Japan Rugby Top League 2017-2018: Round 8 Preview

To kick off round eight, Toyota Industries Shuttles play Coca-Cola Red Sparks in the first game of a double header at the Shizuoka Stadium ECOPA in Fukuroi city, Shizuoka. The season so far has not produced happy hunting grounds as the Shuttles and the Red Sparks are the only sides in either conference without a win after seven rounds. That is all set to change with one of these sides standing to notch up that first elusive win. Hiroki Murakawa leads the Shuttles from the centre of the front row in a pack that includes former Japan flanker Sione Vatuvei and former Wallaby lock Peter Kimlin at No8. South African Francois Brummer is in the vital playmaking role for Toyota and his decision-making will play a crucial role in the outcome of this match. Playing coach Mark Gerrard is on the bench this week and is set to make a rare appearance on the field this year. Coca-Cola tend to field a stable squad week in week out that is well led by Kota Yamashita on the side of the scrum. Other key players in the run-on side for the Red Sparks include Hurricanes lock Mark Abbott and New Zealand-born Daniel Peters at fullback.

In the second game at Shizuoka, Yamaha Jubilo play NTT Communications Shining Arcs. Yamaha now have two decisive losses against their name, but the pressure did not show in Akita last weekend where they put NEC to the sword 35-15. The Jubilo are still second on the White Conference table, albeit 10 points adrift of Panasonic, but with Ricoh five points further behind, there is no margin for a slip up against NTT. The Shining Arcs beat Docomo 27-18 last Saturday in Tokyo for their fourth win of the year; put Yamaha will be a far tougher proposition. Captain Kyosuke Horie is back in the side at No8 after missing the last match meaning Mose Tuiali’i moves back to his more familiar position in the number six jersey. Veteran flyhalf Tatsuhiko Otao is in the starting line-up this week and he will be trying to give centres Male Sa’u and Viliami Tahitua plenty of ball. Meanwhile, players to watch for NTT in the forwards include captain and flanker Kin Shokei and No8 Amanaki Mafi who are both back in the starting side. In the backs, goal-kicking five-eighth Jumpei Ogura and fullback Brackin Karauria-Henry are key personnel.

In the only other Saturday game in round eight, Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers play Panasonic Wild Knights in Osaka in one of two big match-ups this weekend. Lowly placed Canon rocked Kobe back on their heels last Saturday in Kumagaya with a 31-26 defeat in what was their first loss of the season. Prior to that, though, the Steelers had been going along nicely with wins over all comers including an impressive win over Yamaha in round six, so the loss to Canon was unexpected. Nonetheless, there are no such worries for Panasonic with seven bonus-point wins setting them aside as the leading side this season. After the shock loss to Canon last week, Kobe have to regroup fast in order to match it with Panasonic. Part of that regrouping sees Andy Ellis return as halfback with Ryang Jong-chu dropping to the bench. In other changes, Adam Ashely-Cooper moves from fullback to outside centre and Fraser Anderson comes in to the squad on the right wing. After giving a lot of his bench players a run last week, Panasonic head coach Robbie Deans is looking to his leading players to do the job against Kobe. Shota Horie is back as hooker with Atsushi Sakate moving back to the bench, while flanker and captain Shunsuke Nunomaki will again start from the bench with David Pocock in the run-on side. Fumiaki Tanaka and Berrick Barnes are back as the halves as is leading try scorer Akihito Yamada on the right wing.

On Sunday, Toshiba Brave Lupus and NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes travel north to Iwaki city in Fukushima prefecture for their round eight clash. After a poor start to the season that saw Toshiba lose four of their first five games, the Brave Lupus have finally found their mojo with back-to-back wins over Toyota Industries and Coca-Cola. The five-time Top League champions will now be looking to make it three in a row as they continue their climb up the Red Conference ladder. Newly promoted Docomo have surprised the pundits with three wins so far this season, even though they fell to NTT Communications 27-18 in their last outing. The return of captain Richard Kahui to the field at outside centre is a big plus for Toshiba and his presence in the side should motivate the players around him. Elsewhere, wing Cory Jane drops out of the match-day squad though Coenraad van Wyk retains his place at fullback. Liam Messam will also be looking to make an impact from the bench. For Docomo, Riaan Viljoen captains the side from fullback and the men in front of him will have to work extra hard. Lock Joe Iongi has been in good form this season while veteran centre Jeffrey Ierome is a danger in the backs.

At the Kashiwanoha Sports Ground in Chiba prefecture, NEC Green Rockets are in home territory to play Chiba rivals Kubota Spears. NEC come in to this round with 13 points on the White Conference table from three wins and four losses that includes a 35-15 loss to Yamaha up in Akita last Sunday. In a mirror image, Kubota have 13 points on the Red Conference ladder from the same three wins and four losses. Moreover, the Spears are coming off a win after they beat Kintetsu 28-14 in Nara last Saturday. NEC hooker and skipper Sunao Takizawa has the job of rallying his troops against the Spears and that includes the experienced Adam Thomson at the base of the scrum. Yosuke Morita is again the goal-kicking playmaker while wing Teruya Goto will be looking for opportunities to add to his tally of five tries for the season. International flyhalf Harumichi Tatekawa is the rock upon which Kubota is built and after a man-of-the-match performance against Kintetsu last round, he will again be the key man in the Kubota line-up. Elsewhere in the Spears run-on side, Sione Teaupa and Matt Saunders form a formidable centre combination.

In a double header at the Nishikyogoku Stadium in Kyoto, Kintetsu Liners play Ricoh Black Rams in the early game. Kintetsu are not exactly setting the world alight this season, but they still have three valuable wins to their name for four losses. On the other hand, Ricoh are showing good form as they quietly go about their business with four wins for three losses. Both come in to this round on the back of defeats, with the Liners losing 28-14 to Kubota in Nara and the Black Rams going down 12-6 in a tryless match in Morioka. Naoki Morita captains the Liners from out on the right wing and from his advantage point; he will expect his forwards to take the game to Ricoh. Evergreen lock Luke Thompson and No8 Iopu Iopu-Aso are workhorses in the pack while fullback Semisi Masirewa is dangerous in the backs. In the Ricoh side, Lions lock Franco Mostert plays his first game for the Black Rams this season after completing his commitments with South Africa in the recent Rugby Championship. Mostert bulks up a Ricoh pack that includes big men Pohiva Lotoahea and Michael Broadhurst. In the backs, flyhalf Robbie Robinson and centre Tamati Ellison are the threats.

In the second game at Kyoto, Toyota Verblitz play Suntory Sungoliath in the other big match this weekend. A resurgent Toyota have had losses to Yamaha and Panasonic, but otherwise they have been productively accumulating their wins. The class and quality of Suntory, however, will be a very different story and will test how far the Verblitz have really improved this season under Jake White. Suntory, like Panasonic are still to taste defeat this season and they will think they have the measure of the renascent Toyota. In the Toyota side, flyhalf Lionel Cronje kicked all the points in the 12-6 win over Ricoh in Morioka last week and his kicking and decision-making will again be crucial for Toyota success against Suntory. Team captain in rookie flanker Kazuki Himeno and club captain in veteran lock Toshizumi Kitagawa know the Verblitz have to lay the platform up front, if the likes of centre Steven Yates and fullback Gio Aplon are going to have an impact on proceedings. Back-rowers Hendrik Tui and George Smith are just two of the players to watch in the forwards for Suntory, while the slick backline includes Japan internationals in five-eighth Kosei Ono, inside centre Ryoto Nakamura and fullback Kotaro Matsushima.

In the final Sunday game, Munakata Sanix Blues play Canon Eagles in Hiroshima. Sanix started their season with a win over Kyushu rivals Coca-Cola, but since it has been a spiral of six losses on the trot. The Blues finished last season with seven wins after gaining promotion back into Top League, but this year the wins have not been coming. Meanwhile, Canon started the season with five straight losses, but turned things around with back-to-back wins over Coca-Cola and then Kobe. The win over the previously unbeaten Kobe may well be a pivotal moment in the season for the Eagles as they look to make it three in a row. Blues captain Nobuyoshi Arai at No8 has the responsibility on his shoulders to break the losing cycle, but this will be another demanding match. The experienced players around him such as lock Geoff Parling, flyhalf Hiroshi Tashiro and Japan international wing Karne Hesketh will also need to play a role. Canon will be on a high after comprehensively beating Kobe last week, but they will have to put that to one side and focus on the task at hand in Hiroshima. Levels heads such as former Japan back-rower Takashi Kikutani and Sunwolves No8 Ed Quirk will have to keep the team grounded while inside centre Ryohei Mitomo is a key player in the backs. Back-rower Muneyuki Uematsu again captains the Eagles, although he starts from the bench.