Japan Rugby Top League 2016-2017: Round 8 Preview

Round Eight Preview

In the first game of a double header at the Hanazono Rugby Ground in Osaka on Saturday, Toyota Industries Shuttles play Suntory Sungoliath. After six losses on the trot to Toyota Verblitz, Sanix, Kubota, NEC, Kobe and Canon, Toyota Industries broke the drought in spectacular fashion last week with a dramatic 27-22 win over frontrunners Toshiba. The international players in the squad such as centre JJ Engelbrecht, fullback Mark Gerrard and five-eighth Sam Greene were instrumental in the win and they will again have to lead the way against the might of the unbeaten Suntory this week. Suntory have had a clear run this season with straight wins over Kintetsu, Honda, Ricoh, Panasonic, Canon and Sanix and they added NEC to the list with a 33-14 win in Chiba last round. Suntory are in sparkling form and it will be a tall order indeed for the Shuttles to make it back-to-back wins in Osaka.

In the latter game in Osaka, Yamaha Jubilo, the only other unbeaten side after seven rounds play NTT Communications Shining Arcs. Yamaha have beaten Panasonic, Canon, Sanix, Toshiba, Ricoh, Kubota and Honda and sit on top of the table with 34 from a possible 35 points. South African fullback Gerhard van den Heever is proving to be a handy replacement for Ayumu Goromaru in the side with his general play and reliable goal kicking contributing to the wins. On the other hand, NTT went down to Kobe in the opening round, beat Ricoh, NEC and Kintetsu; lost to Panasonic, beat Coca-Cola and then Toyota 19-13 in Kumagaya last Sunday. Despite only the two losses, the Shining Arcs are finding bonus points hard to come by and consequently they sit in fifth place on the table with 21 points. NTT will be anything but a pushover; however, with the Yamaha machine rolling all before it, Jubilo will start as strong favourites.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Honda Heat stay on home soil to face Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers at the Suzuka Sports Garden in Suzuka city in Mie prefecture. Honda are the only side in the league without a win coming into round eight and they are on the bottom of the table with two points. Honda have lost to Sanix, Suntory, Toyota, Kubota, Coca-Cola, Toshiba and then 47-25 to Yamaha in Shizuoka last Saturday. The signs are not good that the Heat will chalk up that elusive first win against the formidable Steelers either. Despite the one loss to Panasonic back in round two, Kobe have beaten NTT Communications, Coca-Cola, Toyota Verblitz, Toyota Industries, Ricoh and then Canon 44-25 last weekend to sit comfortably in third place on the table behind Yamaha and Suntory. Kobe are six points behind frontrunners Yamaha and are still in striking distance of claiming their second Top League title after the one they won way back in 2003-4. That should be enough motivation for Kobe to go for maximum points against winless Honda.

Also on Saturday afternoon, Kintetsu Liners play Munakata Sanix Blues at the Kimiidera Athletic Stadium in Wakayama city in the prefecture of the same name. Kintetsu went down to Suntory, backed up to beat Coca-Cola, lost to Panasonic and NTT, beat Kubota, lost to Toyota then lost 31-24 to Ricoh at Hanazono last round. The season has been something of a roller coaster ride for Kintetsu, but if the trend continues, the Liners are due for a win in Wakayama. Meanwhile, Sanix beat Honda and Toyota Industries, lost to Yamaha then bounced back to beat Coca-Cola and Toshiba. However, the Blues subsequently lost to Suntory and then 28-27 to Kubota in Osaka last Saturday. The Blues came agonisingly close to their fifth win last week, only to fall by one point to the Spears. The good form and confidence is there for Sanix, and if they can maintain the momentum, the game is there for the taking against the Liners.

Further afield on Saturday, Canon Eagles host Panasonic Wild Knights at the Machida Sports Ground in Machida city in western Tokyo. The Eagles are based in the area and this should give them confidence going up against the three-time defending champions. Canon beat Coca-Cola in their opening game, and then lost to Yamaha, Toshiba, Ricoh and Suntory over the following rounds. However, the Eagles reversed the losing trend with a win over Toyota Industries, but then lost 44-25 to Kobe in Kyushu last round. By any stretch of the imagination, Canon are not having their best season in what is now their fifth year in Top League, but this is a gritty side and at home the Knights will want to be on top of their game. Panasonic had a first up lose to Yamaha, followed by wins over Kobe and Kintetsu, a loss to Suntory in round four then wins over NTT and NEC. The Wild Knights then beat Coca-Cola 45-12 last Sunday.

In one of three games on Sunday, Toyota Verblitz and Coca-Cola Red Sparks do battle at the Technoport Fukui Stadium in Sakai city in Fukui prefecture. This will be the first Top League game ever to be played at this venue. Toyota had a bright start to the season with wins over Toyota Industries, Kubota and Honda, but then fell to Kobe and NEC before beating Kintetsu in Osaka. Toyota then slipped up against NTT last round, allowing the Shining Arcs to come home 19-13. Coca-Cola started the 2016-17 season with losses to Canon, Kintetsu, Kobe and Sanix, but turned that around with a resounding win over Honda in Kyoto. However, they lost to NTT and the strength and pace of Panasonic proved too much last round with the Wild Knights winning 45-12 in Kumagaya. Toyota have been unpredictable this season, but they should have the wood on the struggling Red Sparks.

At the Niigata Athletic Stadium in Niigata city, NEC Green Rockets play Kubota Spears. NEC started their season with losses to Ricoh, Toshiba and NTT Communications before claiming wins over Toyota Industries and Toyota Verblitz. However, the Green Rockets came unstuck against Panasonic and then lost 33-14 to Suntory in Kashiwa in their last outing. Furthermore, Kubota lost to Toshiba and Toyota, posted wins over Toyota Industries and Honda and then fell to Kintetsu and Yamaha. Last week, the Spears scraped home 28-27 over Sanix to register their third win of the season. Both these sides are well down the ladder, but having said that, they are evenly matched on paper. This should be a good contest with a bit of magic from someone like Yu Tamura for NEC or Harumichi Tatekawa for Kubota making the difference.

At the Coca-Cola West Hiroshima Stadium in Hiroshima city, Ricoh Black Rams play Toshiba Brave Lupus. Ricoh beat NEC, lost to NTT and Suntory, bounced back to beat Canon, lost to Yamaha and Kobe before beating Kintetsu 31-24 in Osaka last game. On the other side, Toshiba had a good start to the season with wins over Kubota, NEC and Canon, before losing to Yamaha and Sanix. Toshiba beat Honda, but again were off the boil last round in the 27-22 loss to Toyota Industries in Kariya. The Brave Lupus have had inexplicable losses to Sanix and Toyota Industries and that has killed off any Top League title prospects Toshiba may have held for this season. If the Black Rams can find those chinks in the Toshiba armour like teams before them this season, another upset could be on the cards.