Panasonic Pick Up 2nd Straight Bonus-Point Win

KUMAGAYA, Saitama Prefecture (Aug. 26) – Panasonic Wild Knights picked up their second straight bonus-point win of the 2017-18 Japan Rugby Top League season Saturday as they beat Canon Eagles 43-8 at Kumagaya Athletic Stadium.

Digby Ioane and Akihito Yamada both touched down twice and there were further five-pointers from Kenki Fukuoka and Takuya Yamasawa, with Berrick Barnes adding three conversions and a penalty goal and Yamasawa kicking two conversions.

The victory sees the Wild Knights top the White Conference by one point from Yamaha Jubilo, who beat Toyota Industries Shuttles 38-10.

Gerhard van den Heever scored a try and two conversions for Yamaha, who face defending chamions Suntory Sungoliath next week.

Suntory, who beat Ricoh Black Rams on Friday, head the Red Conference with 10 points, one more than Kobe Kobelco Steelers.

On Saturday, Kobe picked up their second win of the season by beating Munakata Sanix Blues 20-3 with Codey Rei scoring a try, two conversions and two penalty goals.

There were first wins of the season for two sides coached by South Africans.

Jake White’s Toyota Verblitz downed Kintetsu Liners 22-9 with Kazuki Himeno, who is captaining the side in his first year out of university, scoring two tries.

Frans Ludeke’s Kubota Spears also won for the first time, downing NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes (coached by another South African in Dawie Theron) 45-24 with Kazuhiro Goya touching down twice and Hideyuki Moriwaki kicking six conversions and a penalty goal for the Spears.

In the day’s other game, Teruya Goto grabbed a hat-trick of tries as NEC Green Rockets hammered Coca-Cola Red Sparks 48-12.