Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath’s superstar duo of Cheslin Kolbe and Sam Cane will both miss their side’s opening Cross Border Rugby match against Super Rugby Pacific’s Blues on Saturday.
It is understood that Kolbe and Cane, who have both scored two tries this season, have been granted time off during the three-week break from League One competition.
The inaugural Cross Border Rugby series takes centre stage for the next fortnight as Super Rugby Pacific powerhouses, the Auckland-based Blues and the Waikato-based Chiefs, kick off their pre-season fixtures in Tokyo.
The opening game pits hosts Suntory against the Blues at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium while inaugural League One champions Panasonic Wild Knights host the Chiefs in Kumagaya, Saitama, on Sunday.
Kolbe has returned home to South Africa with his family.
Suntory sit third in League One’s top-flight with five wins from six games and have shuffled their squad for the visit of the Blues.
Argentine ace Nicolás Sánchez makes his first-team bow for Suntory after making his club debut in a training match in January.
Sánchez, 35, who has replaced the injured Gareth Anscombe on Suntory’s books, joins the likes of Japan internationals Naoto Saito and Kotaro Matsushima who start at scrum-half and full-back respectively.
Australian prop Bradley Khun makes his first start for the club.
Line-up:
Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath: Matsushima, Niguma, T Ozaki, Nakano, Emi, Sánchez, Saito, Ioane, Oketani, Jeffries, Hockings, Lavemai, Khun, Go, Morikawa
Replacements: Kawase, Punivai, Hashimoto, Hosea, Iino, Moriya, Takamoto, Nagare, Shimokawa, MacDonald, Oga, Kobayashi, Miyazaki
The game will be broadcast live on J SPORTS domestically and on Sky Sport 1 in New Zealand.
12:00 KO Local Time (16:00 New Zealand)
Pictures courtesy of Suntory Sungoliath
Comentarios