Division One

After shipping 46 points without reply on the opening weekend, the last thing the defending champions probably needed was a date with Springbok Kwagga Smith’s Shizuoka BlueRevs, who remarkably put 90 points on Toshiba Brave Lupus across two meetings last term, both of which they won.

The BlueRevs, who were the talk of the competition during their run to fourth in the regular season, will be approaching Sunday’s clash with confidence, after coming from behind last weekend to record their first away win against Yokohama Canon Eagles since 2018.

Significantly their devastating backline picked up from where it had left off with winger Malo Tuitama, who headed the try rankings two season’s ago, scoring twice, alongside new recruit Semi Radradra, and South African midfielder Sylvain Mahusa, who also bagged a double.

While Smith only scored four tries last season, after totaling 19 from his first 27 appearances in League One, his skill over the ball and superb sense of anticipation in where to be, and when, is one of the main reasons why the outside men are having fun.

The duel at the breakdown between Smith when he gets over the ball and Toshiba’s forwards on the cleanout could be the decisive mini battle within the game, and Brave Lupus are not going to be helped in this aspect by the absence of their powerful All Black backrower, Shannon Frizell.

When the draw for the new season was made, Urayasu D-Rocks coach Graham Rowntree would have been excused for anticipating a major challenge containing Saitama Wild Knights in week two, and while that hasn’t changed, the Englishman’s charges will at least head to Kumagaya with a spring in their step following the resilience they showed to beat Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars.

In a further boost, Israel Folau will step out after missing last week, while Springbok backrower Jasper Wiese offers plenty of power off the bench.

Both Rowntree and his fellow new coach, Saitama’s Atsushi Kanazawa, were able to celebrate a winning start, with the Wild Knights’ 46-0 blitzing of Brave Lupus the eye catcher of the round.

Most notably it showcased the class of the Wild Knights injury plagued flyhalf Takuya Yamasawa, whose 26 points and controlled display gave hints of the talent of a player who was once whispered about as a possible ‘Japanese Dan Carter’.

The 31-year-old might not have reached those unrealistic heights, but if the Wild Knights can keep him out of the treatment room, it could go a long way towards winning a second championship in the League One era.

Two sides that came up short last time meet on Sunday in the always eagerly anticipated Kanagawa derby.

Both the Dynaboars, who lost in the last minute, and the Eagles, who were overrun in the second half, will be looking to rectify the mistakes under pressure that led to their downfall.

After a wretched run of injuries over the last two seasons, the Eagles needed more from their star scrumhalf Faf de Klerk, but after scoring an early try, he left the field later in the first half and will not feature.

Kieran Crowley achieved a famous victory over the Wallabies during his time as Azzurri coach but he meets the Australian coach from that game, Dave Rennie, under very different circumstances with both Mie Honda Heat and Kobelco Kobe Steelers looking to bounce back after disappointing first round defeats.

Saturday sees Toyota Verblitz shape up to Tokyo Sungoliath having won just one of the last 16 matches between the two sides.

Both will be determined on major improvements after underwhelming campaigns last term, with Sungoliath going out in the first weekend of the playoffs, while Toyota flirted with the drop zone for much of the season.

Having been overrun by Sungoliath last weekend, BlackRams Tokyo now have the unenviable task of taking on last season's finalists, Kubota Spears.

The Spears underlined their title credentials, overcoming a red card to get the job done at Kobe with an impressive 33-28 victory.

 Division Two & Three

The four first round winners in Division Two will meet each other this weekend, with Saturday’s match between Springbok Manie Libbok’s Hanazono Kintetsu Liners and the Greg Cooper-coached Green Rockets Tokatsu one to watch.

Champions SkyActivs Hiroshima host fellow first round winner, ex-Wallaby Wycliff Palu’s Kurita Water Gush Akishima, in the headline game of Division Three.