Springboks star and four-try wing help Graham Rowntree’s Urayasu D-Rocks keep top flight status
Urayasu D-Rocks wing Kai Ishii scored four tries in the win.
Graham Rowntree’s Urayasu D-Rocks comfortably saw off the relegation threat, sweeping Division Two challengers Shimizu Corporation Koto Blue Sharks aside on Saturday.
A 57-19 victory completed a 60-point trouncing on aggregate across the two matches for Rowntree’s troops.
D-Rocks wing Kai Ishii scored a first-half hat-trick as the home side romped to a 40-12 half-time advantage, with Springboks number eight Jasper Wiese also on the scoreboard for the second week running.
While the scoring rate calmed down after the break, D-Rocks coasted home, with Ishii adding a fourth to his tally.
Although outclassed, the Blue Sharks could still reflect on a season of achievement, having come from nowhere to give themselves a shot at Division One, after narrowly avoiding demotion to Division Three last year.
The win allowed D-Rocks to end an up-and-down season on a positive note, being the side’s fourth victory on end; the run started by one of the upsets of the season against the Wild Knights.
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After opening with three wins in their first four, Rowntree’s men dropped 12 in a row, but the English coach will now get another crack at Division One next season.
Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars stay in top flight
In the other Replacement Battle, it briefly appeared possible that Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi might challenge their 22-point deficit from the first leg, when they sprang to an early 12-0 advantage over Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars, but order was soon restored, with the Division One side overwhelming their rivals in the final 10 minutes with three tries as they drew out to a 52-28 victory.
The win, which clinched an 88-42 win on aggregate over the two legs, featured 20 points from the Dynaboars’ 31-year-old centre Matt Vaega, taking the Kelston Boys’ High School (Auckland) old boy’s tally for the season to 106, which included 15 tries.
There was also a nice finishing touch when Vaega’s 78th-minute try was converted by ex-All Black back-rower Jackson Hemopo, in the final act of his seven years at the club.
Defeat denied the Division Two champions for the fourth year running, with their 46-point aggregate defeat following on from losses by margins of five, nine and 67 points across their previous three attempts in the promotion/relegation series.
Having missed out last year, back-to-back Division Three champions SkyActivs Hiroshima will play in Division Two next term after a thumping 40-13 win over Hino Red Dolphins.
Trailing by three points from the away leg, the SkyActivs opened the scoring after a nervous first 30 minutes, with Australian utility back Jacob Abel’s 32-minute try, but it was followed by a quick response from the Red Dolphins, who scored 13 points in the final seven minutes of the half to extend their lead in the tie to nine.
Two tries after half-time saw the SkyActivs edge ahead by three on aggregate, before the home side ensured they would swap divisions with their opponents after scoring three tries in the final 12 minutes.