Official Preview - Japan Rugby League One (Round Four)

A tantalizing clash between the still winless Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath and Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay is one of
the headlines acts in the fourth weekend of Japan Rugby League One which kicks off tomorrow, with the recent history
between the two strongly favouring the latter.
The Spears ended a long drought in the rivalry between the Tokyo neighbours – that ran between 2004 and 2022 and
featured 14 consecutive defeats – in spectacular fashion during their title-winning run two years ago, when they won all
three matches between the sides, including a 24-18 success in the semi-final.
Last year’s contests were split, although the Spears’ thumping 45-26 win on the eve of the semi-finals probably didn’t
help the Sungoliath confidence ahead of a semi-final they lost to Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo a week later.
That win was Kubota’s third of a current run of six from seven, after having won just one of the previous six.
After three impressive victories, Division One ‘upstarts’ Shizuoka Blue Revs face their toughest test yet as they head to
Kanagawa’s Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium to tackle Springbok star Faf De Klerk’s Yokohama Canon Eagles.
Saturday’s match sees three of the biggest names in South African rugby go head-to-head with inspirational backrower
Kwagga Smith leading the Blue Revs, while De Klerk and centre Jesse Kriel will suit up for the Eagles.
After a close loss to Brave Lupus on the opening weekend, which was followed by a flat performance when outclassed by
Kobelco Kobe Steelers, the back-to-back semi-finalists finally got underway last Saturday, with their speed of recycle and
multiple attacking threats too much for Urayasu D-Rocks to handle as the Eagles won 40-12.

A step up will be required to beat the Blue Revs, after Smith’s men backed up their thrilling opening day win over Kobe
by outclassing D-Rocks, before a breathless 40-34 success against Mitsubishi Heavy industries Sagamihara Dynaboars.

The win over Sagamihara featured a second hattrick in as many weeks by winger Malo Tuitama, taking his try tally to 12
from the last six matches the Blue Revs have played away from their Yamaha Stadium base.
While Shizuoka are the competition’s joint-leading try-scorer after three weeks with 17, they were beaten 34-17 when
the two sides last met, making the Eagles a further a litmus test as to their improvement.
Brave Lupus are tied with Blue Revs on tries scored.
Coming off a statement 32-26 win over Kobe, which was achieved without All Black star Richie Mo’unga who will be
absent again, the defending champions will be chasing more tries against a D-Rocks outfit already showing a point’s
differential of minus 133, as they grapple with the step up from Division Two.
While they have scored just two tries less than the top-of-the-table Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights, closing out matches
has been the biggest issue for Toyota Verblitz, who led with five minutes to play in each of their losses to the Spears and
Mie Honda Heat, before twice missing what would have been winning kicks during last weekend’s frustrating draw with
Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath.
Although they have beaten their upcoming guests at Gifu in five of the six meetings since League One began, Verblitz has
seldom had it easy against Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo in recent times, with three of those wins by seven points or less,
alongside a 29-25 defeat in the 2022-23 season.
New coach Tabai Matson has made a promising start to life at Setagaya too, with a rare win over Sungoliath following a
meritorious two-point loss to the impressive Heat on opening day.

Although the Black Rams were well beaten by the Wild Knights last weekend, the final 39-16 scoreline did them no favours
for their effort, which won’t have been lost on the Verblitz brains trust of Steve Hansen and Ian Foster.
Mie might have suffered their first defeat of the season against the Spears, but the narrow margin of the loss, and the
enormous influence Los Pumas backrower Pablo Matera is exerting at the breakdown, suggests they will be a threat to a
Wild Knights outfit who have risen to their usual position at the summit without ever having looked as dominant as they
have done in previous seasons.
History suggests Honda has no chance: they have lost the last six games against the Wild Knights by an average of 42
points, conceding more than a half century on each of their last three visits to Kumagaya.

But history also painted a bleak picture prior to Heat’s wins over Verblitz and the Black Rams.
Sagamihara shapes as a potential banana skin for Kobe in the round’s final match at Kanagawa, with Glen Delaney’s side
quickly putting their second-round thrashing by Brave Lupus behind them, as they succumbed narrowly in a ding-dong
clash with the Blue Revs last time.
Although the Dynaboars have lost two of their first three, they have already gained value from the recruitment of Kurt-
Lee Arendse, with the Springbok winger having scored in two of his first three appearances.
Kobe split their convincing win over the Eagles with narrow losses to each of the Blue Revs and Brave Lupus, but their All
Black second rower and skipper Brodie Retallick will be looking for his side to build up winning momentum in what could
prove a crucial stretch of their season.
Sunday’s match will be followed by ties against D-Rocks, the Black Rams and Sungoliath, each of whom are below Kobe
on the ladder.