Japan Rugby League One 2022-2023: JRLO Round 16 Preview

THE JRLO ROUND 16 SEES FIXTURES FROM FRIDAY 21st APRIL TO SUNDAY 23rd APRIL BEING PLAYED WITH GAMES IN ALL THREE DIVISIONS.

With the news of Round 15 being the Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights in nearly 50 matches, they enter this weekend knowing that should they beat Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo on Friday night, they cannot be caught on the JRLO division 1 championship table and will enter the semi-finals as the top seed.

The ‘mini league’ between the sides below the semi-final contenders also reaches its climax when Panasonic’s conquerors, Shizuoka Blue Revs, host Toyota Verblitz, with sixth place up for grabs.

At the bottom of Division 1, Hanazono Kintetsu Liners have Wallaby star Quade Cooper back as they face NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu in a game that will decide the wooden spoon in 2023, as well as who plays who in the Replacement Battle (relegation/promotion).

JRLO Round 16  – Division 1

Friday 21st April 2023

All times shown are Japan Time 

TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO v SAITAMA PANASONIC WILD KNIGHTS – Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, Tokyo, 7pm

Robbie Deans and Todd Blackadder shared history won’t matter when Blackadder’s Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo chase a seventh straight win to keep alive their bid for the semi-finals.

Toshiba begin Match Day 16 having won 10 matches, and with 48 points and will look to see if they can force back-to-back defeats on Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights in – well a long time.  The visitors have made six changes, from last week with internationals Marika Koroibete, Dylan Riley, Damien de Allende and Lood de Jager all returning to the starting XV.

Brave Lupus have steadily improved in performance through their winning run, scraping home against Toyota
Verblitz and Ricoh Black Rams, but ramping it up against less capable opposition and they nearly beat Panasonic earlier in the year, falling to a late penalty goal in a 22-19 loss.

Saturday 22nd April 2023

KUBOTA SPEARS FUNABASHI TOKYO BAY v TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH – Spears Edoriku Field (formerly Edogawa Athletic Stadium), Tokyo, 2pm

Second-placed Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay have won 16-straight at Edogawa Athletic Stadium and the visitors on Saturday might be the semi-final opposition depending on results in Round 16.

The hosts will avoid Saitama in the SF – whom they have lost to in semi-finals in each of the last two seasons – and Coach Frans Ludeke’s main goal will be to ensure Kubota maintains momentum heading into the playoffs. He has named a full-strength side, with international test stars Malcolm Marx, Bernard Foley and Ryan Crotty all starting.

Given the number of Japanese test players on show, Brave Blossoms coach Jamie Joseph will be an interested observer with the season entering the home stretch.

MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES SAGAMIHARA DYNABOARS v RICOH BLACK RAMS TOKYO – Sagamihara Gion Stadium, Kanagawa, 2pm

Ricoh plays Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars seeking to atone after having been beaten by 26-
points when they met on opening day.

Black Rams are comfortably mid-table and can finish as high as seventh. Former England international Nathan Hughes gets his last chance to impress Fiji coach Simon Raiwalui as Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo end their campaign with this trip to Kanagawa. He has scored eight tries from his last eight appearances, including two last week.

Ricoh’s Australian coach Peter Hewat has preached resilience to his players, and while they have shown it at various
stages, most recently last weekend when they overturned a 10-point deficit to lead with time up on the clock, too often they have failed to turn their starch into a positive result. “[The] difference (between winning and losing) is small.  We have to win these [close] games and [to] go to the next level” said Hewat.

After collecting a win and a draw from the three matches that followed their win over Ricoh, Mitsubishi has won just once from 11 since.

HANAZONO KINTETSU LINERS v NEC GREEN ROCKETS TOKATSU – Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Osaka, 2pm

The Hanazono Kintetsu Liners are coming off their first win of the season at their 15th attempt against Kobe, and this week are buoyed by the return of Wallaby flyhalf Quade Cooper.

Last year’s Division Two Player of the Year in Kintetsu’s title run, Cooper hasn’t played since August, after rupturing
his Achilles tendon while on test duty in Argentina.  His halves partnership with long-time test and club teammate Will Genia is timely ahead of the relegation battle.

Kintetsu’s date with the 11th-placed NEC Green Rockets will decide the relegation and play-off matches – with the loser finishing last on the table in Division 1.

NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu coach Rob Taylor said after last weekend’s loss “This is a match that both teams will focus on, and I think the spectators are looking forward to it. Next week, if we don’t focus on accuracy, it’s going to be a difficult match, so we have to make sure we don’t give away easy turnovers or chances.”

Kintetsu skipper Shohei Nonaka said  “I don’t think confidence comes from results, but I think there are people who get it from results, so in that sense, I think it’s a good tailwind (after the win last week). We were able to show that if we play our own rugby, we can play solid rugby, and the result of the victory gave [gives] the players a lot of confidence.”

The returns of Wallaby halfback Nick Phipps and Wales second-row Jake Ball, who both sat out last week, should lift the Green Rockets.

Sunday 23rd  April 2023

SHIZUOKA BLUE REVS v TOYOTA VERBLITZ – Yamaha Stadium, Shizuoka, 2pm

Having been the side that finally beat Panasonic’s colours, Shizuoka Blue Revs now face Toyota Verblitz, swapping one ex-Crusaders opponent (Saitama coach Robbie Deans) for another (Toyota Director of Rugby Steve Hansen).

Blue Revs skipper Yuya Oto said about the win last week against the log leaders and defending champions “It was a forward game in the rain, so I think our style came out very well. However, we still have a lot of work to do, so we will become stronger as a team ahead of the final match against Toyota Verblitz.”

Coach Horrikawa Takanobu also highlighted the dominance of the Blue Revs’ set-piece as the key to taking down the Wild Knights. “The fact that we were able to maintain our superiority in the set pieces gave us confidence.”

“It was a very crazy game. I have the impression that there were a lot of matches and things that we couldn’t control,” Toyota head coach Ben Herring said after the close win over the Black Rams last weekend. “The match was repeatedly suspended and resumed, and some of the players were struggling quite a bit.”

Springbok Pieter Steph du Toit departed the game after 53 minutes with a knee injury that makes it likely the South African star has played his last game in Japan for the season.

KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS v YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES – Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Osaka, 2pm

There will be two possible scenarios that could be in front of Yokohama Canon Eagles when they arrive in Osaka on Sunday; option one will see the Wild Knights knock Brave Lupus out of the semi-final contest meaning the Eagles will use Kobelco Kobe Steelers as a valuable hit-out ahead of their semi-final appointment with the defending champions. Option two means Canon will have to beat a Kobe side with nothing to lose to qualify, due to a Brave Lupus win earlier in the weekend.

Eagles coach Keisuke Sawake was quick to remind everyone that his team remained in control of its destiny, whether that means making the semi-finals or not. “When you play your best game, the results follow. We have the right to be in [make] the top four on our own. I hope we can try to keep it simple and then move on to the next step in a situation where we’ve grown as a team.”

The likely loss of the competition’s second-highest point-scorer, test flyhalf Yu Tamura (who was stretchered off concussed last week) adds to the challenge, but Springbok star Faf de Klerk is available even if the halfback has been used off the bench in recent weeks.

Kobe could be missing seven-try winger Ataata Moeakiola due to an injured wrist and will be looking to round off a disappointing campaign with a win at home.

JRLO Round 16 – Division 2

The third and most important meeting between the two sides who have dominated Division Two of the JRLO takes place this weekend with the promotion tie against the Division 1 bottom side – the prize.

Unbeaten Urayasu won the previous contests 35-27 on the opening day of the season, and the return game 20-10.

At the other end of the table, Shimizu Corporation Koto Blue Sharks host Kamaishi Seawaves to Yumunoshima to decide the order for their matches against Kyushu Electric Power Voltex and Kurita Water Gush Akishima from Division Three.

Neither Division 2 side has played for a month, and the loser will play Voltex, while Water Gush awaits the winner.

Saturday 22nd April 2023

• URAYASU D-ROCKS v MIE HONDA HEAT at Tokyo
• SHIMIZU CORPORATION KOTO BLUE SHARKS v KAMAISHI SEAWAVES RFC at Tokyo

JRLO Round 16 – Division 3

Both Voltex and Water Gush are in action as Division Three wraps up,  but the wooden spoon is the main point of business.

Mazda Skyactivs, thanks to their win over Chugoku Electric Power Red Regulions in the third Hiroshima Derby on Match Day 15 have the advantage and they face Kyushu Electric Power Kyuden Voltex away from home, and Red Regulions take on Kurita Water Gush Akishima on Sunday.

Sunday 23rd  April 2023

• KURITA WATER GUSH AKISHIMA v CHUGOKU ELECTRIC POWER RED REGULIONS at Kanagawa
• KYUSHU ELECTRIC POWER KYUDEN VOLTEX v MAZDA SKYACTIVS HIROSHIMA at Fukuoka

For brief highlights from all matches, see the JRLO highlights here.

Japanese Rugby News 2022-2023

• JRLO – Round 15 Preview.
• JRLO – Round 14 Preview.
• Nathan Hughes & Jake Ball Reflect on the JRLO.
• European Rugby Stars Playing in The Japan Rugby League One.