Division One

He might be 33-years-old but TJ Perenara is far from a spent force, which he will be determined to prove again as Japan Rugby League One returns on Saturday.

That the competitive fire burns just as ferociously in the 89-cap All Black now as it had when he made his test debut against England 11 years ago quickly became apparent to observers last term, where he marked the beginning of his second stint in Japan (having previously played for the RedHurricanes Osaka) by driving BlackRams Tokyo up the table.

But for the remarkable performance by Shizuoka BlueRevs, who made the playoffs after three straight eighth-place finishes, the BlackRams rise would have been the story of the season.

Their combative skipper was a massive part of that.

Installed as his on-field leader by new coach Tabai Matson, Perenara was the fulcrum of the BlackRams’ attack, with his energy and unpredictability keeping opposing defensive lines honest, taking advantage of tired or lazy defending on the fringes of rucks and mauls which invariably caused strife further out.

His performance helped transform the BlackRams from relegation series participants into a genuine playoff challenger, with that prospect not finally extinguished until the penultimate round when they lost to Saturday’s opponents, Tokyo Sungoliath.

The BlackRams had beaten Sungoliath 33-32 earlier in the season, which snapped a run of 17 consecutive defeats against the men from Fuchu.

It also set up a season-long duel between the pair that ended with Sungoliath claiming the sixth and final playoff spot, one position above Perenara’s men on the points table.

Disappointment evaporates over time, but memories don’t, and Perenara will be buzzing for the season opener, reinforcing to his teammates that their opponents – for so long untouchable – are most definitely within reach now.

The game is the first of four on the opening day of the season, with second playing third from last term when Kubota Spears head to Hyogo to test Kobelco Kobe Steelers’ title ambitions, having won each of the last six matches between the two sides.

Former Wallaby boss Dave Rennie has added to the Kobe roster astutely, most notably with All Blacks Ardie Savea and Anton Lienert-Brown.

His opposite number, Frans Ludeke, brings a settled squad to Kansai, bolstered by the fact that 10 of his roster gained international experience with the Brave Blossoms following last season’s run to the final.

The match will provide a clash between two World Rugby Players of the Year, with Kubota’s newly minted recipient Malcolm Marx diving straight back into the action as a member of the Spears’ starting line-up, while former winner Savea will be injected into the game from the Kobe bench.

The Toyota Verblitz brains trust of Steve Hansen and Ian Foster will be hoping for a kinder run on the injury front this time around, most notably with their own former World Rugby Player of the Year, star Springbok backrower Pieter Steph du Toit, who missed all last season due to injury.

Starting out with a powerful roster and high expectations, Verblitz received an inkling of what was to come on the second weekend of last season when they were derailed, 21-17, by Saturday’s opponents, Mie Honda Heat.

While six points eventually separated the sides on the table by season’s end, ninth and 10th places, and four wins apiece was most definitely not what either had in mind when they played in the corresponding match last term.

This would have been especially so of Heat, who won just two of their remaining 16 games after beating Verblitz.

Both finished below Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars, who despite not fielding many big names in their playing cast, continued to punch above their weight, finishing with six wins.

Although Springbok star Kurt-lee Arendse returned to South Africa following his season long loan, coach Glen

Delaney secured a more than adequate replacement in the Rugby World Cup-winning centre Lukhanyo Am, while the Brave Blossoms veteran utility back Semisi Masirewa and ex-Glasgow Warriors fullback Ollie Horn are also useful recruits.

The Dynaboars win tally was the same as the two sides – BlackRams Tokyo and Yokohama Canon Eagles – who finished immediately above them on the standings and was twice as many as their first-round opponents Urayasu D-Rocks, who begin life under English coach Graham Rowntree.

Sunday’s double header features two new coaches – Yokohama’s Leon MacDonald, and the Saitama Wild Knights’ Atsushi Kanazawa – and both are going to be tested from the off, paired with Shizuoka BlueRevs and Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo respectively.

The BlueRevs lost just four times enroute to their maiden post-season playoffs, but one of those was a 53-35 dusting by the Eagles, where Springbok centre Jese Kriel scored two of the victor’s seven tries.

While the Eagles ended a disappointing campaign with seven defeats in their final eight matches, history is on their side, not having lost at home to the BlueRevs in seven years.

After failing to make the final for the first time in the League One era, the Wild Knights start again under new management, facing up to the outfit that has replaced them as the competition’s benchmark.

While the Wild Knights have lost just nine matches (from 73) since the league inaugurated, they have failed in their last three meetings to beat Brave Lupus, who kick off the new season with the prospect of a title hattrick on the table.

Despite coming off losses to local rivals Sungoliath and Spears in the pre-season, and with several absentees from their last grand final winning XV due to injury and player relocation, coach Todd Blackadder and star flyhalf Richie Mo’unga are sure to have the well-drilled Fuchu outfit ready to go.

Division Two & Three

The headline match of the opening weekend in Division Two sees the section’s top two seeds from last term, champions Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi and runners-up Hanazono Kintetsu Liners, renew their acquaintance on Saturday, with both still smarting after narrow losses in the promotion/relegation battles.

Test flyhalves Manie Libbok (Hanazono) and Christian Leali’ifano (Shuttles Aichi) will debut for their respective sides, while All Black centre Peter Umaga-Jensen captains Hanazono on his league debut.

Green Rockets Tokatsu have a new coach with Greg Cooper, who achieved promotion with Mitsubishi during his previous stint in Japan, taking his opening bow against RedHurricanes Osaka.

Champions SkyActivs Hiroshima visit SAYAMA SECOM RUGGUTs to kick off Division Three.

The pair were separated by six points in last year’s standings, with SkyActivs getting the better of the new entrant in two of their three meetings, although the RUGGUTs subsequently came within six points of promotion during a dramatic playoff series against Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks where the matches were decided by two and three points respectively.

SkyActivs were well beaten by Nippon Steel Kamaishi Seawaves in their promotion/relegation series.