Japan Rugby League One Round-Up: Kurt-Lee Arendse and Manu Vunipola shine on debuts

Springboks World Cup winner Kurt-Lee Arendse produced a sparkling debut for Sagamihara DynaBoars
©JRLO

The fourth edition of Japan Rugby League One kicked off at the weekend with unprecedented global interest in the country’s three-tier professional club competition.

Division One’s 12 talent-laden teams were all in action in the opening round of the top-flight which will culminate in June with the top-four teams advancing to the play-off semi-finals. 

Talking Rugby Union’s Mark Pickering was on location to cover the highly-anticipated first round in Tokyo. 

Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath 12-33 Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights

Player of The Match: Tomoki Osada (Panasonic)
Ajinomoto Stadium - 21,2024

Last season’s runners-up and inaugural League One champions Saitama Wild Knights featured in Saturday’s heavyweight showdown against Suntory Sungoliath who finished third last term.

Springboks ace Cheslin Kolbe, who took the kick-off, only lasted 23 minutes as he left the field following a hefty collision while former All Blacks captain Sam Cane was introduced on the stroke of half-time with the scoreless Fuchu club trailing by 13 points. 

Japanese utility-back Tomoki Osada, who was deployed on the left wing by Saitama head coach Robbie Deans, showed his finishing ability with two well-taken tries. 

Former Australia international Sean McMahon made a nuisance of himself with his power and ball-carrying ability on his first League One start since 2022 after a torrid run of injuries. 

Ex-Japan fly-half Kosei Ono, 37, who is the youngest head coach in Division One after being promoted to the club’s top job in the summer, will also be pleased with the efforts of industrious New Zealand-born centre, Isaiah Punivai, who has the ability to be a future Brave Blossoms international. 

Punivai made 21 tackles and scored Suntory’s first try as Saitama’s interchangeable Yamasawa brothers, fly-half Kyohei Yamasawa, 26, and full-back Takuya Yamasawa, 30, dictated the game for the visitors who have quickly moved on from former first-choice number 10 Rikiya Matsuda who surprisingly departed for Steve Hansen’s Toyota Verblitz.

Post-match Deans told Talking Rugby Union: “Pre-season in Japan is always long, the players can only handle so much but I think tonight you saw the enthusiasm and the level for round one was impressive.”

Sean McMahon said: “I love Suntory, I love Japan, especially how they’ve supported me the last two years and I’m still chasing a championship with this team.

“It was good to be back out there in front of a big crowd and our supporters, they made me push through those 80 minutes, especially every time I heard them cheer.”

Shizuoka Blue Revs 15–13 Kobelco Kobe Steelers

Player of The Match: Vueti Tupou (Shizuoka)
Yamaha Stadium - 8,498

Kwagga Smith’s Shizuoka side upset Kobe Steelers who narrowly missed out on a play-off berth last season. 

Dave Rennie’s Kobe let a 13-3 lead slip away as they imploded with 18 minutes left following the dismissal of Auckland-born lock Gerard Cowley-Tuioti.

Kobe captain Brodie Retallick and Scottish debutant George Turner put the visitors in command, but Shizuoka are a battling side which is characterised by their leader - Boks star Smith.

The stubborn hosts fought their way back with a try from impressive rugby league convert Valynce Te Whare and tied the score at 13-13 in the 85th minute when Fiji-born lock Vueti Tupou, who is now eligible for Japan on residency grounds, drove over from close range. 

Australia-born full-back Sam Greene kept his composure to kick the match-winning conversion in the 86th minute. 

Mie Honda Heat 23 – 21 RICOH Black Rams Tokyo

Player of The Match: Manu Vunipola
Mie Suzuka Sports Garden – 2,868

Kieran Crowley’s new-look Honda team won the season-opening clash against Black Rams Tokyo to deny TJ Perenara a win on his return to Japanese rugby. 

Veteran flanker Liam Gill, who left newly-promoted Urayasu D-Rocks to move to the Rams, was a towering presence for former Harlequins coach Tabai Matson’s team who saw influential Australian fly-half Isaac Lucas ruled out after picking up a knock in training.

New Honda fly-half Manu Vunipola – the cousin of Billy and Mako – kept the hosts in contention as he kicked 13 points while Argentine ace Pablo Matera, who had 18 carries, and summer addition Larry Sulunga scored second-half tries. 

Former Saracens starlet and England Under-20’s international Vunipola was the hero as he calmly slotted a match-winning penalty in the 81st minute in a stylish League One debut. 

Honda and Black Rams both retained their Division One status by winning relegation play-offs against division two opposition last season and both teams look set for another testing campaign.

Yokohama Canon Eagles 21 – 28 Toshiba Brave Lupus

Player of The Match: Taichi Mano (Toshiba)
Nissan Stadium - 22,871

Champions Toshiba Brave Lupus produced a sensational comeback to overturn a 0-16 deficit away at Faf de Klerk and Jesse Kriel’s Canon Eagles. 

Yokohama, who lost the third-place play-off against Suntory last season, dominated the first half as former Japan fly-half Yu Tamura kept the scoreboard ticking over. 

Veteran Tamura sent over three penalties and a conversion following a try from fit-again Faf after Fijian speedster Viliame Takayawa read the bounce of the ball and outmuscled Takuro Matsunaga to recover the South African’s kick.

Shannon Frizell, who picked up a yellow card in the first half for a high tackle, raced through to spark Todd Blackadder’s champions into life in the second half. 

Last season’s Most Valuable Player Richie Mo’unga reacted first to retrieve a kick through from former All Black Seta Tamanivalu to nudge the Fuchu-based side in front for the first time just before the hour mark. 

Free-scoring wing Takayawa, who holds a black belt in judo and represented Fiji at the 2013 World Cadet Championships in Miami, restored level terms for Yokohama at 21-21 before inside-centre Taichi Mano, who was a late replacement for the sick Rob Thompson, went in under the posts on the 70th minute which proved to be the decisive score. 

Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay 30 – 27 Toyota Verblitz

Player of The Match: Bernard Foley
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium - 12,358

Kubota Spears and Toyota Verblitz, who are both blessed with an abundance of riches, were locked in a thrilling encounter that was only settled with the last play of the game in the 85th minute. 

Frans Ludeke’s 2023 League One champions struggled last season with heightened expectations and injuries to key players Malcolm Marx, Bernard Foley and Liam Williams

Marx was named among a barnstorming bench for Kubota while Foley started as their playmaker alongside new acquisition, six-time Super Rugby winner Bryn Hall, who made the jump to Funabashi from Shizuoka. 

Welsh star Williams, who scored three tries in his six Kubota appearances, rejoined Saracens in November as he opted out of the second year of his contract in Japan with the club’s blessing as he awaited the birth of his first child. 

The action-packed encounter saw promising Japanese hooker Hayate Era and new Kubota captain Faulua Makisi cross for the hosts while Toyota-born wing Viliame Tuidraki, Toyota captain Kazuki Himeno and former NRL star Joseph Manu replied for Hansen and Ian Foster’s big-spending outfit. 

Toyota are perennial underachievers despite a huge outlay on star names in recent seasons such as Beauden Barrett last season. 

Evergreen Aaron Smith, 36, and Matsuda made their League One bow as a half-back pairing with the all-action Himeno the team’s driving force. 

Tries from Kubota’s new South African back-rower Tyler Paul, who is another player to gain Japanese eligibility this term, and full-back Yuhei Shimada in the space of three minutes swung the momentum back in the favour of the home team who trailed by four points. 

Matsuda extended Toyota’s advantage to seven points with a penalty before South African youngster Merwe Olivier ensured a dramatic last five minutes with his first League One try. 

Foley slotted the conversion to tie up the score at 27-27 in the 76th minute. 

The Wallabies stalwart directed traffic as Kubota pressed forward in injury time with a draw seeming inevitable. 

Japanese star Shinobu Fujiwara, who was a second-half replacement for Hall, found Foley, who was just outside the 22, and his pinpoint drop-goal attempt sailed over to send the Kubota fans into the raptures and sink the hearts of the Toyota faithful in a dramatic conclusion.

Match winner Bernard Foley told Talking Rugby Union: “The pressure was fine. I always thought that we were going to get one more chance and we had to take our shot. 

“The forwards put us in a real good position. It took a few more phases than we wanted but we finally got there. I’m just really happy to get the win.” 

Steve Hansen said: “It’s not the result we wanted but it’s a long season ahead, no championships were won or lost today. Kubota put us under a lot of pressure and brought their mini-bomb squad on in the second half. 

“It’s a long season and we’re still positive about our performance. The boys will go back home, get into training and we’ll be ready for next week (vs. Honda Heat). 

Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars 31 – 19 Urayasu D-Rocks

Player of The Match: Kurt-Lee Arendse
Sagamihara Gion Stadium - 6,607

Glenn Delaney’s Dynaboars have reignited interest in the team in their home region of Kanagawa after luring Springboks superstar Kurt-Lee Arendse to Japan. 

Arendse, who came to Tokyo directly from London following the conclusion of South Africa’s Autumn Nations Series, left the crowd purring after he starred with a 68-minute masterclass on his League One debut. 

The 2023 World Cup winner already leads the stats for metres gained (110) and defenders beaten (nine) and is set to light up Japan’s top-flight. 

Scottish legend Greig Laidlaw, 39, made his head coach debut for the newly-promoted Urayasu D-Rocks whose ranks include famed Wallabies Samu Kerevi and Israel Folau

Arendse, who started at full-back, gave his new side the lead in the second half with a fine solo run and fended off Hikaru Tamura who was left with a concussion. 

Proven try-scorer Ben Paltridge, who was born in Thailand and is eligible for the former as well as New Zealand and Japan, grabbed his first try of the season before former All Black Jackson Hemopo sealed the result ahead of a late consolation effort from ex-Japan centre Shane Gates

Arendse’s opposite number Folau, 35, was a focal point for the D-Rocks as he gained 104 metres and beat six defenders.