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Nezuka (47'), Botha (63')
Tries
Kolbe (44'), Cane (52')
Foley (48', 64')
Conversions
Kolbe (53')
Foley (6'), Hirose (71')
Penalties
Kolbe (76')
Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay did enough to secure a semifinal match next weekend in the JRLO, after narrowly beating Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath 20-15 on Sunday, 18th May, in the second quarter final to be played in Osaka.
South African Malcolm Marx, playing in his 50th match for the club, was Man of the Match in a tight contest which his side only led 3-0 at halftime before pulling away in the second half, but not before the Sutory side unexpectedly scored the first try early in that half.
Kubota Spears Head Coach Frans Ludeke said after the match, “At the end of the day, we got the result that mattered. Suntory were a good team and offered a good battle. I thought we converted opportunities when it mattered, and the guys off the bench made a massive Impact.”
He said of facing Saitama Wild Knights, whose Head Coach Robbie Deans was in attendance at the match, Ludeke added, “It is Important to enjoy this as we missed out last year. We're looking forward to the semi-final next week. The orange army gave us an extra arm and leg, and we appreciate the sacrifices the fans make for us”.
Taking opportunities was right. In a very tight opening half, as the cliche goes, it was for the purists as a mix of great defence and bad handling made it a hard watch for the fans in the stadium or from afar. In the end, it was the accurate kicking from Bernard Foley with 3/3 and his replacement, Yuya Hirose, that counted, with Cheslin Kolbe missing from the kicking tee.
The opening ten minutes were dominated by the Spears across all of the stats, but they had little to show for it with only a Foley penalty in the 6th minute as a reward. They ended up being the half’s only points. The side had territory and possession and scrum dominance, winning a number of penalties from a solid set piece.
Suntory defended well but were scrappy when they had the ball and lacked any fluidity. They did have options to go for points, but opted for the touch and thought they had scored from a driving maul through Ryuga Hashimoto, but the TMO ruled it out.
It was a tough game to watch with so many mistakes and the referee's shrill whistle every couple of minutes due to mistakes and offences. At this stage, Deans, watching from the Hanazono Rugby Stadium stands, must not have seen much to worry him from either side.
Twice, the Spears opted for kicks behind the Sungoliath defence, but on both occasions, Kolbe rushed to the rescue.
Near the end of the half, Kubota Spears had made over 200m against the 100m from Suntory, and the Sungoliath had also a much higher penalty against them, while missing three times as many tackles. Yet it stayed only 3-0
The Spears had numerous chances before the half and even with the Suntory side on a team warning for repeated infringements, they held onto halftime with Spears having more than 70 per cent of the possession and territory.
Sungoliath started the second period with more possession, and the team which managed to get within 22 meters of the opponent's territory once in the first half scored the first in the second half. Kolbe had a great chase from an excellent kick from fullback Matsushima to dot it down on the right hand, but missed the conversion.
Spears struck back straight away with a great finish by the right wing Koga Nezuka in his 50th match and it was converted by Foley to make it 10-5.
Suntory, though, looked to have more tempo and attacking abilities after the break. Sam Cane caught the Spear napping from a lineout and scored from an excellent smart move to retook the lead, with Kolbe converting.
Spears were still winning scrum penalties but were going for touch while Kolbe missed a kick for the score to remain the same in a tight game heading into the final quarter.
Following an illegal maul collapse, Spear opted for their first tap and go and after a few phases, Ruan Botha went over for the converted score to lead 17-12. Foley was soon subbed, and his replacement slotted another kick to lead by 8.
Time was running out for Suntory, and Kolbe missed another for only one from four before knocking over his 5th attempt to close the deficit to five points with less than 5 minutes left.
The scoreboard pressure was too much, and as Suntory tried to make things happen, they made enforced errors with the Kubota Spears kicking the ball dead after a final scrum.
Post-game, all of the players in the winning team were wearing shirts for their teammate Finau Tupa as he played his 100th game for the club.
Suntory Head Coach, the last remaining Japanese coach in the JRLO playoffs, Ono Akiyuki, said, "We knew that they were a team that would build their game with set pieces. We were able to hold on and go into halftime up 3-0. We had a good balance between runs and kicks and were able to score with a few chances. For next season, I want to build a team that is more consistent"
Saitama Wild Knights will face Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay on Sunday, 25th May in the second semifinal.
Results
Saturday May 17
Kobelco Kobe Steelers 35-20 Shizuoka BlueRevs, at Osaka
Sunday May 18
Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay 20-15 Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath, at Osaka
