Congratulations RIJ Newsletter 10th Anniversary 2003-2013
RiJ will now be published twice a week in two parts. Part one will be a preview of the weekend’s matches and Part Two will be the wrap up. This edition is the wrap up of last weekend’s matches in Japan.
Japan Rugby Top League 2013-14
Wrap-up
Stage Two, Round Two
Group A
| Date | Team | Score | Team | K/O | Venue |
| Sat, 07 Dec 2013 | NEC (2Ts) | 24-52 | Suntory (6Ts) | 14:15 | Chichibu, Tokyo |
|
| Yamaha (4Ts) | 35-16 | Kobe (1T) | 14:00 | Hanazono, Osaka |
|
| Toyota (1T) | 11-32 | Panasonic (4Ts) | 14:15 | Mizuho, Aichi |
| Sun, 08 Dec 2013 | Toshiba (2Ts) | 26-24 | Canon (3Ts) | 14:15 | Kamoike, Kagoshima |
Group B
| Date | Team | Score | Team | K/O | Venue |
| Sat, 07 DEC 2013 | NTT Comm. (1T) | 16-47 | Ricoh (5Ts) | 12:00 | Chichibu, Tokyo |
|
| Toyota Industries (7Ts) | 50-29 | Kintetsu (4Ts) | 12:00 | Hanazono, Osaka |
| Sun, 01 Dec 2013 | Kyuden (2Ts) | 14-25 | Kubota (3Ts) | 12:00 | Kamoike, Kagoshima |
|
| NTT Docomo (2Ts) | 17-18 | Coca-Cola (2Ts) | 13:00 | Kagawa, Kagawa |
Stage Two Round One Wrap-up
Group A
In the second game of a double header at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo on Saturday, NEC Green Rockets went down to Suntory Sungoliath 52-24. NEC finished second in Pool A behind Suntory and in fact have been the only team to beat the Sungoliath this season when they put down the defending champions 34-33 on this ground back in September but there was to be no repeat with the Sungoliath storming in six tries to two for an emphatic win for the western Tokyo based side. NEC five-eighth Shaun Webb got the Rockets out to an early 6-0 lead but Suntory went on to dominate the opening stanza on the back of a try to wing Kenta Tsukamoto and four penalties from centre Ryan Nicholas. The Sungoliath piled on five second half tries with Tsukamoto bringing up a hat-trick and taking the man-of-the-match award.
In the second game of a double header at the Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Ground in Osaka on Saturday, Yamaha Jubilo defeated Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers 35-16. Both sides were coming off losses in the opening round of Stage Two when Yamaha lost to Panasonic while Kobe went down to Suntory so a win this weekend was vital for both outfits as the loser may start to lose touch with the front-runners and title contenders in Group A. In this case, it was good news for Yamaha who were clearly the better side on the day and bad news for Kobe who looked flat and off the pace. Replacement wing Shinji Nakazono ran in the bonus-point try at the death to enable the Jubilo to garner maximum points from the contest while the Steelers are left with a lot of ground to catch up.
At the Mizuho Rugby Ground in Aichi on Saturday, Toyota Verblitz were at home to play Panasonic Wild Knights but it did not help them on the scoreboard with Panasonic taking the game 32-11. For the victors it was two wins in a row after beating Yamaha last week while for the vanquished it was two losses on the trot after going down to Toshiba in the opening round of Stage Two. Japan international No8 Koliniasi Ryu Holani scored two of the four Panasonic tries and his strong performance earned him man on the match as the Knights continue to improve and impress as the season progresses. Like Kobe, Toyota have now had two losses in Stage Two and with only five games remaining must find form fast.
In the second game of a double header in Kamoike in Kagoshima prefecture on Sunday, Toshiba Brave Lupus beat Canon Eagles 26-24. When these two sides met at Chichibu in the opening round of the season back in August, Toshiba were lucky to come away with the points after the Eagles pushed them all the way in the close 10-8 scoreline. Both were coming off wins in the opening round of Stage Two with Toshiba beating Toyota while Canon beat NEC setting the stage for a great match between these two sides as they battled it out in the far south of Japan. Just like their earlier encounter this season, Toshiba won by two points but had to work all the way for the win. Former All Blacks Adam Thomson and Isaia Toeava scored second half tries for Canon to help their side to a 17-9 lead by the hour mark and it looked like another upset was on the cards. However, two Toshiba tries over the final quarter ensured the victory for the Brave Lupus.
Group B
In Group B, in the first game of a double header at Chichibu in Tokyo on Saturday, NTT Communications Shining Arcs lost to Ricoh Black Rams 47-16. NTT Comm. The Arcs and the Rams suffered losses last Saturday with NTT going down to Kyuden and Ricoh losing to Coca-Cola and the win restores pride and confidence for Ricoh whose season has been very indifferent to date. Ricoh led 16-9 at halftime and then pulled away on the scoreboard in the second half with four tries to complement the one scored in the first half. The five pointers were shared around for the Black Rams but halfback Shota Yamamoto started the ball rolling in the first minute of play and his game around the field saw him named man of the match.
In the first game of a double header at Hanazono in Osaka on Saturday, Toyota Industries Shuttles played home side Kintetsu Liners and came away with the spoils 50-29. In a high scoring game in which the Shuttles scored seven tries to four guaranteeing both sides a bonus point the result gives each combatant one win for one loss after two rounds of Stage Two. Kintetsu took a 15-12 lead early in the second half but this was followed by a blitz from the Shuttles when they ran in five straight tries to blow out the score to 50-15 with five minutes left on the clock. The win was out of the question but two quick tries from the Liners with former All Black Rico Gear touching down after the whistle for the bonus point.
On Sunday, Kyuden Voltex were again on home soil in Kyushu when they played Kubota Spears in the first game of a double header in Kamoike in Kagoshima prefecture. However, it was the Spears that collected the win finishing 25-14 ahead on the scoreboard. Kyuden had their first win of the season last weekend when they beat NTT Communications but there was little joy this time round. The Voltex stayed in touch at the completion of the first half with Kubota leading 15-7 at the break but a Kade Poki try on the hour mark pushed the score out to 25-7 and although Kyuden managed a late try it was not enough to overcome the deficit.
In Kagawa prefecture on Sunday, NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes lost to Coca-Cola West Red Sparks 18-17. The Red Sparks had their first win of the season last weekend when they beat Ricoh and this second win has re-vitalised the season for Coca-Cola with the level of competition closer in Group B. In a game of two contrasting halves, Coca-Cola scored the majority of their points in the first half to take a 15-3 lead into halftime. Fullback Tu Umaga-Marshall extended the lead to 18-3 with an early penalty before the Red Hurricanes started their spirited fight back. Converted tries to flanker Ryo Kawada and centre Paea Mifiposeti got NTT to within one point and had a drop goal from South African Riaan Viljoen found its mark late in the game the result would have been reversed but as things worked out its was the Red Sparks that could celebrate.
Ian McDonnell can be contacted at ianmcdo@apost.plala.or.jp
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