Japan Rugby Top League 2016-2017 Season: Round 14 Wrap-Up

At the Paloma Mizuho Rugby Ground in Nagoya on Saturday, Toyota Industries Shuttles played Coca-Cola Red Sparks in the first game of a Toyota double header. This was a keenly fought contest between two evenly matched sides, and though the home ground advantage went with the Industries, the Red Sparks won the battle 33-12 to collect their third win of the season. The Shuttles got on the board first with an early try to centre Hitoshi Matsumoto, only for the Red Sparks to take a 7-5 lead into the break with a late converted try to centre William Tupou. The game opened up in the second half with Coca-Cola adding four tries to one to guarantee the winning bonus point. No8 Masakatsu Toyota scored two of the tries in the latter half, while number ten Timothy Lafaele contributed to the win with a try and four conversions.

In the other game at Nagoya, Toyota Verblitz lost 36-14 to Panasonic Wild Knights. Panasonic maximised their efforts against Toyota outscoring the Verblitz five tries to two to win with the bonus point. Left wing Kenki Fukuoka crossed the Toyota whitewash three times with hooker Shota Horie and flanker David Pocock picking up the other five pointers. The first half was a low scoring affair with the Wild Knights leading 8-0 at halftime, but the second period was an entirely different matter. Horie, Pocock and Fukuoka added tries in the third quarter to open up a 29-0 lead before Toyota finally got on the board with a penalty try in the twenty-eighth minute. Fukuoka got his hat trick before Toyota finished with a converted try to wing Koji Wada at the death.

In what amounted to the match of the round, Suntory Sungoliath played Toshiba Brave Lupus at the Ajinomoto Stadium in Chofu city in western Tokyo. This was the annual battle for bragging rights in western Tokyo with both Suntory and Toshiba based nearby in Fuchu city. However, Suntory whitewashed their neighbours 48-0 to not only claim the bragging rights for another year but also move one step closer to claiming the Top League title for the 2016-17 season. The Sungoliath scored 24 points in either half running in seven unanswered tries. Right wing Takaaki Nakazuru was the main beneficiary with a hat trick of tries while the remaining five pointers were shared around. Five-eighth Kosei Ono chipped in with five conversions and a penalty, but the man-of-the-match honours went the way of Nakazuru. The win also ensured Suntory remained undefeated with 14 straight victories and one round left to play.

In the first game of a double header at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo on Sunday, NEC Green Rockets defeated Honda Heat 41-21. The Green Rockets outscored the Heat five tries to three as the former went on to record their sixth win of the season. The loss also confirms Honda as the team to face relegation as the last placed side in the league with one round remaining on the schedule. Former Wallaby No8 Scott Higginbotham and centre Amanaki Savieti posted early tries for NEC to put the Rockets on the front foot with a 14-0 lead. The Heat fought back to trail 17-14 at the break, but then ran out of steam over the course of the latter half. NEC scored a further three tries in the second half, including a double to outside centre Jordan Payne while Japan international five-eighth Yu Tamura converted all five tries and added two penalties. Back-rowers David Milo and Deon Stegmann were among the try scorers for Honda.

In the latter game in Tokyo, NTT Communications Shining Arcs played Canon Eagles with the Eagles winning 26-15. Both NTT and Canon have been in good form over recent weeks and this guaranteed an exciting spectacle for the rugby faithful in Tokyo on Sunday afternoon. South African playmaker Elton Jantjies got the Shining Arcs on the board first with an early try, but the South African contingent in the Canon side also stood up to be counted. Five-eighth Juan Claude Roos kicked a penalty, then converted the Kosuke Hashino try before adding two more penalties to give Canon a 16-8 lead at halftime. A converted try to compatriot Willem Britz got NTT to 16-15 soon after the resumption of play, but that was as close as the Shining Arcs would get for the remainder of the match. Roos kicked his fourth penalty in the twenty-sixth minute before former All Black Adam Thomson closed out the game with a try in the thirty-first minute.

In the first game of another double header on Sunday, Kubota Spears enjoyed an upset 23-16 win over Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers at the Kincho Stadium in Osaka. The Spears had their biggest win of the season as they put three tries to one on their more fancied opponents. A red card to Kobe lock Vakautaisileli Nakajima in the fourteenth minute meant the Steelers played most of the game with fourteen men, giving the Spears a numerical advantage throughout. However, Kobe led 13-8 at the break and then 13-11 up until the hour mark before a converted try to Kazuhiro Goya nudged the Spears in front 18-13. Kobe five-eighth Ryohei Yamanaka slotted a penalty in the twenty-fourth minute to make it a two-point game, but Kubota sealed the win with a try to fullback Hideto Kondo late in the game.

In the latter game in Osaka, Yamaha Jubilo beat Kintetsu Liners 26-12. Despite the relatively low-scoring result, Yamaha still scored four unanswered tries to pick up full points from the match and keep the pressure on Suntory. Suntory are three points clear at the top of the table with only the one round remaining to play. Yamaha face Toyota in their final game while Suntory play Kobe. This is not a season to savour for the Liners and although they kept the pressure up, the Jubilo made the most of their opportunities when they came along. Halfback Yuki Yatomi and wing Shota Tanaka were among the try scorers for Yamaha while fullback Grant van den Heever completed the scoring with three conversions. For Kintetsu, centre Daisuke Noguchi scored all their points with four penalties.

Also on Sunday, Ricoh Black Rams beat Munakata Sanix Blues 36-3 at the Komazawa Olympic Park Stadium in Tokyo. Ricoh were far too strong for Sanix on the day running in six unanswered tries and dominating all facets of the game. The resilient Sanix side have had six wins this season, but it is taking its toll with five losses in their last six games. Six different players scored the tries for Ricoh including Japan international back-rower Shuhei Matsuhashi and fullback Daisuke Komatsu. Ricoh are based just around the corner from this venue and this gave them a leg up against the Blues who travel up from Kyushu. The Blues just could not fight their way into the game with their only points coming from the boot of five-eighth Tatsuya Fukuzaki with a first half penalty.