Division two winners Urayasu D-Rocks defeated division one’s basement outfit Kintetsu Liners 35-30 in Osaka on Friday to seal their promotion to League One’s top-flight.
The ambitious and well-financed D-Rocks, who are unbeaten since December, bested the Liners a week ago 21-12 in the first-leg and arrived at Hanazono Rugby Stadium knowing a win would guarantee their elevation to division one.
The Liners needed to win today by 10 points with the two-leg promotion/relegation game being determined by the aggregate score from the two games.
With Japan legend and former Liners player Luke Thompson, who came out of retirement in 2021 at the age of 40 to play one season for the Shining Arcs (now D-Rocks) watching in the stands, the Osaka and Chiba sides produced one of the most dramatic and tense games of the season.
The game may not have been to the taste of purists but it was an 80-minute spectacle which threatened to spill over into disorder with a highly-charged atmosphere on the pitch.
The 7883 crowd saw the Liners make an ideal start as Will Genia, 36, burst through inside 60 seconds and his long-time Wallabies half-back partner Quade Cooper, 36, who was flawless with his kicking, converted his compatriot’s try.
D-Rocks full-back Takuhei Yasuda grabbed his ninth try of the campaign after 15 minutes to register his team on the scoreboard.
The tightly-contested affair saw Cooper slot a penalty before the break to put his side up 13-8.
Former Queensland Reds playmaker Cooper showed his class with a measured grubber kick which Australia-born centre Patrick Stehlin pounced on for the Liners’ second try.
The conversion from in front of the posts put the hosts up 20-8, a margin which would have been enough to retain their division one status.
Palmerston North product Otere Black, who played Super Rugby for the Hurricanes and the Blues, traded penalties with Cooper as the Liners led 23-11 with 20 minutes remaining.
Fijian lock Sanaila Waqa lost his composure and received a yellow card and the visitors were awarded a penalty try to cut the deficit to five points.
The D-Rocks never looked back and attacked in numbers as they looked to exploit their one-man advantage.
South African lock Tyler Paul (below) charged over for the D-Rocks to tie up the score at 23-23 and Black added a penalty to put Johan Ackermann and Greig Laidlaw’s team ahead for the first time in the game.
Click here to read our exclusive interview with Greig Laidlaw
Centre Shane Gates, who has four caps for the Brave Blossoms, settled the game with a try in the 73rd minute before Black added a conversion and, three minutes later, a penalty to put the game beyond the Liners.
Replacement prop Lata Tangimana scored a consolation try in the 81st minute as the impressive D-Rocks ran out 35-30 winners on the night.
Picture courtesy of Urayasu D-Rocks
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