Japan Rugby League One 2024-25 Round Nine Review

Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath have yet to miss the playoffs since Japan Rugby League One inaugurated, and they are now on
the cusp of the top six for the first time this season after an exciting 40-35 win over Urayasu D-Rocks today drew them
level on points with sixth-placed Yokohama Canon Eagles.
Back-to-back semi-finalists in the last two years, Springbok Faf de Klerk’s side are in freefall, losing for the third weekend

in-a-row after they were felled 20-17 by an Mie Honda Heat side superbly led by their international backrowers, ex-
Argentina skipper Pablo Matera and the indefatigable South African war horse Franco Mostert.

Honda, who have bounced back from a five-loss slump to put themselves back in the playoffs equation, overcame the
concession of an early try to Yokohama’s Irish-born second rower Cormac Daly, to record the first win by a home side in
this rivalry since 2016.
The Kieran Crowley-coached outfit are now just three points behind both the Eagles and Sungoliath, with the latter
surviving a late charge from Urayasu after they had overturned an early 14-0 deficit to take control for much of the match.
Playing in just his third match of the campaign, All Black backrower Sam Cane scored his first try, but the effort was
overshadowed by Wallaby counterpart Samu Kerevi, with the big centre powering over twice in the second half to keep
his side in the contest up until its final stages.
Saturday saw Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo come within a conversion of the upset of the season after their thrilling 45-44 loss
to Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo in an enthralling contest at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium.
Tabai Matson’s side are a better outfit than their two wins suggest, which they highlighted by refusing to be bowed,
despite conceding three tries in the opening 20 minutes and a 19-3 deficit.

Both sides scored seven tries, with Brave Lupus indebted to fullback Takuro Matsunaga, who scored two tries, and kicked
four goals from six attempts.
Brave Blossoms winger Jone Naikabula and Maori All Black inside centre Rob Thompson also scored twice for the
defending champions, although the latter blotted his copy book by incurring a yellow card as the game headed to its
frantic finish.

The Black Rams’ fightback was inspired by their skipper, TJ Perenara.
The All Black scrumhalf scored a try and played a leading role in four others, but his side was left to count the cost of
managing just three conversions, although capturing a bonus point improved their position on the ladder by one, jumping
over Toyota Verblitz.
Ex-Wallaby skipper Michael Hooper endured a difficult return for Verblitz, being yellow carded during a disastrous
afternoon for the Aichi-based side who were defeated 63-21, after being blown away in the first half as Kobelco Kobe
Steelers raced to a 42-7 halftime lead.

Facing his former test skipper as well as the All Black coaching duo of Steve Hansen and Ian Foster, ex-Wallaby boss Dave
Rennie would have been a happy man by the break after his troops put together their finest 40 minutes of the season to
date, running their visitors ragged with six tries, all of which were converted by the league’s leading point-scorer from
last term, Kobe flyhalf Bryn Gatland.
The former Super Rugby man also converted Kobe’s three second half tries, one of which was scored by All Black second
rower Brodie Retallick as the Steelers skipper became the competition’s outright leading try-scoring forward to date after
he scored his sixth try.
While Nicholas McCurran scored twice, the Brave Blossoms inside centre’s tries were scant consolation as Verblitz
dropped into the relegation series positions at the season’s halfway stage, while Kobe climbed a rung to fifth.
Hansen’s former boss at Super Rugby’s Crusaders, Robbie Deans, presides over the league’s leaders, who extended their
advantage at the top of the table by one after their 39-10 bonus point win over Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara
Dynaboars.
Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights were led to their victory by winger Koki Takeyama, who handled the goal-kicking and
finished with 12 points, which included his 10th try of the campaign to tie the Blue Revs’ Malo Tuitama and Naikabula of 

Brave Lupus at the top of the individual standings.
Having been defeated 80-21 on their previous visit to Kumagaya and conceded 235 points across their last four matches
against Saitama, the Dynaboars must have feared the worst when the Wild Knights scored three tries without reply in the
opening 28 minutes, but they dug in to limit the damage for the remainder of the afternoon.
This is something Shizuoka Blue Revs was unable to do during a remarkable contest between the competition’s third and
fourth-placed sides, with third-placed Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay plundering four tries in the last 10 minutes as
their previously well performed visitors capitulated during a 62-14 loss.
Having conceded just nine tries in their opening three matches, the hapless Blue Revs let in nine in 80 minutes, with any
hope of winning already long gone, trailing 38-14, before their disheartening final collapse.
Recent recruit Shaun Stevenson marked his fifth appearance in League One with two tries, his first since arriving in Japan,
while Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx crossed for the second time this season.

Division Two

All Black backrower Akira Ioane scored the first try of his maiden season in Japan Rugby League One, while Wallaby
scrumhalf Will Genia was a try-scorer twice in Hanazono Kintetsu Liner’s commanding 39-12 win over Kyushu Electric
Power Kyuden Voltex 39-12 yesterday.
Kintetsu, who reclaimed third position with the win, trailed 7-5 until the Wallaby centurion crossed for his first try in the
25th minute, with the 37-year-old nabbing his second just before halftime to allow his side to take control of the match.
After scoring three first half tries, Hanazono added three more in the second, to inflict a costly defeat on Voltex, who
dropped from third to fifth following NEC Green Rocket Tokatsu’s convincing 50-23 win over Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks.
The home side trailed 18-17 after 60 minutes but swept the Blue Sharks away in the final quarter, scoring five tries in a
frantic finish, with winger Teruya Goto finishing his afternoon with two tries in his first outing of the season.
Three yellow cards put paid to any chance Hino Red Dolphins may have had of upsetting Red Hurricanes Osaka who
returned to the top-of-the-table after yesterday’s 25-8 at Yanmar Stadium.
Despite conceding the first try of the game to the dual All Black and Tongan representative Augustine Pulu, the home side worked themselves in front before halftime, although the Red Dolphins were still within striking distance before tries by
Australian veteran Bryce Hegarty and hooker Yo Stato put paid to their hopes in the final 10 minutes.
Hegarty was making his first appearance of the season for the competition leaders after having been the team’s leading
point-scorer last term.

Division Three

Former Western Force Super Rugby and Auckland national provincial championship backrower Jackson Pugh was the
match-winner as Mazda SkyActivs Hiroshima continue to lead the way in Division Three.
The 25-year-old Australian took his tally to six tries from five appearances for the SkyActivs, who held off Kurita Water
Gush Akishima 22-16 yesterday to record their second win of the campaign against their Tokyo-based rivals.
A late penalty goal from winger Yuta Sugiyama salvaged a bonus point for the home side, who had trailed from the third
minute, but the defeat saw the Wycliff Palu-coached outfit lose ground on the section’s top two, slipping to fourth.
Sayama Secom Rugguts took the opportunity to put some additional space between themselves and third by beating
winless LeRIRO Fukuoka 57-3 today, with try-scoring machine Chase Tiatia accounting for four of their nine tries on an
afternoon where he was also yellow carded for a professional foul.
The widely travelled 29-year-old is the leading try-scorer across all three divisions of the league, having contributed 11
from seven appearances, which makes up over a quarter of the 42 tries the Rugguts have scored.
Chugoku Electric Power Red Regulions round out the top three after they completed back-to-back wins for the second
time in the season by edging Yakult Levins Toda 23-18 at Hiroshima’s Balcom BMW Stadium.