The first League One champions Saitama Wild Knights masterminded a stunning win over Super Rugby giants the Chiefs at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium on Sunday.
Robbie Deans’ side produced a rousing performance to overcome the Super Rugby Pacific runners-up who left out a glut of star names for their first pre-season game.
The Wild Knights finished as runners up in the League One play-offs last season and will be aiming to grace their third consecutive final in 2024 after winning all six of their fixtures this campaign.
Their Kumagaya home ground, which is located 70 kilometres north of Tokyo, has been a fortress in recent years and the Panasonic-backed club has a fervent fan base.
Hamilton-based Chiefs were without their first-choice back-three of Shaun Stevenson, Emoni Narawa and Etene Nanai-Seturo who all stayed in New Zealand to undergo further medical treatment in a bid to be fit for the club’s last pre-season run-out against the Blues on 16 February.
Former Suntory Sungoliath fly-half Damian McKenzie, centre Anton Lienert-Brown, hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho and club captain Luke Jacobson were among the high-profile names watching from the stands.
Co-captain Kaylum Boshier (below - left) came up against his older brother Lachlan (below - right) as they locked horns wearing the number 7 jersey for their respective teams.
Unlike their League One rivals Suntory Sungoliath, who fielded an understrength side and paid dearly against the rampant Blues, the Wild Knights embraced the opportunity to test their mettle against elite international opposition and picked their best team.
Captain Atsushi Sakate surged over the line for Japan’s division one leaders after 15 minutes from a lineout maul.
Scrum-half Taiki Koyama pounced to dab down after 22 minutes as the visitors dallied and failed to clear the ball on their own goal-line after South Africa’s double World Cup winner Damian de Allende earned a turnover in his own 22 and the home side committed in numbers to the resulting kick-chase.
The Chiefs finally troubled the scoreboard after 52 minutes when fly-half Josh Ioane gathered a loose ball in Wild Knights’ 22 and jinked his way through the smallest of gaps to touch down under the posts.
With the Chiefs trailing 7-17 and needing to be the next team to score, Australian wing Marika Koroibete took advantage of his rivals being down 14 after Reuben O’Neill was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous cleanout.
Brave Blossoms fly-half Rikiya Matsuda, the joint top scorer in League One’s top-flight with Kobe’s Bryn Gatland (74 points), converted Koroibete’s walk-in try to extend their lead to 24-7.
Lock Mark Abbott made an instant impression from the bench as he dived over the line only three minutes after coming on for South Africa’s 2019 World Cup winner Lood de Jager.
Abbott was put in by former Chiefs man Boshier who excelled against his old side to earn the bragging rights over his brother.
Replacement prop Aidan Ross nudged the Chiefs over double figures with a try in the 79th minute which Riley Hohepa, who came on for Ioane, duly converted.
The Wild Knights had the final say when utility back Kyohei Yamasawa, who replaced Matsuda, intercepted a pass in the 81st minute and charged over before converting his own try.
Saitama has a settled and well-balanced side who are hard-working and efficient with a work ethic that has long been instilled in them by former Wallabies coach Deans.
The Chiefs face reigning champions Kubota Spears, whose ranks includes veteran All Blacks hooker Dane Coles and Welsh full-back Liam Williams, at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday.
RugbyJP will be in attendance to bring you coverage from the final Cross Border Rugby fixture.
Line-ups:
Wild Knights: Noguchi, Osada, Riley, De Allende, Koroibete, Matsuda, Koyama, Cornelsen, Boshier, Fukui, de Jager, Haangana, Fujii, Sakate (captain), Inagaki
Replacements: Stowers, Abbott, Shimane, Perez, Kawasaki, Yamasawa, Aso, Uchida, Onishi, Mitchell, Hirano, Millar, Horie
Chiefs: Jacomb, Tuhakaraina, Poihipi (co-captain), Tupaea, Malimali, Ioane, Roe, Wrampling, K Boshier (co-captain), Finau, Ah Kuoi, Tupou, Dyer, Slater, Norris
Replacements: Sanerivi, Ross, O’Neill, Selby-Rickit, Sititi, Tahuriorangi, Ofa, Coombes-Fabling, Hohepa, Nordstrom, Burr, Proffit, Kaivelata
Pictures courtesy of Wild Knights and Chiefs
Commentaires