Round 12 of Japan Rugby League One gets underway on Shunbun no Hi (Vernal Equinox Day) holiday on Friday with new All Blacks Head Coach Dave Rennie's table-topping Kobelco Kobe Steelers hosting the bottom-placed Yokohama Canon Eagles side led by Leon MacDonald.
Round 12 of Japan Rugby League One gets underway on Shunbun no Hi (Vernal Equinox Day) holiday on Friday with new All Blacks Head Coach Dave Rennie's table-topping Kobelco Kobe Steelers hosting the bottom-placed Yokohama Canon Eagles side led by Leon MacDonald.
Richie Mo'unga's struggling Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo takes on the Mie Honda Heat - will this be the weekend they snap the 5-game losing streak?
In Division Two there is just one match, and there are two fixtures in Division Three.
Division 1
Friday March 20
Kobelco Kobe Steelers v Yokohama Canon Eagles; at Hyogo, 2.30pm
While the Kobelco Kobe Steelers sit on top of the division, their rivals this weekend are at the other end of the table.
Yokohama Canon Eagles lost to the Kobe side 32-38 when they played in January but they had Jesse Kriel scoring twice in defeat and he missed this weekend’s clash. They do have Faf De Klerk starting after he made a winning return last weekend.
The New Zealand heavyweights in the Kobe side all start, with captain Brodie Retallick chasing try number 13 for the season in addition to his 141 carries which is the second best in the division. Three in the team also feature in the top 8 players for carries and the Eagles will need to be at their very best to contain them. Among the loose forwards, both Tiennan Costley and Ardie Savea are in the top six for tackle completions (both above 140).
Saturday March 21
Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars v Tokyo Sungoliath; at Tokyo (Chichibu), 12pm
Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars were well beaten last weekend but the weekend before had successfully secured an upset 34-15 win over Tokyo Sungoliath.
That rescheduled game from earlier this season means the sides face each other again in Round 12 at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, and if the Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars do claim their opponents scalps again, it will be the third in a row over Sungoliath.
They are without fly-half Shun Miyaki, who scored 22 points in the win from two weekends ago, while the visiting Tokyo Sungoliath have the services of Cheslin Kolbe off the back of a POTM performance last weekend.
He was absent in the loss when they last faced each other, and the Springbok wing has the leading stats for defenders beaten, clean breaks, and meters gained in Division 1 this season.
He will need to get past a backline of the Dynaboars, which includes All Black Brad Weber, Brave Blossom Charlie Lawrence, Springbok Lukhanyo Am (who was called up to the Bok virtual alignment camp), and New Zealander Matt Vaega.
Saitama Wild Knights v Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo; at Saitama, 2.30pm
Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo visit second on the log Saitama Wild Knights, with the Black Rams looking to make it five wins in a row, but their opposition have just knocked over the team that was top of the Division at the start of last weekend’s fixtures.
Wild Knights have beaten their opponents 21 of the last 22 times and have already faced them this season - they were the last team that inflicted defeat on TJ Perenara’s side. His flyhalf partner in the the BlackRams, Ichigo Nakakusu, has also had a great season and collected 131 points to lead the individual rankings ahead of the likes of Bernard Foley (Kubota) and Richie Mo’unga (Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo).
Wild Knights Head Coach Atsushi Kanazawa will want to see his side secure a win to keep the pressure on the only team above them on the table - the Kobe Steelers.
Urayasu D-Rocks v Kubota Spears; at Tokyo (Yumenoshima), 2.30pm
Urayasu D-Rocks have conceded at least 40 points in each of their most recent five losses, and the second halves have been particularly bad for Graham Rowntree’s side.
Samu Kerevi made a welcome return last week for the D-Rocks and scored, but he could not help them avoid a seventh straight defeat - the club’s worst run since 2014. The team are already on course for a 5th straight season of playing in the promotion/relegation series, and this weekend is made tougher with the absence of Springbok Jasper Wiese, who is tied second in the division for carries, nor Israel Folau, who has 6 tries.
Kubota Spears will be looking to avenge the late defeat last week, which cost them a place at the summit of the division, and knowing they scored 48 points against the hosts the last time they met in the win, they will be targeting 5 log points this round. They can also rely on the likes of Malcolm Marx and Bernard Foley, who both start on the bench, to change the game.
Sunday March 22
Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo v Mie Honda Heat; at Tokyo (Chichibu), 2.30pm
The defending champions' five straight defeats are as many as in their previous 51 games combined, and they will be eyeing this weekend as a potential turning point as they host the Mie Honda Heat.
The visitors are led by the hard-working Springbok Franco Mostert, who is the competition’s top tackler with 167 so far. The Heat have won three in their past four matches, but to keep their playoff ambitions alive, they will need to pick up results over the coming weeks, in which they will face five of the current top six before the regular season ends.
One of the stars for the Brave Lupus has been Takuro Matsunaga who has made 726 meters and 126 carries. All Black flyhalf Richie Mo'unga has still beaten 60 defenders this campaign, the third most in Division 1.
Toyota Verblitz v Shizuoka BlueRevs; at Aichi, 2.30pm
After a terrible start to the season, Steve Hansen’s Toyota Verblitz have the second-longest unbeaten run in the division and could extend that to four against a side who lost late last week.
Their captain Kazuki Himeno leads the division carry stats with 143, while Mark Tele'a has the tied most defenders beaten (71) with Suntory’s Cheslin Kolbe.
The Shizuoka BlueRevs are desperate to end a run of five losses on the bounce, and history is in their favour as they have won the last three meetings between the teams.
Semi Radradra is the team’s and Division 1’s leading offloader of the ball (41) which is 15 more than the next player and he has the 5th most carries.
Sunday March 22
Green Rockets Tokatsu v Nippon Steel Kamaishi Seawaves; at Chiba, 1pm
4th on the log, Green Rockets Tokatsu, host 6th placed Nippon Steel Kamaishi Seawaves on Sunday in Division Two’s only match this weekend.
A win for the hosts could see them climb into third and leapfrog Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks, while a win for the visiting Seawaves could see them go ahead of their rivals this weekend and into 4th. Their flyhalf Mitchell Hunt now has 67 points for the season, only behind Manie Libbok on the points ladder.
Last weekend, Toutai Kefu’s side, the Nippon Steel Kamaishi Seawaves, narrowly lost 24-28.
Division Three
Saturday March 21
Kurita Water Gush Akishima v Yakult Levins Toda; at Kanagawa, 12pm
Kurita Water Gush Akishima came away with a win away from home last weekend and on Saturday will host the Yakult Levins Toda.
They are currently in 3rd place, two above Yakult Levins Toda, with both Ren Shinwada and Kauri Tipene-Grace both on 4 tries.
Sunday March 22
Le RIRO Fukuoka v Chugoku Red Regulions; at Fukuoka, 1pm
4th placed Le RIRO Fukuoka hosts the bottom of the division Chugoku Red Regulions, with the hosts' flyhalf Syoutarou Matsuo third in the points ladder with 73 this season.
Chugoku Red Regulions Kentaro Iwanaga is tied third for the most tries with 6.
