Japan Rugby Top League 2017-2018: Round 12 Wrap-up

At the Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium in Yokohama on Saturday, Canon Eagles went down 25-20 to NEC Green Rockets. In the penultimate round of the regular season, Canon and NEC played out a hard-fought contest with the Green Rockets edging out the Eagles three tries to two. NEC had the better of the first half with wing Ryuta Iiyama scoring the opening try midway through the half before he added a second at the death. Flyhalf Yosuke Morita added a conversion and a penalty while playmaker Juan-Claude Roos potted a penalty for Canon to take the sides to halftime with NEC leading 15-3. The real battle took place in the second half with a converted try to Hosea Saumaki and a penalty to centre Ryohei Mitomo closing the gap to 15-13 by the hour. NEC responded with a try to Amanaki Savieti with the conversion and a further penalty from Morita stretching the lead to 25-13. A converted try to Richard Havili near the end of play at least meant Canon left with the losing bonus point.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Yamaha Jubilo beat Munakata Sanix Blues 40-5 at their Yamaha Stadium in Iwata city in Shizuoka. Yamaha ran in six tries to one to dominate proceedings from beginning to end. Hooker Takeshi Hino went over for the first try in the sixth minute and he was followed by lock Yuya Odo in the thirty-first minute. Left wing Shota Tanaka then ran in the next three tries before and after halftime to push Jubilo out to a 33-0 lead by the hour mark. The scoring slowed down over the final quarter with wing Benjamin Rei Yagi pegging back five points for the Blues before Odo finished off the match with his second try late in the contest. Yamaha now face a crunch match against Panasonic next week in their final home game of the regular season. Although Sanix always had a difficult mountain to climb against Yamaha at home, the result was nevertheless disappointing in what was their eleventh loss in a row.

In a double header at the Paloma Mizuho Rugby Ground in Nagoya, NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes beat Toyota Industries Shuttles 38-19 in the early game. In their first season back in Top League, Docomo have now picked up five solid wins along the way to give them 22 points from their twelve games to date. The NTT side got out of the blocks fast with five first half tries all but wrapping up the result by the break. Centre Mifiposeti Paea started the scoring with a brace followed by further five pointers to centre partner Kim Yon-hi, fullback Shota Saiguchi and South African-born lock Wimpie van der Walt. The Shuttles finished the half with a try to wing So Kil-ryong to take the sides to the break with the Red Hurricanes enjoying a commanding 33-7 lead. Docomo took the foot off the accelerator somewhat in the latter half with the Industries winning the period 12-5. Van der Walt and So Kil-ryong both picked up doubles while flanker Yuta Isobe scored the final try for the Toyota side.

In the second game at Nagoya, Toyota Verblitz beat NTT Communications Shining Arcs 22-15. Toyota had a real fight on their hands against NTT Communications as they had to come from behind over the final ten minutes of play to snatch victory from a very determined Shining Arcs outfit. In a tight first half, NTT left wing Tasuku Koizumi scored the only try while flyhalf Jumpei Ogura added a penalty to put the Shining Arcs out to an 8-3 lead at the halftime break. A second try to prop Ryutaro Ueda early in the latter half together with the successful conversion from Ogura extended the lead to 15-3 to give the Arcs a solid shot at victory. However, quick tries from flanker Kazuki Himeno and wing Jamie Henry tied things up at 15-all heading into the final quarter of play. Fullback Gio Aplon then broke the deadlock with the match-winning try in the thirty-third minute. The try and the conversion from flyhalf Lionel Cronje pushed Toyota into the lead for the first time in the match. Neither side could add to the scoreboard over the remaining minutes as Toyota went on to collect the win.

At the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo on Sunday, Coca-Cola Red Sparks lost 12-5 to Kubota Spears in the early game of a double header. Coca-Cola are having a season to forget as they tumbled to their twelfth straight loss of the season against Kubota. The Red Sparks are the only team in either conference without a win after twelve rounds and with only one game to play; they face the real prospect of going through the regular season without a win. In a low-scoring match, Coca-Cola gave it their best shot, but Kubota just had too much in the tank. The first half was an arm wrestle with the two sides going to the halftime break locked at nil-all. Kubota flanker Takeo Suenaga posted first points with a try in the seventh minute of the latter half, only for Coca-Cola to reply in kind with a five pointer to hooker Mitsumasa Harayama in the sixteenth minute. The turning point came in the thirty-first minute when Suenaga went in for his second try with the conversion from fullback Kazuhiro Goya helping the Spears out to a seven-point lead. Neither side could add to the scoreboard over the remaining time with Kubota collecting their fifth win of the season.

In the second game at Chichibu, Suntory Sungoliath beat Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers 24-7 in one of the major games of round twelve. Five-eighth Matt Giteau was instrumental in the win with a try, three conversions and a penalty ensuing the winning points went the way of the Sungoliath. Wallabies and Melbourne Rebels back-rower Sean McMahon and wing Shota Emi scored the other tries for Suntory while hooker Takeshi Kizu scored the only try for Kobe. Fullback Cody Rei added the extras on the try for the only other points for the Steelers. Although Suntory did not pick up the bonus point, the Sungoliath have a clear break at the top the Red Conference table on 51 points from Toyota on 42 points and Toshiba in third place on 38 points. Kobe drop from third to fourth on 36 points. Giteau was the obvious choice for man of the match. Kobe scored the first points in the match with Kizu touching down in the opening minutes, but after that, Suntory as the defending Top League champions exerted their dominance to gradually pull away on the scoreboard.

Also on Sunday, Toshiba Brave Lupus beat Kintetsu Liners 51-14 in the first game of a double header at the Kumagaya Sports Ground in Saitama prefecture. Toshiba now have 38 competition points after their seventh win in a row and this sees them leapfrog Kobe into third place on the Red Conference table. From the outset, the result was never in doubt with regular tries in the first half giving Toshiba a 34-0 lead at the break. Kintetsu scored twice after halftime to narrow the gap to 34-14 before Toshiba pulled away over the closing stages. Halfback Takahiro Ogawa had his name in lights in the first half with two tries and two conversions while replacement back Kai Ishii also picked up a brace with two late tries. Captain Richard Kahui and wing Takehisa Usuzuki were also among the try scorers for the Brave Lupus with fullback Semisi Masirewa scoring both tries for the Liners.

In the second game at Kumagaya, Panasonic Wild Knights overwhelmed the plucky Ricoh Black Rams 50-7. This has been almost the perfect season for Panasonic with 59 points from a maximum 60 to be the only unbeaten side in either conference after twelve rounds. Ricoh have made great strides this season, but the might and power of this invincible Panasonic team proved too much at the end of the day. Inside centre Rikiya Matsuda and No8 Koliniasi Holani both scored braces while wings Yoshikazu Fujita and Akihito Yamada also added five pointers. Playmaker Berrick Barnes converted five of the seven tries scored in the first half while Takuya Yamasawa missed with his only attempt in the latter half. In a dominant first half display, the Wild Knights leapt out to a 45-7 at halftime with the scoring slowing to a trickle in the second forty. Wing Masaki Watanabe scored the only try for the Black Rams. Barnes was also the man of the match.