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Ardie Savea's Japan sabbatical ends on a sour note
World Rugby player of the year Ardie Savea has missed out on the chance of finishing his one-year sabbatical with an experience of the Japan Rugby League One play-offs after Kobelco Kobe Steelers were knocked out of the semi-final race at Hokkaido.
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The Dave Rennie-coached Steelers were felled 39-29 by outgoing champions Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay, who themselves had been eliminated earlier in the weekend after Yokohama Canon Eagles beat Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars 43-19.
Yokohama’s win had left five teams standing, after erasing the mathematical hopes of Toyota Verblitz and Shizuoka Blue Revs, as well as Kubota.
Kobe then joined that trio on the outer, despite 19 points from ex-Chiefs fly-half Bryn Gatland, confirming the Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights, Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo, Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath and Eagles as the semi-final line up.
The Wild Knights claimed the top spot in the regular season for the fourth time since the game resumed following covid after crushing Toyota Verblitz 40-7.
Their assault was led by the Test pair of Wallaby Marika Koroibete and Springbok Lood de Jager who each scored two tries.
It was Koroibete’s third try-scoring double in as many weeks after he had scored just twice in 11 appearances before the run, while de Jager scored his fifth and sixth tries from nine games following a career reboot in the aftermath of well-publicised health problems.
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The win extended a record between the rival coaches which has seen ex-All Black boss Steve Hansen unable to beat his former Wallaby counterpart Robbie Deans in seven attempts since he took over at Verblitz following the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Deans’ men have hit 40 points or more in five of those matches. Unbeaten in 14, the Wild Knights will face the fourth-placed finisher in the semi-finals.
Currently fourth, the Eagles welcomed back Springbok centre Jesse Kriel, who had been out since mid-January after breaking his thumb, and the South African capped off an excellent weekend for the club with a try in the win over the Dynaboars.
Sungoliath, who needed a late penalty goal by fly-half Mikiya Takamoto to secure a 31-31 draw with Shizuoka Blue Revs on Friday night, are only two log points ahead of the Eagles and face a massive derby on Saturday against their Fuchu neighbours and fierce rivals, Brave Lupus.
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With one eye to that game, Toshiba coach Todd Blackadder made eight changes to the combination that drew with Kobe last week, including fielding a third fly-half in as many weeks, with Hayata Nakao standing in for All Black Richie Mo’unga, who was absent on bereavement leave.
While they narrowly squeezed past second-from-bottom Mie Honda Heat 8-7, Honda coach Kieran Crowley will have taken encouragement ahead of next month’s promotion/relegation series from the return of the former Argentine captain Pablo Matera.
"When you get a real big scare, things get put into perspective…"
– Coming soon to RugbyPass: South Africa lock Lood de Jager, with Liam Heagney ??, on life after last year's heart condition ruled him out of #RWC2023. #Springboks @LeagueOne_EN #WildKnights #rugby pic.twitter.com/MB5v5qv8I8
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 11, 2024
The 30-year-old, who played the first half, hadn’t featured this season after arriving back from the Rugby World Cup with a leg injury.
Hanazono Kintetsu Liners will also play the relegation series, and they may have taken 10th-placed Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo with them after their 34-23 win.
Kintetsu’s first win of the season – at the 14th attempt – has left the Black Rams 10 points from safety with two games to play.
Comments on RugbyPass
I bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
90 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
4 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments