by winger Kanta Matsunaga.
All Blacks Brodie Retallick and Ngane Laumape kicked off the scoring with Kobe’s opening tries, while the competition’s leading point-scorer from last term, former Chiefs flyhalf Bryn Gatland, made a welcome return for the home side, kicking 15 points in his first start for the season.
A maiden league try by Springbok No.8 Jasper Wiese helped close D-Rocks to within seven points heading into the final 25 minutes, but Matsunaga’s second try got the scoreboard moving again for Kobe, and the 25-year-old’s third of the day made the game safe.
Sunday’s third match saw Sungoliath – after back-to-back draws – finally land boss Kosei Ono a first win as head coach, after 17 points from flyhalf Mikiya Takamoto as well as tries from Springbok winger Cheslin Kolbe, and former Wallaby loose forward Sean McMahon, led the visitors to a 27-19 win over Heat at Mie Sports Garden.
Sungoliath had won 12 of the last 13 matches they had played outside of the Tokyo prefecture, and were unbeaten in eight against Heat, but they were outscored three-tries-to-two, and had Takamoto’s goalkicking accuracy to thank in the end, notably in the last 10 minutes where his penalty and dropped goal steadied the Sungoliath’snerves, after Heat had clawed their way back to 21-19 entering that period.
Brave Lupus suffered their first defeat since March on Saturday after an inspired Blue Revs bounced back from last weekend’s drubbing at the hands of the Eagles by derailing the defending champions 34-28 at a raucous Ogasayama Sports Park Ecopa Stadium, snapping their 13-game unbeaten run in the process.
Despite the concession of a fourth minute try to the returning Brave Lupus flyhalf Richie Mo’unga, the Blue Revs stuck to their guns, edging ahead after the first of two tries by the exciting former Waikato centre from New Zealand’s national provincial championship, Valynce Te Whari.
The 24-year-old scored again in the second half, while dual international Charles Piutau grabbed his first try of the season,as the home side pushed to a 34-14 advantage, before Brave Lupus rallied.
Tries by former All Black centre Seta Tamanivalu and Maori All Blacks midfielder Rob Thompson brought Brave Lupus to within six but the Blue Revs – who had conceded 102 points in the two meetings between the sides last season – defended stoutly through the game’s final 11 minutes to claim the win.
Edogawa Stadium saw more second half heartbreak for Black Rams Tokyo, as Tabai Matson’s men surrendered a half-time advantage for the third time in four defeats during their 26-18 loss to the Spears Tokyo-Bay.
The visitors opened the scoring when All Black TJ Perenara – playing out of position at flyhalf – scored his first try as a Black Ram, and led 15-11 at the break, but they could not hold onto their advantage as the Spears scored the only tries of the second half to snatch the win, with Black Rams once again finishing just short of the loser’s bonus point.
After a slow start, the Eagles’ season is building up speed, with the Eagles scoring seven tries as they burnt the Dynaboars 47-21 in the Kanagawa derby to record their third consecutive win.
