Latest news with #Sungoliath
Kyodo News
3 days ago
- Sport
- Kyodo News
Rugby: Brave Lupus aim to retain League One title in trademark style
KYODO NEWS - 9 hours ago - 20:51 | Sports, Rugby, All Defending champions Brave Lupus Tokyo are unlikely to part from their tried-and-tested game plan when they battle the Kubota Spears in the Japan Rugby League One final, lock Warner Dearns indicated Friday. Speaking ahead of Sunday's championship decider at Tokyo's National Stadium, Japan international Dearns said they would continue emphasizing the expansive, attacking rugby that yielded a league-best 741 points on their way to first place in the regular season. "We're a team that moves the ball," Dearns said. "If we can attack with the style that we have honed, we can win." The Todd Blackadder-coached team will also be confident of their defensive resilience after stopping the Kobe Steelers from scoring a try in a 31-3 semifinal rout last weekend. Their attacking movement has been underpinned by the playmaking of former All Black flyhalf Richie Mo'unga, the reigning League One MVP, who heads into the final on the back of a man-of-the-match performance against Kobe. Captain and No. 8 Michael Leitch and fullback Takuro Matsunaga are among the other linchpins in a Brave Lupus starting XV who will enter as favorites after winning as underdogs last year against the Saitama Wild Knights in front of some 56,000 at the Tokyo Olympic venue. "The cheering was so loud, it felt like the ground was shaking," Matsunaga said. "It won't come as a surprise this time around, so I will be able to enjoy it." After finishing the season third, the Frans Ludeke-coached Spears have had to contend with an extra round of playoff rugby, followed by a grueling semifinal win against Saitama. The 2022-2023 champions will aim to continue their strong defensive play, exemplified by hard-tackling South African hooker Malcolm Marx, who was at the forefront of both playoff wins. Scrumhalf Shinobu Fujiwara will also look for another big performance after scoring a brace of tries last weekend against a Saitama side that was expected to advance to their fourth straight League One final. "I want to read the situation quickly and perform at my best without rushing things," Fujiwara said. Related coverage: Rugby: Spears hold off Sungoliath to reach League One semis Japan Rugby League One to give domestic players more time on pitch Rugby: Sam Cane leads playoff-chasing Sungoliath to vital win over Toyota
Kyodo News
3 days ago
- Sport
- Kyodo News
Rugby: Brave Lupus aim to retain League One title in trademark style
KYODO NEWS - 7 minutes ago - 20:51 | Sports, Rugby, All Defending champions Brave Lupus Tokyo are unlikely to part from their tried-and-tested game plan when they battle the Kubota Spears in the Japan Rugby League One final, lock Warner Dearns indicated Friday. Speaking ahead of Sunday's championship decider at Tokyo's National Stadium, Japan international Dearns said they would continue emphasizing the expansive, attacking rugby that yielded a league-best 741 points on their way to first place in the regular season. "We're a team that moves the ball," Dearns said. "If we can attack with the style that we have honed, we can win." The Todd Blackadder-coached team will also be confident of their defensive resilience after stopping the Kobe Steelers from scoring a try in a 31-3 semifinal rout last weekend. Their attacking movement has been underpinned by the playmaking of former All Black flyhalf Richie Mo'unga, the reigning League One MVP, who heads into the final on the back of a man-of-the-match performance against Kobe. Captain and No. 8 Michael Leitch and fullback Takuro Matsunaga are among the other linchpins in a Brave Lupus starting XV who will enter as favorites after winning as underdogs last year against the Saitama Wild Knights in front of some 56,000 at the Tokyo Olympic venue. "The cheering was so loud, it felt like the ground was shaking," Matsunaga said. "It won't come as a surprise this time around, so I will be able to enjoy it." After finishing the season third, the Frans Ludeke-coached Spears have had to contend with an extra round of playoff rugby, followed by a grueling semifinal win against Saitama. The 2022-2023 champions will aim to continue their strong defensive play, exemplified by hard-tackling South African hooker Malcolm Marx, who was at the forefront of both playoff wins. Scrumhalf Shinobu Fujiwara will also look for another big performance after scoring a brace of tries last weekend against a Saitama side that was expected to advance to their fourth straight League One final. "I want to read the situation quickly and perform at my best without rushing things," Fujiwara said. Related coverage: Rugby: Spears hold off Sungoliath to reach League One semis Japan Rugby League One to give domestic players more time on pitch Rugby: Sam Cane leads playoff-chasing Sungoliath to vital win over Toyota
Kyodo News
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Kyodo News
Rugby: Spears hold off Sungoliath to reach League One semis
KYODO NEWS - 4 hours ago - 17:32 | Sports, Rugby, All South African star Malcolm Marx delivered a man-of-the-match performance Sunday to lead the Kubota Spears into the Japan Rugby League One semifinals with a 20-15 victory over Tokyo Sungoliath. The Springbok hooker provided attacking momentum and was a rock in defense as he helped the third-place Spears hold off sixth-place Sungoliath in a closely fought quarterfinal at Hanazono Rugby Stadium. Kubota playmaker Bernard Foley's seventh-minute penalty was all that separated the two sides at the interval following a first half without a try. Another Springbok standout, Sungoliath winger Cheslin Kolbe, scored the game's first try early in the second half, when Kotaro Matsushima's grubber bounced perfectly for him to dot down in the corner. Kolbe was unable to make the difficult touchline conversion, and Frans Ludeke's Spears hit back shortly after through Koga Nezuka, who broke two tackles as he powered across for a 10-5 lead once Foley added the extras. A clever Sungoliath lineout move led to Sam Cane strolling through a gap for a converted effort that put his team ahead 12-10 in the 54th minute. The lead would be short-lived, however, with Ruan Botha diving over for Kubota in the 64th minute after Marx was stopped just short of the line. A penalty from Kolbe brought head coach Kosei Ono's side back within a single score with three minutes left, but Ludeke's men were able to hold on and advance to a semifinal showdown with the Saitama Wild Knights next weekend. "It's vital that we got the result at the end," Ludeke said. "I felt that when it mattered, we just did the basic things very well." Related coverage: Japan Rugby League One to give domestic players more time on pitch
West Australian
18-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Steelers storm their way into Japan Rugby semi-finals
The Kobe Steelers, coached by former Wallabies mentor Dave Rennie, are through to the semi-finals in Japan Rugby League One after upsetting Aussie Sam Greene's in-form Shizuoka Blue Revs. On a damp Saturday afternoon in Osaka, former Chiefs flyhalf Bryn Gatland starred for Kobe, creating two of his side's four tries in the 35-20 quarter-final victory. This included the game's defining score in the 73rd minute when a perfectly placed cross-kick found winger Inoke Burua, who steamrolled over luckless Shizuoka fullback Futo Yamaguchi, who is 26kg lighter than the Kobe man, to push the Steelers ahead 29-20. Two late penalty goals from the Kobe flyhalf completed the victory, allowing the New Zealander to finish the afternoon with 13 points. Former Dolphins centre Valynce Te Whare had earlier scored the opening try for the Blue Revs off a cleverly worked midfield move, but the ex-NRL cult figure's eighth try of the season was followed nine minutes later by his concession of a penalty try. The 24-year-old also received a yellow card from the high-tackle incident after mistiming an attempt to prevent Kobe winger Kazuma Ueda from scoring in the corner. Kobe face defending champions Brave Lupus Tokyo in Saturday's opening semi-final. Rennie is one of two ex-Australian coaches who will feature in the second round of the playoffs, with the Robbie Deans-coached Saitama Wild Knights to meet Bernard Foley's Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay on Sunday, after the latter beat Tokyo Sungoliath 20-15 in a nervous finish. Former All Black skipper Sam Cane and Springbok winger Cheslin Kolbe both scored tries for Sungoliath on Sunday, but they were unable to overcome a high error rate alongside the concession of a 14-9 penalty count. The accuracy of Foley off the goalkicking tee also proved pivotal, with the Wallaby successful with all three of his attempts, while Kolbe missed three out of five for Sungoliath.
Perth Now
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Steelers storm their way into Japan Rugby semi-finals
The Kobe Steelers, coached by former Wallabies mentor Dave Rennie, are through to the semi-finals in Japan Rugby League One after upsetting Aussie Sam Greene's in-form Shizuoka Blue Revs. On a damp Saturday afternoon in Osaka, former Chiefs flyhalf Bryn Gatland starred for Kobe, creating two of his side's four tries in the 35-20 quarter-final victory. This included the game's defining score in the 73rd minute when a perfectly placed cross-kick found winger Inoke Burua, who steamrolled over luckless Shizuoka fullback Futo Yamaguchi, who is 26kg lighter than the Kobe man, to push the Steelers ahead 29-20. Two late penalty goals from the Kobe flyhalf completed the victory, allowing the New Zealander to finish the afternoon with 13 points. Former Dolphins centre Valynce Te Whare had earlier scored the opening try for the Blue Revs off a cleverly worked midfield move, but the ex-NRL cult figure's eighth try of the season was followed nine minutes later by his concession of a penalty try. The 24-year-old also received a yellow card from the high-tackle incident after mistiming an attempt to prevent Kobe winger Kazuma Ueda from scoring in the corner. Kobe face defending champions Brave Lupus Tokyo in Saturday's opening semi-final. Rennie is one of two ex-Australian coaches who will feature in the second round of the playoffs, with the Robbie Deans-coached Saitama Wild Knights to meet Bernard Foley's Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay on Sunday, after the latter beat Tokyo Sungoliath 20-15 in a nervous finish. Former All Black skipper Sam Cane and Springbok winger Cheslin Kolbe both scored tries for Sungoliath on Sunday, but they were unable to overcome a high error rate alongside the concession of a 14-9 penalty count. The accuracy of Foley off the goalkicking tee also proved pivotal, with the Wallaby successful with all three of his attempts, while Kolbe missed three out of five for Sungoliath.
