Division One

Brodie Retallick continued his try-scoring addiction this season, scoring twice amongst the 12 gathered by Kobelco Kobe Steelers as they savaged hapless Urayasu D-Rocks 78-19 yesterday to retain second place on the standings in Japan Rugby League One.
The All Black second rower has scored 11 tries so far in the campaign, three ahead of teammate Inoke Burua, who boosted his total to eight with a hattrick in the demolition.

Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars winger Matt Vaega, who scored twice against Toyota Verblitz today, is the second highest try-scorer with nine.

Australian-born Brave Blossoms backrower Tiennan Costley also scored three times against D-Rocks, as Dave Rennie’s side took their total number of tries from the last six matches to 49, at an average a tick over eight per outing.

After being well beaten by Kobe last week, Saitama Wild Knights bounced back with a commanding 66-19 win over Mie Honda Heat.
The return of the influential Brave Blossoms centre Dylan Riley helped ignite the Wild Knights, with the South African-born former Australian Under-20 international scoring his first try of the season in what was just his third appearance as Saitama raced to a 35-7 halftime lead.

After scoring five tries in the opening period, Saitama added four more in the second, with the nine tries being their largest haul for a single match thus far in the season.
Backrowers Lachlan Boshier and Ben Gunter both scored twice.

The nature of the performance was timely as the Wild Knights prepare for the latest installment of their rivalry with Kubota Spears, when League One resumes after next weekend’s bye.

The Spears gained their ninth win, but were denied a try-scoring bonus point, after a game effort by Yokohama Canon Eagles in today’s 28-10 defeat.

A blowout appeared probable after the Spears sped to a 21-0 advantage after 26 minutes at Oita’s Crasus Dome, but Springbok Jesse Kriel’s men provided a game challenge after halftime, with the Yokohama skipper scoring the first of his side’s two second half tries which closed the gap to 11 points.

Their challenge was finally put down when the Spears’s South African centre Rikus Pretorius scored his side’s fourth try with two minutes remaining, but their try-count was not enough to earn a bonus point, trimming their lead over Kobe on the standings to two points.

Tokyo Sungoliath closed to within 10 points of the top three, with a game in hand, after routing Shizuoka BlueRevs 57-24.
Shizuoka have never beaten Sungoliath and any chance of changing that narrative was ruthlessly taken away during a dominant first half today which was nearly all one-way traffic as the visitors built up a 38-5 lead.

Although the BlueRevs finished with a late flurry of tries, the 33-point margin was an accurate reflection of the gulf between the two sides, who are ranked fourth and seventh on the standings respectively.

Fittingly, the final try was scored by the speedy Sungoliath winger Seiya Ozaki, which completed his hattrick.
The 30-year-old has been plagued by injury in recent seasons after finishing as the league’s top try-scorer three years ago with 18, which he followed by scoring 14 a year later, to wind up second.

Sungoliath’s success at Yamaha Stadium was the BlueRevs’ seventh defeat of the season, leaving Kwagga Smith’s side with a mountain to climb – now nine points astern of the playoff’s positions – with eight games remaining.

Springbok winger Cheslin Kolbe and his teammates have Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo in their sights as the next round brings the western Tokyo rivals together for the Fuchu derby.

The defending champions are on the ropes after four straight defeats, the latest of which saw a try by All Black scrumhalf TJ Perenara midway through the second half provide the fatal blow, as Ricoh BlackRams Tokyo eased to a 33-14 win at Kagoshima.

The unerring boot of BlackRams flyhalf Ichigo Nakakusu, who last week became just the second player to surpass 100 points for the season, kept his side on the front foot until Perenara’s intervention presented his side with their second try.

While Brave Lupus still had 17 minutes left to overhaul their nine-point deficit, they never looked likely, with BlackRams centre Daisuke Nishikawa scoring the game’s final try to finish off the impressive 19-point win.

Aaron Smith won the head-to-head battle against fellow All Black scrumhalf Brad Weber as Verblitz backed up last week’s upset win over Brave Lupus with a 31-29 win over Sagamihara today at Kyoto.

Japan’s ancient capital witnessed a thrilling game where the lead changed hands nine times, with Brave Blossoms winger Taichi Takahashi scoring a hattrick for Toyota, before Siosaia Fifita crossed in the 78th minute to tie the scores.

Verblitz utility back Shinya Komura calmly nailed the conversion to get his side over the line.

The back-to-back wins have vaulted Steve Hansen’s side up the table, taking them above each of the Dynaboars, D-Rocks and Heat into eighth place, five points clear of the relegation series positions.

Defeat was tough on the Dynaboars, who outscored Verblitz five tries to four, but were left to rue an off day with the boot from flyhalf Shun Miyake, with the national provincial championship-winning ex-Canterbury (New Zealand) flyhalf missing four of his five shots at goal.

The Verblitz goalkickers, Komura and Brave Blossoms veteran Rikiya Matsuda, raised the flags with all five of their attempts.
Sagamihara remain under threat of having to retain their Division One status in the end-of-season Replacement Battle, 11th on the championship table, and two points behind D-Rocks, although they do have a game (against Sungoliath) in hand.

Division Two & Three

Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi kept up the pressure on Manie Libbok’s Hanazono Kintetsu Liners, thumping Kyushu Electric Power Kyuden Voltex 68-28 to move to within a point of the leaders in Division Two.

Shimizu Corporation Koto Blue Sharks consolidated their hold on third, while RedHurricanes Osaka denied Hino Red Dolphins a first win when ex-Munster backrower Jack O’Sullivan scored with two minutes remaining.

In Division Three, front-runners SkyActivs and SAYAMA SECOM RUGGUTs both had big wins ahead of next week’s showdown between the pair, with SkyActivs taking the bragging rights in the Hiroshima derby after a comprehensive 48-10 win over Chugoku Electric Power Red Regulions.