Aaron Smith and Mark Telea shine as struggling Toyota Verblitz stun defending Japan Rugby League One champions
Ex-All Blacks Aaron Smith and Mark Telea (inset) are in fine form for Toyota Verblitz.
Ex-All Blacks coaching duo Steve Hansen and Ian Foster’s struggling Toyota Verblitz clinched a morale-boosting 52-21 victory over defending Japan Rugby League One champions Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo in Aichi on Saturday.
Leading the way for the victors were former All Blacks backline stars Aaron Smith (scrum-half) and Mark Telea (winger), who each crossed for a try as they helped their side to only their second victory from nine matches played this season and just their fourth of the last 21 since the start of last year.
The result is one of the highlights of Hansen’s reign as Toyota Verblitz’s head coach and they fully deserved their victory as they dominated for long periods and held a comfortable 27-7 lead at half-time.
Smith and Telea led the way with fine attacking performances for the home side who eventually scored three tries apiece in each half and they secured a much-deserved bonus point to move two points clear of the relegation zone.
Toyota Verblitz consolidate their position in the standings
Toyota Verblitz currently occupy 10th position in the Japan Rugby League One Division One standings and have amassed 11 points while Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars and Yokohama Canon Eagles occupy the two bottom positions in the table.
Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo are now in fifth position on 25 points and have already suffered four losses this season.
Meanwhile, Kubota Spears moved into top spot in the standings after they notched a 26-10 win over Dynaboars in Tokyo during a match where the winners had to play with 13-men briefly in the second half following two yellow cards.
Although the Dynaboars did score against Kubota’s reduced complement, they could not dominate, with the Spears having cancelled the seven points out with a try of their own by the time they were restored to 15 men again.
The Spears’ try, by prop Opeti Helu, proved the final one of this clash, taking on added significance as it allowed Kubota to bag the all-important try-scoring bonus point, with the home side outscoring their opponents four tries to one in what was their 24th consecutive victory at Spears’ Edoriku Field.
The Spears ended the weekend three points ahead of second-placed Kobelco Kobe Steelers, who claimed a 40-24 win in Hyogo over Saitama Wild Knights, who have dropped down to third place in the standings after holding top position prior to the weekend’s fixtures.
It was just Kobe’s third victory over the Wild Knights since a nationwide professional competition began in Japan in 2003.
Kobe blew Saitama away in the second half after a tight opening period had ended with the sides deadlocked at 19-19.
A try from Kobe’s lock Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, just before the interval, turned the game after it appeared that Springboks centre Damian de Allende’s third try in as many matches would give the visitors a handy lead.
De Allende was playing his 50th match in League One.
After overcoming an early 12-0 deficit to draw level, Kobe had the momentum in the second half and eventually added 21 unanswered points which paved the way to victory.
Perhaps the only disappointment for the hosts was the late try by Wild Knights full-back Ryuji Noguchi which denied Dave Rennie’s men a try-scoring bonus point.
Biggest Wild Knights loss in League One history
Even so, the 16-point margin of the Wild Knights’ first defeat of the season was their biggest since League One started five years ago.
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It was the eighth time in 83 matches that Saitama had conceded more than 30 points in a game, but just the second of those where they finished as losers.
While it was the fourth occasion among the eight that Kobe had been the responsible opponent, this was the first time the Steelers had gone on to win the game.
In other action on Saturday, Black Rams Tokyo, who face Brave Lupus next, are becoming lethal in the second half after burying Urayasu D-Rocks with a 29-point scoring spell after the break en route to a 41-19 win at the the Komazawa Field in Tokyo.
This came a week after they had been completely dominant in the Photocopy derby, putting 40 points on Yokohama Canon Eagles in the final 40 minutes.
D-Rocks had led 14-12 at half-time, with ex-Wallabies utility back Israel Folau backing up last week’s hat-trick with the try that took his side into the lead.
The Australian star got another late in the second half, but that was mere consolation, with the yellow card conceded by Springbok back-rower Jasper Wiese for a professional foul a minute before half-time having proved critical.
By the time the big South African returned, Australian full-back Isaac Lucas and Brave Blossoms winger Taira Main had both scored, with Main getting a second, and former Wallaby back-rower Liam Gill bagging his third try of the season, as the Black Rams made it two wins in as many weeks, and three from the last four.
In Sunday’s Division One action, Tokyo Sungoliath continued their recent revival, overcoming a red card four minutes into the second half of their emphatic 54-22 home win over Yokohama Canon Eagles.
Sungoliath held a 20-12 lead when ex-Bristol Bears second-rower Sam Jeffries was ejected for illegal contact, and were quickly overhauled by the Eagles, but their 22-20 advantage lasted just four minutes before hooker Kosuke Horikoshi scored to restore the hosts’ lead.
Back-to-back tries by former Wallabies loose forward Sean McMahon then pulled Sungoliath clear as the bottom-placed Eagles collapsed, leaking six tries in the final 24 minutes.
Although Sungoliath remain 10 points behind the top three, they have a game (against the Dynaboars) in hand and currently have 26 points in the standings.
Shizuoka Blue Revs lose more ground
Elsewhere, Shizuoka Blue Revs lost more ground on the top six after losing momentum during their 26-21 away loss against Mie Honda Heat.
Blue Revs, formerly known as Yamaha, made the most of a 29th minute yellow card for a professional foul by Ben Paltridge with two of the stars of last season’s run to the play-offs, winger Valynce Te Whare and scrum-half Shuntaro Kitamura, both scoring in the Honda winger’s absence to give the visitors a commanding 21-5 half-time lead at Suzuka Gardens.
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However, Blue Revs’ momentum stalled when play resumed with Honda closing the gap with two tries in 10 minutes before finally overtaking the visitors 10 minutes before the final whistle.
The win lifted Kieran Crowley’s side to eighth, one point and position behind Blue Revs, although Honda still trail sixth-placed Black Rams by eight points with nine games of the regular season remaining.
In Division Two, there were wins for Green Rockets Tokatsu and RedHurricanes Osaka respectively over Hino Red Dolphins and Nippon Steel Kamaishi Seawaves, while Hiroshima scored a double in Division Three, with section leaders SkyActivs Hiroshima beating Kurita Water Gush Akishima in an 88-point scoring frenzy, and Chugoku Electric Power Red Regulions gaining their first win of the season at the expense of Yakult Levins Toda.