The Rugby in Japan newsletter from Ian McDonnell is now into its 11th year.
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Contents
Japan Rugby Top League 2013-14
Stage Two, Round Six
Group A
| Date | Team | Score | Team | K/O | Venue |
| Sat, 11 Jan 2014 | Panasonic (4Ts) | 32-31 | Kobe (4Ts) | 14:00 | Hanazono, Osaka |
| | Toyota (1T) | 14-11 | NEC (1T) | 14:15 | Mizuho, Aichi |
| | Yamaha (2Ts) | 15-29 | Toshiba (4Ts) | 13:00 | Iwata, Shizuoka |
| | Canon (3Ts) | 25-58 | Suntory (8Ts) | 13:00 | Yokohama, Kanagawa |
Group B
| Date | Team | Score | Team | K/O | Venue |
| Sat, 11 Jan 2014 | Kintetsu (2Ts) | 17-20 | Kubota (3Ts) | 12:00 | Hanazono, Osaka |
| | Toyota Industries (2Ts) | 14-41 | Ricoh (6Ts) | 12:00 | Mizuho, Aichi |
| | NTT Comm. (4Ts) | 27-21 | Coca-Cola (3Ts) | 12:00 | Tosu, Saga |
| | Kyuden (3Ts) | 21-31 | NTT Docomo (5Ts) | 14:15 | Tosu, Saga |
Stage Two Round Six Wrap-up
Group A
In the second game of a double header at the Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Ground in Osaka on Saturday, Panasonic Wild Knights beat Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers 32-31. Panasonic had to dig deep to keep their unbeaten record in the group stages intact with this one-point win. Both sides scored four tries apiece and the Steelers could have had the win if a late penalty from Craig Wing had found its mark. South African, JP Pietersen put the Knights in front with a try in the thirty-fourth minute of the second half and that proved to be the winning score with the Craig Wing missed penalty. Panasonic led 17-0 after the first twenty minutes and then 24-10 at halftime before Kobe threw down the gauntlet in the second period. Kobe had hit the front 31-27 by the hour mark before Pietersen saved the day for the Knights.
In the second game of a double header at the Mizuho Rugby park in Nagoya, Toyota Verblitz beat NEC Green Rockets 14-11. In a low-scoring game in which either side could only score one try apiece, the result boiled down to goal kicking with Toyota five-eighth Takaya Monji out kicking NEC fullback Shaun Webb three penalties to two. Most of the scoring was done in the first stanza with the sides going to the halftime break with the scores all locked up at 11-all. The only time the score keeper was troubled in the latter half was Monji penalty in the third minute after which the score remained unchanged till the final whistle.
At Iwata in Shizuoka prefecture on Saturday, Yamaha Jubilo lost 29-15 to Toshiba Brave Lupus. Toshiba scored four tries to one in this bonus-point win that also had the run-on effect of denting the play-off aspirations of Jubilo. The scores were tied at 10-all by the half hour mark but a converted try to centre Tomohiro Semba took the Brave Lupus to the break with a 17-10 lead. Toshiba then ground down the Yamaha resistance throughout the second half with tries to Hiroki Yuhara and David Hill pushing out the score to 29-10. Toshiba shut up shop over the final ten minutes and although the home side added one more try the loss could have a major impact on their season.
In Yokohama, Canon Eagles lost 58-25 to Suntory Sungoliath. The Eagles are starting to feel the heat as the season wears on while true to form, Suntory are coming good at the right part of the year. In an open first half that saw both sides produce three tries each, Suntory enjoyed a narrow 24-22 lead at the completion of the first forty minutes. However, as the Sungoliath picked up the pace in the second half the Eagles fell off the pace allowing the reigning champions to ran in five more tries. Flanker Takamichi Sasaki picked up a hat-trick while left wing Kenta Tsukamoto picked up a double as well as the man of the match award.
Group B
In the first game of a double header at the Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Ground in Osaka on Saturday, Kintetsu Liners went down 20-17 to Kubota Spears. Kubota took an early 10-0 lead after tries to fullback Sam Norton-Knight and right wing Yuji Ito before fullback Tadanobu Ko got Kintetsu on the scoresheet with a late penalty to take the teams to the break with Kubota leading 10-3. The liners tied things up at 10-all with a try to prop Daiki Toyota in the tenth minute and then hit the front 17-10 with a converted try to Radike Samo in the twenty-fourth minute. Centre Harumichi Tatekawa narrowed the difference with a penalty before centre partner Katoni Otukolo scored the match-winning try in the thirty-third minute.
In the first game of a double header at the Mizuho Rugby park in Nagoya, Toyota Industries Shuttles lost 41-14 to Ricoh Black Rams. Ricoh completely dominated the first half with three tries, including one to Japan international backrower Michael Broadhurst, as the Rams stormed out to a 17-0 lead by halftime. To their credit, the Shuttles fought back to 17-14 with two quick tries to open the second half. However, the comeback effort was quelled by three more Ricoh tries, including one to Tongan international lock Emosi Kauhenga.
In the first game of a double header in Tosu in Saga prefecture, NTT Communications Shining Arcs beat Coca-Cola West Red Sparks 27-21. The Arcs scored four tries to three and picked up full points to consolidate their place mid table. Right wing Yamato Eto crossed for two quick tries in the first half to have the Sparks 14-0 inside the first ten minutes of play. However, NTT kept their cool and picked up points as the opportunity arose to finish the half 14-10 in arrears. This composure paid dividends as the second half progressed with captain Hiraku Tomoigawa leading by example with two of three tries in the half as the Arcs edged out to 27-14 late in the game. A late try gave Coca-Cola a losing BP but that was scant consolation.
In the other game at Tosu, Kyuden Voltex lost 31-21 to NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes. Things are heating up for the Voltex and the Hurricanes as they sit at the bottom of the Group B table with the wooden-spooner in this group automatically relegated for next season. Had Kyuden won, it would have all but sealed the relegation fate of NTT Docomo but as things now stand the situation is still fluid. Kyuden led 7-5 at halftime before things opened up in the second half with a total of six tries scored. Former national captain in Takuro Miuchi rose to the occasion with two tries as the 38-year-old No8 turned back the clock and was accordingly handed the man of the match award.
Group A
| | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | BP1 | BP2 | Pts |
| 1 | Panasonic (+4) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 197 | 90 | 107 | 4 | 0 | 32 |
| 2 | Suntory (+4) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 239 | 150 | 89 | 4 | 0 | 28 |
| 3 | Toshiba (+2) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 145 | 113 | 32 | 1 | 2 | 21 |
| 4 | Kobe (+2) | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 185 | 158 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 19 |
| 5 | Yamaha (+3) | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 149 | 155 | -6 | 2 | 1 | 18 |
| 6 | Toyota (+1) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 103 | 169 | -66 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| 7 | NEC (+3) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 115 | 183 | -68 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 8 | Canon (+1) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 112 | 227 | -115 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
Group B
| | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | BP1 | BP2 | Pts |
| 1 | Kubota (+4) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 153 | 75 | 78 | 2 | 1 | 27 |
| 2 | Toyota Industries (+3) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 178 | 157 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 23 |
| 3 | Kintetsu (+3) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 149 | 144 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 22 |
| 4 | Ricoh (+2) | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 189 | 137 | 52 | 4 | 2 | 20 |
| 5 | NTT Comm. (+4) | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 144 | 172 | -28 | 3 | 1 | 20 |
| 6 | Coca-Cola (+1) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 120 | 149 | -29 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
| 7 | Kyuden (+1) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 131 | 196 | -65 | 2 | 0 | 11 |
| 8 | NTT Docomo (+2) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 114 | 148 | -34 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
Four points for win, two for draw, one bonus point for four tries or more (BP1) and one bonus point for losing by seven or less (BP2).
Leading Point Scorers
At the completion Stage One and then Stage Two, Round Six, Suntory centre Ryan Nicholas tops the point scorers list with 171 points.
| | Name | Team | T | G | PG | DG | Pts |
| 1 | Ryan Nicholas | Suntory | 2 | 43 | 25 | 0 | 171 |
| 2 | Ayumu Goromaru | Yamaha | 2 | 32 | 28 | 0 | 158 |
| 3 | Shaun Webb | NEC | 2 | 17 | 30 | 0 | 134 |
| 4 | Harumichi Tatekawa | Kubota | 0 | 22 | 23 | 0 | 113 |
| 5 | Ryohei Mitomo | Canon | 1 | 31 | 14 | 0 | 109 |
| 6 | Yasumasa Shigemitsu | Kintetsu | 2 | 27 | 14 | 0 | 106 |
| 7 | Yoshio Kimishima | NTT Comm. | 2 | 26 | 11 | 0 | 95 |
| 8 | Berrick Barnes | Panasonic | 3 | 16 | 13 | 0 | 86 |
| 9 | Shotaro Onishi | Toyota Ind. | 1 | 28 | 6 | 0 | 79 |
| 10 | Takahiro Ogawa | Toshiba | 2 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 75 |
Leading Try Scorers
At the completion Stage One and then Stage Two, Round Six, Kobe centre Jaque Fourie tops the try scorers list with 14 tries.
| | Name | Team | Tries |
| 1 | Jaque Fourie | Kobe | 14 |
| 2 | Akihito Yamada | Panasonic | 10 |
| 2 | Kenta Tsukamoto | Suntory | 10 |
| 4 | Shindo Kamaike | NEC | 9 |
| 4 | Ryan Kankowski | Toyota Ind. | 9 |
| 6 | Tokiro Harada | Canon | 8 |
| 6 | Rikiya Asami | Toyota Ind. | 8 |
| 6 | Masakatsu Hikosaka | Toyota | 8 |
| 6 | JP Pietersen | Panasonic | 8 |
| 6 | Tomoki Kitagawa | Panasonic | 8 |
| 11 | Radike Samo | Kintetsu | 7 |
| 12 | Koliniasi Ryu Holani | Panasonic | 6 |
| 12 | Shuetsu Narita | Suntory | 6 |
| 12 | Tim Bennetts | Canon | 6 |
Stage 2, Round 6 Man-of-the-match Awards
| | Group | Teams | Score | Teams | MOTM |
| Sat 11 Jan 2014 | B | Kintetsu | 17-20 | Kubota | Daiki Toyota, |
| Kubota No.1 |
| | A | Panasonic | 32-31 | Kobe | Fumiaki Tanaka, |
| Panasonic No.9 |
| | B | Toyota Industries | 14-41 | Ricoh | Michael Broadhurst, |
| Ricoh No.8 |
| | A | Toyota | 14-11 | NEC | Steven Yates, |
| Toyota No.15 |
| | B | NTT Comm. | 27-21 | Coca-Cola | Hiraku Tomoigawa, |
| NTT Comm. No.11 |
| | B | Kyuden | 21-31 | NTT Docomo | Takuro Miuchi, |
| NTT Do. No.8 |
| | A | Yamaha | 15-29 | Toshiba | Steven Bates, |
| Toshiba No.7 |
| | A | Canon | 25-58 | Suntory | Kenta Tsukamoto, |
| Suntory No.11 |
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