(Written by Azul: January 2, 2025)
The Japan Rugby League One 2024-2025 season started on December 21, 2024. I went to watch one of the first matches of the season, Sagamihara Dynaboars vs. Urayasu D-Rocks, which was held on December 22 at Sagamihara GION Stadium.
On the day of the game, the weather was fine, but it was a chilly day with a very northerly wind.
We watched the game from the bleachers behind the goal.
The following 12 teams are participating in this season’s League One Division 1.
＊＊ CONFERENCE A ＊＊ 1.
- Urayasu D-Rocks
- KOBELCO Kobe Steelers
- Shizuoka Blue Revs
- Toshiba Brave Lupas Tokyo
- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars
- Yokohama CANON Eagles
＊＊ CONFERENCE B ＊＊
- Kubota Spears Funabashi, Tokyo Bay
- Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights
- Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath
- TOYOTA Verblitz .
- Mie HONDA Heat
- RICOH Black Rams Tokyo
This season, the top 6 teams will advance to the playoffs and compete for the championship in a tournament. The bottom 2 teams will play in a match-up with the Division 2 teams.
This season, many stars from around the world who played in RWC2023 have gathered here in League One, and we are looking forward to seeing how they will play.
Now, let me introduce the two teams that will be competing on this day.
First, let me introduce the Visitor Team, Urayasu D-Rocks.
In their first year in League One, they finished 10th in Division One and lost two games against the Dynaboars, who had been promoted from Division Two, and were relegated to Division 2. It took them two seasons to get back to Division 1. On the day of the match, they faced Dynaboars, a team they had lost to in the elimination round. All the players were eager to play in this match.
The starting lineup for this day’s match was as follows
| URAYASU D-ROCKS | |||||
| No. | Name | height | weight | age | |
| 1 | Hidetomo NABESHIMA | 176cm | 115kg | 23 | |
| 2 | Ryuji FUJIMURA | 174cm | 102kg | 26 | |
| 3 | Syuhei Takeuchi | 183cm | 115kg | 27 | Japan 12cap |
| 4 | Uwe HELU | 193cm | 120kg | 34 | Japan 19cap |
| 5 | Lourence ERASUMUS | 200cm | 123kg | 31 | |
| 6 | Tom PERSONS | 196cm | 113kg | 34 | |
| 7 | Shinya OHSUGI | 187cm | 100kg | 32 | |
| 8 | Tui HENDRIK | 188cm | 112kg | 37 | Japan 47cap |
| 9 | Ren IINUMA | 170cm | 75kg | 24 | Japan |
| 10 | Otere BLACK | 185cm | 86kg | 29 | |
| 11 | Kai ISHII | 179cm | 85kg | 31 | |
| 12 | Samu KEREVI | 186cm | 106kg | 31 | Australia 41cap |
| 13 | Shane GATES | 183cm | 95kg | 32 | Japan 4cap |
| 14 | Takuhei YASUDA | 177cm | 80kg | 26 | Japan 2cap |
| 15 | Israel FOLAU | 194cm | 103kg | 35 | Australia 73cap, Tonga 1cap |
＊＊ Player to watch ＊＊
Ren IINUMA. 170cm, 75kg, 24 years old. He is a graduate of Meiji University. He is a candidate for the Japan national team. Although he is only 24 years old, he has been the captain of the D-Rocks for 2 consecutive years. Last season, he was appointed as the captain of the team, which won the Division 2 championship and defeated the Kintetsu Liners in the replacement game, and is now aiming to make a breakthrough in Division 1. He was also called up to training camp this season as a candidate for the Japan national rugby team. Although he did not play any games for the national team this season, he is expected to be the face of the D-Rocks in the future.
Next, we would like to introduce the home team for this match, the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars.
Since being promoted to Division 1 in the 2022-23 season, the Dynaboars have gradually improved their team strength, finishing 10th the year before last and 9th last year. The driving force behind the team’s progress has been the hard work of all members, who, under the guidance of HC Glenn Delaney, have been training with an emphasis on team athleticism. The team’s strength often comes in the second half of games.
Although there are few national team players in the team, lock ULUIVITI was selected for the national team this season, and WTB ARENDSE, who boasts 22 caps for South Africa, joined the team as a newcomer. This season, the team aims to achieve better results than last season and make a breakthrough as a team.
The starting lineup for the day was as follows.
| Dynaboars | |||||
| No. | Name | height | weight | age | |
| 1 | Jun MORIMOTO | 175cm | 115kg | 28 | |
| 2 | Seunghyuk LEE | 179cm | 103kg | 25 | Japan 1caps |
| 3 | Rento TSUKAYAMA | 186cm | 107kg | 26 | |
| 4 | Walt STEENKAMP | 203cm | 121kg | 29 | |
| 5 | Epineri ULUIVITI | 196cm | 122kg | 28 | Japan 5caps |
| 6 | Kyo YOSHIDA | 188cm | 108kg | 29 | |
| 7 | Kohki SATO | 179cm | 96kg | 29 | |
| 8 | Marino MIKAELE-TUU | 193cm | 111kg | 27 | NZ 5caps |
| 9 | Kohta IWAMURA | 182cm | 87kg | 31 | |
| 10 | James GRAYSON | 182cm | 90kg | 26 | |
| 11 | Satoshi KOIZUMI | 178cm | 86kg | 24 | |
| 12 | Charlie LAWRENCE | 171cm | 92kg | 26 | |
| 13 | Tonishio VAIAFU | 177cm | 103kg | 30 | |
| 14 | Ben PALTRIDGE | 177cm | 88kg | 32 | |
| 15 | Kurt-Lee ARENDSE | 176cm | 80kg | 28 | South Africa 22caps |
＊＊ Player to watch ＊＊
Kurt-Lee ARENDSE. 176 cm, 80 kg, 28 years old. He has played for South Africa in 7-a-side rugby and represented the country at the Tokyo Olympics. In July 2022, he was selected for the South African 15-man national rugby team, and since then has been a regular member of the national team, contributing to South Africa’s victory at the RWC 2023. Although he is rather small in height and weight compared to Japanese players, his determination as a try-getter is remarkable. His contract with the Dynaboars is for one season only, but we hope that his success will be witnessed by rugby fans in Japan.
Let’s begin the first half.
6 minutes into the first half:
D-Rocks kicks off to start the game.
It was 11 degrees Celsius with a strong northerly wind blowing, and the home team, the Dynaboars, were upwind in the first half. The Dynaboars then opted for the PG, which SO GRAYSON converted to give the Dynaboars a 3-points lead.
8 minutes into the first half:
Immediately after the game resumed, the D-Rocks were in a tight battle in enemy territory, and FL YOSHIDA of the Dynaboars tangled with the ball and drew a foul for Not Release the Ball. The Dynaboars again opted to go for the PG, and SO GREYSON made a great score from 50 meters to make the score 6-0.
13 minutes into the first half:
From the restart kickoff, the D-Rocks got into the enemy territory and deployed left and right, piling up gains and closing in on the opposition’s in-goal. The Dynaboars were fouled for offsides and D-Rocks elected to go for the PG. The point of the infringement was in front of the enemy goalposts, so D-Rocks’ SO BLACK made a steady run to make the score 6-3.
14 minutes into the first half:
From the kickoff of PG’s restart, the Dynaboars were in a tight battle as they entered enemy territory, where D-Rocks committed another infringement. The game was marked by minor infractions by both teams. Here, SO GREYSON of the Dynaboars scored a PG to make the score 9-3.
22 minutes into the first half:
D-Rocks continued the tempo of their attack as they entered the enemy territory, and they came close to the enemy in-goal. SO BLACK released an excellent kick pass, which was caught by CTB KEREVI, and he scored a try in the left corner of the in-goal. However, a video judgment was made at this point, and the try was disallowed for a moment.
The D-Rocks try was disallowed, but just before the play, a foul on the Dynaboars gave them a PG opportunity, which was scored by SO BLACK, making the score 9-6.
25 minutes into the first half:
Dynaboars lock STEENCAMP was fouled for a high tackle and was temporarily sent off for 10 minutes.
32 minutes of the first half:
The Dynaboars were disadvantaged at set pieces as one of their FW players left the field. D-Rocks then pushed the opposing ball scrum, won the ball back, and from there developed a series of attacks, with the FWs repeatedly attacking on the side to the right of the enemy’s in-goal. From there, D-Rocks took a turn to the left, and FB FOLAU passed to WTB ISHII, who scored a try in the left corner of the in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try was unsuccessful, but D-Rocks succeeded in turning the score around, making the score 9-11.
The first half ended with the score at 9-11, with D-Rocks leading by only 2 points, and with only one PG needed to turn the tide, it was hard to predict who would win the game. However, the wind was strong on this day, so D-Rocks was expected to take advantage of the tailwind in the second half. Will Home Team Dynaboars be able to turn the tables?
Let’s start the second half.
9 minutes into the second half:
Dynaboars was now in a bit of a disadvantage because of the strong headwind, which makes it difficult for them to regain ground by kicking, and also because of the scrums they lost. D-Rocks opted to go for the PG, which was scored by substitute SO TAMURA, making the score 9-14.
11 minutes into the second half:
From the restart after the PG, the Dynaboars took advantage of an opponent’s infringement to take a penalty kick, and moved deep into the enemy territory, When the maul broke down, the FWs attacked on the flanks, and finally the 3 of FW players pushed forward and scored a try in the left corner of the enemy’s in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try failed, but the score was 14-14, and the Dynaboars were back on level terms.
21 minutes into the second half:
The Dynaboars, in downwind position, tried to advance by run play instead of kicking. In a series of attacks, they exploited holes in their opponents’ defensive network, and FB Arendse broke the line, ran through the left side of the opposition line, and scored a try in the middle left of the opposition in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try was missed and the score was 19-14.
The Dynaboars were able to come back and score a try.
29 minutes into the second half:
The Dynaboars, despite being downwind of their own line, took control of the attack in the second half and spent much of the time in enemy territory. WTB PALDRIDGE used his speed to break the line and run 40 meters to score a try in the right corner of the enemy’s in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try was missed, making the score 24-14.
33 minutes into the second half:
The D-Rocks were on the defensive in the second half, scoring only 3 points on PGs until this time, when the Dynaboars pushed deep into their own territory and substitute SH STRATTON rolled a punt into the in-goal, which was held by substitute NO.8 HEMOPO of the Dynaboars, resulting in a try.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 31-14.
45 minutes into the second half:
In the closing minutes of the match, D-Rocks showed their final mettle and scored a try by CTB GATES in the right corner of the enemy’s in-goal after a series of attacks totaling over 20 phases.
The conversion goal after the try failed, making the score 31-19.
With the failed PG, the game was over, and the Dynaboars were able to win their opening game of the season. Since the number of games in League One has increased this season, the second round will be played before the end of the year.
The attendance on the day was 6,607, slightly higher than the average attendance of the Dynaboars last season. We expect that there will be more heated matches after the next section.
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Stop the war.
Peace to Ukraine
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