Japan Rugby Top League 2017-2018: Round 5 Preview

In the only Friday game in round five, Toshiba Brave Lupus play Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers in an evening match at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo. Toshiba had a promising start to the season with a win over NEC in the opening round, but then suffered losses to NTT Communications, Panasonic and Toyota. Toshiba let a good first-half lead slip against Toyota as they faded over the closing stages to go down 23-18. They can ill-afford to slacken off in the second half against Kobe, or they will again be punished on the scoreboard. Kobe have had comfortable wins over NTT Docomo, Sanix, Kubota and NEC, but they are yet to play the stronger sides in the league. Toshiba are struggling for wins and hooker Hiroki Yuhara as team captain will have to muster his side against an unforgiving Kobe outfit. Coenraad van Wyk is slotting in at flyhalf this week and he will have the task of getting Toshiba moving in the right direction. Meanwhile, for the Steelers, Adam Ashely-Cooper comes into the starting line-up at fullback for Cody Rei. Ashley-Cooper has 116 caps for the Wallabies, but this will be his run-on debut in Japanese rugby.

On Saturday, there are five games across Japan, starting with a double header at the Kumagaya Rugby Ground in Saitama. In the first game, Kubota Spears play Suntory Sungoliath. Kubota are having a see-saw season with an opening-round loss to Panasonic followed by a win over NTT Docomo, a loss to Kobe and then a win over Toyota Industries last round. Nothing could be further from the truth for Suntory who head the Red Conference with four straight wins. Kubota will be up against it in this clash with the powerful Suntory and the likes of Japan international Harumichi Tatekawa who captains the Spears in the number ten jersey will have to lead from the front. Other players to watch include prop Kengo Kitagawa and lock Justin Ives who both have represented Japan. Suntory have the luxury of depth in their squad with Matt Giteau moving in one spot to flyhalf this week for Ryoto Nakamura to come into the starting line-up at twelve. Halfback Atsushi Hiwasa also gets a start with captain Yutaka Nagare starting from the bench. The big match up in this contest will be the playmakers Tatekawa and Giteau, which in itself will be worth the price of admission.

In the other game, Panasonic Wild Knights play their second of six games for the season at Kumagaya when they take on Toyota Verblitz. In what amounts to the match of the round, the undefeated Wild Knights coached by Robbie Deans take on a resurgent Verblitz under Jake White. Panasonic are rolling all before them with impressive bonus-point wins over Kubota, Canon, Toshiba and Coca-Cola to sit on top of the White Conference table. On the other hand, Toyota had a narrow one-point loss to Yamaha in their first game, but followed that up with wins over Kintetsu, Canon and Toshiba. Toyota are looking to make big strides this season with White at the controls, but the real test will come against the might of Panasonic. Deans is fielding his strongest side that includes Shota Horie at hooker, Daniel Heenan in the second row, David Pocock on the side of the scrum, Fumiaki Tanaka at halfback and Kenki Fukuoka on the wing. Toyota are also putting out their best side including the inspirational rookie captain in Kazuki Himeno on the side of the scrum and Lionel Cronje at flyhalf.

Also on Saturday, Toyota Industries Shuttles play NTT Communications Shining Arcs at the Wave Stadium Kariya in Aichi prefecture. The Shuttles are still without a win after four rounds with straight losses to Kintetsu, Yamaha, NEC and Kubota. Meanwhile, NTT Communications are two and two with losses to Ricoh and Suntory sandwiching back-to-back wins over Toshiba and Kintetsu. The Shuttles are based in Kariya city and they will be hoping the home turf and crowd will bring out their best. Wing Benjamin Saunders along with captain and fullback Manato Hasegawa touched down against Kubota and they will be hoping their forwards can gain the ascendency to give them the space to score more tries. The Shining Arcs will be a tough nut to crack though with captain Kin Shokei on the side of the scrum undoubtedly demanding a win from his troops. Number eighth Amanaki Mafi will add strength up front while five-eighth Jumpei Ogura has been in good form so far this season.

In another Saturday double header, this time at the Level-5 Stadium in Fukuoka, Kyushu-based Coca-Cola Red Sparks play Ricoh Black Rams in the early game. The Red Sparks are still struggling to find their first win of the season after loses to Sanix, NEC, NTT Docomo and Panasonic and Ricoh will present another tough challenge. Ricoh beat NTT Communications, lost to Suntory, beat Sanix and then lost 35-12 to Yamaha last round. Defence is the big issue for Coca-Cola with the worst defensive record in either conference and this is the main area of concern going forward for the men in red. The experienced players in the pack such as back-rowers Yusaku Kuwazuru, captain Kota Yamashita and Masakazu Toyota have to set the platform up front if Coca-Cola are to notch up that elusive first win. If Ricoh can gain parity in the engine room, the likes of Tamati Ellison at first five and Robbie Robinson at fullback should produce another win for the Black Rams.

In the other game in Fukuoka, Munakata Sanix Blues are also on home soil to host NEC Green Rockets. Sanix had a first-up win over Coca-Cola before losing to Kobe, Ricoh and NTT Docomo over subsequent rounds. Meanwhile, NEC lost to Toshiba, beat Coca-Cola and Toyota Industries before going down 20-12 to Kobe in round four. The Blues are in desperate need of another win, but they will have to work hard to make that happen against this plucky Green Rockets outfit. Sanix will look to former England lock Geoff Parling for inspiration while fullback Andre Taylor is the danger man in the backs. NEC will also have to put in the hard yards with new recruit Adam Thomson at the back of the scrum a real workforce across the field. Sunao Takizawa will captain the Green Rockets from the front row and his leadership and steady decision making will be vital if this ends up being a tight contest.

At the Expo ’70 Commemorative Stadium in Osaka on Sunday, NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes play Kintetsu Liners. Docomo lost to Kobe and Kubota to open their new season back in Top League, but then chalked up back-to-back victories over Coca-Cola and Sanix. These two wins in their last two outings will give the Red Hurricanes a lot of confidence going into this crucial Osaka derby. On the other side of the pitch, Kintetsu are a mirror image of their Osaka rivals with two wins and two losses for eight points on the Red Conference table. Kintetsu had a one-point win over Toyota Industries in their first match of the season, but then lost to Toyota Verblitz and NTT Communications before beating Canon 25-20 last round. Victories are hard to come by for both these sides and the outcome of this encounter could be a defining moment for the victor as well as the vanquished.

Elsewhere on Sunday, at the Oita Sports Park in Oita city on the island of Kyushu, Canon Eagles play Yamaha Jubilo. Canon have had the worst possible start to the year with losses to heavyweights Suntory, Panasonic and Toyota Verblitz followed by a 25-20 loss to Kintetsu last round. Unfortunately, things do not get any better for the Eagles as they come up against the high-flying Yamada this round. Yamaha had wins over Toyota Verblitz and Toyota Industries to open the season, but had to watch as Suntory stole away the win in round three. The Jubilo quickly rebounded; however, to beat Ricoh 35-12 at home in round four. Yamaha will come into this clash as heavy favourites for the win, but Canon have their backs to the wall and are bound to come out fighting.