Japan Rugby Top League 2017-2018: Round 13 Preview

At the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo on Sunday, NEC Green Rockets play NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes in the early game of a double header. Coming into this final round of the regular season, NEC have six wins and six losses giving them 25 points as they sit in fourth place on the White Conference ladder. On the other hand, in their first season back in Top League, Docomo have picked up an impressive five wins along the way to give them 22 points from their twelve games to date. Regular NEC captain in prop Sunao Takizawa is back in the starting line-up to relieve rookie flanker Ryoi Kamei of the leadership in a pack that includes big Fijian Sanaila Waqa in the second row. In the backs, South Korean international halfback Lee Myung-jun is in the starting side with goal-kicker Yosuke Morita one place out at flyhalf. Meanwhile, bullocking Fijian centre Maritino Nemani beefs up the midfield. Docomo will throw everything they have at the Green Rockets to ensure they finish as high as possible in the Red Conference. The South African-born pair of lock Wimpie van der Walt and number eight Ryan Kankowski are key players for Docomo in the forwards if they are to match it with NEC up front. In the backs, captain Riaan Viljoen stays closer to the action at five-eighth with Shota Saiguchi starting at fullback. The Red Hurricanes also have Lions No8 Warren Whitely on the bench as an impact player.

In the second game at Chichibu, Ricoh Black Rams play Canon Eagles. Ricoh with eight wins for four losses sit in third place on the White Conference table behind Panasonic and Yamaha with 39 points. The Black Rams are having a memorable season and they will take on the challenge from the Eagles. Meanwhile, Canon are having anything but a memorable season with 20 points from only four wins for eight losses. Ricoh have made a number of changes to the side that lost to Panasonic last week with Pohiva Lotoahea coming into the second row to join Springbok Franco Mostert. Elsewhere in the forwards, flanker Daisuke Musha drops back to the bench and Colin Bourke comes into the starting side at No8. Playmaker Robbie Robinson also starts from the bench with Kosuke Kigami starting in the number ten jersey. Captain Takeshi Mabuchi has also been named on the bench. For the Eagles, Sunwolves No8 Ed Quirk comes back into the starting side to replace Shinichi Tanaka who drops back to the bench. Another change is at halfback with Koki Arai replacing Toshiki Amano. Furthermore, Japan international Yu Tamura takes over from Juan-Claude Roos in the crucial flyhalf position. Tim Bennetts continues to captain the Eagles from the centres in combination with Ryohei Mitomo.

At the Ajinomoto Stadium in western Tokyo, local sides Suntory Sungoliath and Toshiba Brave Lupus battle it out in the Fuchu derby. Suntory have a clear break at the top the Red Conference table on 51 points from eleven wins with just the one loss to Panasonic. Meanwhile, after a mid-season slump, Toshiba now have 38 points from eight wins and four loses as they line up Suntory for their eighth win in a row. The Brave Lupus fought through a poor patch earlier in the season to continue their dramatic climb up the Red Conference ladder. Suntory coach Keisuke Sawaki has made a number of other changes to the side that beat Kobe last round. International lock Shinya Makabe drops out of the match-day squad with Jordan Smiler and Koji Iino starting in the second row with Joe Wheeler in reserve on the bench. Halfback Yutaka Nagare captains the Sungoliath with Matt Giteau at ten to while Campbell Magnay replaces Ryoto Nakamura at inside centre. Ryutaro Takemoto also gets a start at fullback for Kotaro Matsushima. For Toshiba, flanker Liam Messam drops out of the team while Michael Leitch is promoted from the bench to start at No8. The battle between these two sets of forwards is an important one and Toshiba have the manpower to match it with their fierce Fuchu rivals. In the backs, halfback Takahiro Ogawa is the vital link while Stephen Donald comes back into the side at first five with rookie Hayata Nakao moving one spot out to second five. Captain Richard Kahui at centre has been inspirational in the turnaround for the Brave Lupus and his team must rally around him if the Brave Lupus are to pull off an unexpected win.

At the Fukuda Denshi Arena in Chiba prefecture, two of the three Chiba-based sides in the league in Kubota Spears and NTT Communications Shining Arcs go head to head. Kubota have 22 points on the Red Conference ladder from five wins and seven losses, while NTT Communications now have 30 points on the same table from six wins, a draw and five losses. Kubota will start as underdogs, but Frans Ludeke’s men will know they have nothing to lose. The Spears scrambled home 12-5 over Coca-Cola last weekend, but they will have to up their game this week. The South African influence in this Kubota side is significant with flanker Pieter Lappies Labuschagne, No8 Nick de Jager and Lionel Mapoe in the centres key players for the Spears. Elsewhere, rookie flanker Takeo Suenaga, who was man of the match last week, inside centre Harumichi Tatekawa and diminutive fullback Kazuhiro Goya are other players to watch. For the Shining Arcs, flanker Kin Shokei captains the side in a pack that includes Willie Britz at No8 and Isaac Ross in the second row. Barnstorming Japan international No8 Amanaki Mafi starts from the woodwork. NTT are boosted by the inclusion of Elton Jantjies in the starting line-up at flyhalf with Jumpei Ogura moving back to fullback.

In a double header at the Paloma Mizuho Rugby Ground in Nagoya, Kintetsu Liners play Coca-Cola Red Sparks in the early game. Kintetsu have 13 points from three wins and nine losses to sit on the bottom of the Red Conference table while winless Coca-Cola sit in last place on the White Conference table with three points from 12 straight losses. After six loses in a row, Kintetsu have their best opportunity for a win since round six here against Coca-Cola. Hooker Atsushi Kashimoto captains the Liners from the middle of the front row as he looks to the likes of veteran flanker Mikio Sato, lock Luke Thompson and No8 Iopu Iopu-Aso to lay the groundwork up front. Halfback Kim Chul-won will have to combine well with five-eighth Daisuke Noguchi if the likes of centre Anthony Fainga’a and fullback Semisi Masirewa are to have an impact on the game. This is the last chance for a win for Coca-Cola who will again rely on the likes of Hurricanes’ lock Mark Abbott, former Japan international backrower Yusaku Kuwazuru and captain Kota Yamashita at No8. In the backs, a lot of responsibility rests on the shoulders of flyhalf Timothy Lafaele and fullback Daniel Peters.

In the second game at Nagoya, Toyota Verblitz play Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers in one of the major games of the final round. Toyota are one of the big improvers in Top League this season as they sit in second place on the Red Conference table with 42 points from nine wins for three losses. The Verblitz will have Kobe in their sights for their fifth win in a row to consolidate second place ahead of Toshiba. After a strong start to the season, Kobe have fallen off the pace over the latter stages to be out of the race for the title. The Steelers have 36 points from seven wins, a draw and four losses. Toyota go into this game as favourites with consistent form throughout the season on their side. Kazuki Himeno continues to lead by example in the number six jersey while elsewhere in the pack, lock Toshizumi Kitagawa and No8 Taiyo Ando have high work rates. Flyhalf Lionel Cronje starts from the bench this week with Ryota Kabashima taking his place in the run-on side. For Kobe, the talented and experienced players in the pack such as hooker Takeshi Kizu, lock Shoji Ito and No8 Ryuta Yasui will have to take the fight to their Toyota counterparts. In the backs, halfback Andy Ellis, centres Ryohei Yamanaka and Adam Ashley-Cooper along with fullback Cody Rei are the men to watch.

Elsewhere, Yamaha Jubilo host undefeated Panasonic Wild Knights at their Yamaha Stadium in Iwata city in Shizuoka. Jubilo have secured second spot on the White Conference table on 46 points, albeit 13 points adrift of Panasonic, but clear of Ricoh in third place on 39 points. 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. The Top League title now seems to be theirs to lose, but Yamaha at home will be a tough prospect. Yamaha coach Katsuyuki Kiyomiya is fielding his strongest possible side against Panasonic as he plots the downfall of the title favourites. Hooker Takeshi Hino, former All Black flanker Mose Tuiali’i and No8 Kyosuke Horie are key players in the pack, while halves Yuki Yatomi and Matt McGahan as well as fullback Ayumu Goromaru are players to watch in the backs. In the Panasonic side, Masaki Tani replaces David Pocock as open side flanker and captain in a powerful pack that includes hooker Shota Horie and Koliniasi Holani at No8. In the backs, Fumiaki Tanaka and Berrick Barns are the halves while Kenki Fukuoka replaces Yoshikazu Fujita on the left wing.

In the final game of the regular season, Munakata Sanix Blues clash with Toyota Industries Shuttles at the Mikuni World Stadium in Kitakyushu. Sanix have failed to live up to expectations this year with only the one win coming way back in the opening round of the season. That was followed by eleven losses in a row to see them languish second to last on the White Conference table. The Shuttles are one of those sides that have underperformed this season with only a solitary victory over Coca-Cola to go with eleven losses. Consequently, they sit near the bottom of the White Conference table on 7 points. For Sanix, Yasunori Hoshimoto captains the side from the centre of the front row while recent recruit Nardus van der Walt packs in at No8. In the backs, Kohei Hamazato and Hiroshi Tashiro are the halves while fullback Andre Esterhuizen is a danger out wide. For the Shuttles, experienced props Naoki Kawamata and Yusuke Nagae along with flanker Sione Vatuvei and No8 Peter Kimlin are important players in the tight while flyhalf Sam Greene has the job to do in the backs.