Springboks lock continues scoring form while Will Genia given first red card of his career in latest Japan Rugby League One round

Lawrence Nolan
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Will Genia in action for Hanazono Kintetsu Liners.

Will Genia in action for Hanazono Kintetsu Liners.

The Saitama Wild Knights continued their near-flawless start to the Japan Rugby League One season in round six, with a 70-12 win over Mie Honda Heat that was every bit as easy as it sounds.

They led 31-0 at the break and were 55-0 ahead on the hour mark before a raft of changes disrupted rhythm a little and the Heat got on the scoreboard.

Lood de Jager opened the scoring for his second try in two games since returning from the Pericarditis which cost him the World Cup, while Marika Koroibete, Dylan Riley and Esei Haangana all got doubles. Skipper Haangana’s form – he had an excellent game – has been particularly welcome among national team circles, as he qualifies to be Japan-eligible well before the next World Cup and is still only 24 years old.

Bleak for basement side the Heat

Things look bleak for the Heat, however. Last-placed, and with an average score of 11-60 over the six games, the game against the equally winless Hanazono Kintetsu Liners in March looms as probably their only chance of a win this season unless there is a dramatic turnaround in form.

Shizuoka BlueRevs notched a 50-12 win over the Liners in a match spoiled by a harsh red card dished out to Will Genia early in the second half. Looking to take a quick penalty and with the BlueRevs ahead 19-12, Genia was prevented from getting the ball by opposing hooker Takeshi Hino, with the former aiming a bit of a jab at Hino’s head as he sought to free the ball. Hino made quite a meal of it, but Genia saw the yellow card later upgraded to red on review, which seemed remarkably harsh.

The penalty Genia had wanted to take quickly was reversed, and from it Malgene Ilaua scored a try to extend the BlueRevs’ lead to 24-12. Five minutes later Futo Yamaguchi stormed over for another try and the game was up. Charles Piutau also notched a brace for the BlueRevs in a man-of-the-match display but the Liners felt hard done by.

Chasing the Wild Knights at the top are the Richie Mo’unga-steered Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo, who struggled to a 28-12 win at Toyota Verblitz in an all-star clash featuring Mo’unga, Shannon Frizell and Michael Leitch for the Brave Lupus, and Pieter-Steph du Toit, Aaron Smith and Beauden Barrett in the green of Verblitz.

The turning point was a yellow card shown to Verblitz lock Isaiah Mapusua with 12 minutes to go for repeated infringements, with the Brave Lupus just a nose in front at 16-12. Frizell went over for a crucial try shortly after Mapusua had been dispatched however, and replacement back Yuto Mori killed the game off with six minutes to go.

The loss of Barrett to injury early in the game also hindered Verblitz, for whom Taichi Takahashi continued his good form this season with a try double.

Clinging onto the shirt-tails of the top two are Sam Cane’s Tokyo Sungloiath, who clinched a 36-34 win at the Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars with the last move of the game in what was the game of the weekend despite horrible weather.

The Dynaboars had shot out to a bonus-point 29-0 lead within 22 minutes, courtesy of tries from Kota Iwamura, Jackson Hemopo, Matt Vaega and Kohki Sato, but tries for Trevor Hosea and Seiya Ozaki in the 10 minutes before the break gave Sungoliath hope.

Cane scored a try himself to narrow the gap further and then Yutaka Nagare’s score and Mikiya Takamoto’s conversion with 15 to go saw Sungoliath take the lead for the first time.

Joichiro Iwashita restored the lead for the home side but James Grayson couldn’t convert. Then, 21 phases and two minutes into the red, the visitors worked space wide right for centre Shogo Nakano to slide in for the winner.

Gerhard van den Heever the hero

Kubota Spears pulled into the top half of the table, with Gerhard van den Heever landing a penalty after the hooter to rob Black Rams Tokyo. The Rams had taken the lead themselves with a penalty try just before the 80-minute mark, but Spears managed to pressure out an infringement for holding on which Van den Heever nervelessly slotted into the sunset from wide left.

Finally, Kobelco Kobe Steelers completed a remarkable 31-27 comeback win against the fourth-placed Yokohama Canon Eagles to move into mid-table and spoil the Eagles’ ambitions of moving clear of the mid-table mire.

Yu Tamura’s conversion of Sione Halasili’s try with 15 miuntes to go saw the hosts 27-14 in the lead and good value for it despite the best efforts of Bryn Gatland, who scored 21 points in all and had scored the Steelers’ first two tries, also converting both.

But late tries for scrum-half Atsushi Hiwasa and hooker Takuya Kitade, both converted by Gatland who also landed a penalty on the hooter, sealed the win and moved the Steelers up to seventh, but only three points behind the Eagles in fourth.

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