(Written by Azul: May 13, 2024)
I went to Chichibunomiya Rugby Ground in Minato-ku, Tokyo on Saturday, April 27 to watch the Japan Rugby League One Section 15 match between Brave Lupas and Sungoliath. The match between Brave Lupas and Sungoliath is called the Fuchu Derby because both teams are based in Fuchu City, Tokyo. Both teams have won championships in the past, and both have qualified for the playoffs this season.
There is a possibility that they will meet in the semifinals of the playoffs on May 18 and 19, so this game was a prelude to that match.
Let’s check the standings in League One as of April 26 before the games.
| 2023-24 | League One Order(Division 1) 4/26 | |||||
| ranking | team | Win | Lose | Even | WP | SD |
| 1 | Saitama Wildnights | 14 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 434 |
| 2 | Tokyo Brave Lupas | 12 | 1 | 1 | 56 | 133 |
| 3 | Tokyo Sungoliath | 10 | 3 | 1 | 50 | 187 |
| 4 | Yokohama Eagles | 10 | 4 | 0 | 48 | 105 |
| 5 | Kobe Steelers | 7 | 6 | 1 | 36 | 142 |
| 6 | Toyota Verblitz | 7 | 7 | 0 | 34 | 17 |
| 7 | Kubota Spears | 6 | 7 | 1 | 34 | 51 |
| 8 | Shizuoka Blue Revs | 6 | 6 | 2 | 33 | 71 |
| 9 | Sagamihara Dynaboars | 5 | 9 | 0 | 22 | -183 |
| 10 | Black Rams Tokyo | 2 | 12 | 0 | 13 | -162 |
| 11 | Mie Honda Heat | 1 | 13 | 0 | 6 | -463 |
| 12 | Hanazono Riners | 1 | 13 | 0 | 6 | -332 |
| WP=Winning Point | ||||||
| SD=Score Difference | ||||||
Listing the standings, the top four teams to advance to the playoffs have been determined. However, there is a possibility that the 3rd and 4th places may change places in the remaining two rounds.
Next are the bottom three teams that will face the elimination round, but there is still a possibility that the 9th and 10th places will be changed.
The teams that will play in the post-season playoffs and the elimination rounds will have to play the remaining 2 games with all their might.
The number of visitors on that day was 13,147, more than 10,000 people. This was indeed the Fuchu Derby.
Now, let me give you the latest information on the two teams that will be playing on this day.
First, let me introduce the host team for the day, Toshiba Brave Lupas.
Brave Lupas, who finished the season in second place, has returned to the lineup after a late-season injury layoff. The captain, No.8 MICHAEL, and WTB NAIKABURA were back. The team was then fully prepared for the playoffs. SO M “OUNGA, who was not on the starting lineup for this day, but had been out of the game for about 2 weeks due to family reasons, is expected to be ready for the playoffs. If Toshiba Brave Lupas wins the championship, it will be the first time in 14 seasons. Fans will be excited to cheer them on.
Today’s starting lineup is as follows
| TOSHIBA Brave Lupas | |||||
| No. | Name | height | weight | age | |
| 1 | Sena KIMURA | 175cm | 105kg | 24 | |
| 2 | Mamoru HARADA | 175cm | 101kg | 24 | |
| 3 | Yuta KOKAJI | 176cm | 109kg | 25 | |
| 4 | Warner Dearns | 202cm | 123kg | 21 | Japan 11caps |
| 5 | Jacob PIERCE | 201cm | 106kg | 26 | |
| 6 | Shannon FRIZELL | 195cm | 114kg | 29 | New Zealand 33caps |
| 7 | Takeshi SASAKI | 180cm | 101kg | 26 | |
| 8 | Michael LEITCH | 189cm | 113kg | 35 | Japan 84caps |
| 9 | Yuhei Sugiyama | 169cm | 76kg | 26 | |
| 10 | Hayata NAKAO | 176cm | 86kg | 28 | Japan 1caps |
| 11 | Michael COLLINS | 187cm | 94kg | 30 | |
| 12 | Nicholas McCURRAN | 188cm | 93kg | 27 | |
| 13 | Seta TAMANIVALU | 189cm | 104kg | 32 | NZ3cap,Fiji 3cap |
| 14 | Jone NAIKABULA | 177cm | 95kg | 29 | Japan 8caps |
| 15 | Takuro MATSUNAGA | 172cm | 82kg | 25 | |
＊＊ Player to watch **
Hayata NAKAO. 176cm, 86kg, 28 years old. Position = SO. cap = 1 for Japan. He is a graduate of Kagoshima University in Japan, and has been a member of the Brave Lupas since last season. NAKAO himself was the main SO of Brave Lupas until last season, and as the leader, he has no problem combining with the other members of the team. It will be interesting to see what kind of uniqueness he would show as SO in the match on this day.
Next, an update on Suntory Sungoliath, the Visitor Team for the day.
Sungoliath is currently in third place in the playoffs and will advance. With the Canon Eagles currently in fourth place and one point ahead of them, the standings could be reversed with two games remaining. The playoff matchups are 1st place vs. 4th place and 2nd place vs. 3rd place, so the higher ranked team has the advantage in the matchups.
This season, Sungoliath is characterized by a large, expansive attack that uses a lot of ground. Currently, they are missing their main players, prop HOSOKI, flanker CANE (NZ national team), SH NAGARE (Japan national team), and FB KOLBE (South Africa national team). It is doubtful that they will be able to make the playoffs. A strong team, Sungoliath has been in the playoffs consecutively since 2016, but is eight seasons away from winning the championship. The playoffs are short-lived, so Sungoliath has a chance to win the championship this season. It will be interesting to see how Sungoliath will fare against second-place Brave Lupas in today’s prelude to the playoffs.
The starting lineup for today’s match was as follows
| Suntory Sungoliath | |||||
| No. | Name | height | weight | age | |
| 1 | Yukio MORIKAWA | 180cm | 113kg | 30 | Japan 2cap |
| 2 | Kosuke Horikoshi | 175cm | 100kg | 28 | Japan 7cap |
| 3 | Shinnosuke Kakinaga | 180cm | 115kg | 31 | Japan 12cap |
| 4 | Trevor HOSEA | 203cm | 114kg | 24 | |
| 5 | Harry HOCKINGS | 206cm | 118kg | 25 | |
| 6 | Kanji Shimokawa | 188cm | 105kg | 24 | Japan 5cap |
| 7 | Kai YAMAMOTO | 177cm | 100kg | 23 | |
| 8 | Tamati IOANE | 187m | 121kg | 26 | |
| 9 | Naoto SAITO | 165cm | 73kg | 26 | Japan 19cap |
| 10 | Mikiya Takamoto | 171cm | 80kg | 22 | |
| 11 | Shota EMI | 183cm | 95kg | 32 | |
| 12 | Ryoto Nakamura | 181cm | 92kg | 32 | Japan 39cap |
| 13 | Isaiah PINIVAI | 189cm | 100kg | 23 | |
| 14 | Seiya Ozaki | 175cm | 85kg | 28 | Japan 4cap |
| 15 | Kotaro MATSUSHIMA | 178cm | 88kg | 30 | Japan 55cap |
＊＊ Player to watch ＊＊
Naoto SAITO. 165cm, 73kg, 26 years old. He is a graduate of Waseda University. He won the University Championship as a captain in his senior year, and was the main SH for Japan at RWC2023 with his Sungoliath teammate NAGARE. As the center of their attack, SAITO’s quick passing is the lifeblood of the team. Fans are eager to see if he can replace the injured NAGARE and lead the team to victory.
Let’s start the first half. Kickoff time was 12:05.
2 minutes into the first half:
Brave Lupas kicked off to start the game, and Sungoliath caught the kicked-off ball. Sungoliath was caught by Brave Lupas, who promptly went for the ball and Sungoliath was penalized for Not Releasing the Ball.
Brave Lupas elected to go for the PG, as they were right in front of the goal at the time of the infringement.
SO NAKAO of Brave Lupas scored the first goal with ease. The score was 3-0.
11 minutes into the first half:
Brave Lupas kicked the ball into their own territory and WTB COLLINS caught it and tried to counter-attack, The ball spilled out and Brave Lupas won the ball again, and WTB NAIKABURA, with his quick feet, got past the opponents’ defense and went close to the enemy’s in-goal. Finally, the ball was passed to CTB TAMANIVALU who followed NAIKABURA, and TAMANIVALU scored a try right in the middle of the enemy’s in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 10-0 in favor of Brave Lupas.
17 minutes into the first half:
Sungoliath launched a series of attacks as they entered enemy territory, but Brave Lupas’ defense held firm, making it difficult for them to get close to the enemy in-goal. Eventually, Sungoliath attacked until the 22nd minute, where a PG was chosen due to a foul by the opponent.
SO TAKAMOTO scored this PG to make the score 10-3.
19 minutes into the first half:
Brave Lupas entered the enemy territory, and from a lineout on the right side near the 22m line, Brave Lupas’ SO NAKAO lifted a short punt, which was caught by CTB TAMANIVAL, who immediately followed it up on the right side and passed to CTB McCURAN, who immediately followed him to the right. Brave Lupas again showed great backs’ coordination to break through the opposing defense and score a try.
Brave Lupas also scored the conversion goal after the try to make the score 17-3.
42 minutes into the first half:
Sungoliath was unable to score a try until the closing minutes of the first half. They came close to scoring a try at the end of the first half, just short of the enemy in-goal, but despite an infringement by their opponents, they concentrated on scoring a try instead of going for the PG.
The Brave Lupas’ defensive pressure was so strong that Sungoliath was unable to get into the in-goal for a long time. After swinging left and right, the ball finally opened up on the right side and was passed from CTB to WTB, and finally WTB OZAKI scored a try in the right center.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 17-10. The first half ended with Brave Lupas leading by 7 points, and Sungoliath will be looking to carry the momentum of their one try at the end of the first half into the second half.
Looking back at the first half, Brave Lupas scored a lot of points by using a variety of sign plays, while Sungoliath could not break down their opponents’ defenses and score as much points as they would have liked.
Sungoliath’s try pattern was to swing the ball wide left and right, and when the ball was turned out wide, the determined WTB exploited the space to score. However, on this day’s match, Sungoliath’s SH SAITO was not able to supply the ball smoothly because Brave Lupas was pressuring them around the cluster. In the second half, Sungoliath’s SH SAITO will have to see how they can correct this problem, and also how they can rebuild their defense, as Sungoliath’s defenders were penetrated many times during Brave Lupas’ attacks.
Let’s get the second half underway.
6 minutes into the second half:
Brave Lupas started their attack from a position a little bit deep into the enemy territory, and although the attack was not always smooth, Brave Lupas players picked up the ball down the field and attacked in succession to break the line. WTB COLLINS scored his second try of the day in the middle of the enemy in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 24-10.
11 minutes into the second half:
Brave Lupas came close to the enemy’s in-goal and repeated the wave attack by the FW’s rushing.
Sungoliath also persisted in front of the in-goal and did not allow an easy try, but after a vertical rush by the FW, WTB NAIKABULA came out of the shadow of the FW to rush diagonally and scored a brilliant try at the left corner of the enemy goal post.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, and the score was 31-10, Brave Lupas leading by 21 points.
Compared to Sungoliath, who had scored tries in more than 20 phases of continuous attacks, Brave Lupas was able to break the opposing defense with relative ease, which was reflected in the point difference.
24 minutes into the second half:
Sungoliath pushed their opponents with a scrum just beyond the enemy 22-meter line, forcing a foul on their opponents and earning a lineout of their own ball from a penalty kick. Sungoliath secured possession, pushed forward in a maul, and substitute hooker Miyazaki scored a try in the middle right of the enemy in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try failed, and the score was 31-15.
26 minutes into the first half:
After a kicking duel, Brave Lupas attempted a counter attack, with passes going from 10 to 15 to 12 to 11, and WTB COLLINS scored his third try of the day in the left corner of the enemy’s in-goal.
Sungoliath’s defense came back too late.
The conversion goal after the try failed, and the score was 36-15.
30 minutes into the second half:
Sungoliath’s attack found its rhythm at this time. Sungoliath started to make some good passes from the halfway line, and when they got close to the in-goal, WTB EMI dived and overcame the crowd in front of the in-goal to score a try in the left center of the enemy’s in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 36-22.
40 minutes into the second half:
Towards the end of the match, Sungoliath attempted a counter attack from their own territory. Sungoliath’s running and breaking players such as CTB PINIVAI and WTB OZAKI connected the ball and went close to the enemy’s in-goal. The try was scored in the right center of the in-goal of the enemy line.
40 minutes into the second half:
Toward the end of the match, Sungoliath attempted a counter attack from their own territory. Sungoliath’s CTB PINIVAI and WTB OZAKI, with their running and breaking ability, connected the ball and approached the enemy in-goal. Finally, CTB PINIVAI received a pass from Lock HOCKINGS and scored a try right in the enemy in-goal.
After the try, the conversion goal failed, and the score was 36-27.
In the end, the score remained the same and the game ended with Brave Lupas winning the match. These two teams are likely to play each other in the playoffs, so we hope Sungoliath, who lost today, will be inspired.
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Stop the war.
Peace to Ukraine
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