RUGBY JERSEY – Japan Rugby League One Playoff Quarterfinals – SHIZUOKA Blue Revs vs KOBELCO Steelers

 (Written by Azul: May 25, 2025)

The Japan Rugby League One standings are as follows after 18 matches of the regular season.

2024-25League One Order(Division 1) 5/11 
rankingteamWinLoseEvenWPSD
1TOSHIBA Brave Lupas TOKYO152171261
2Saitama Panasonic Wildnights142271290
3Kubota Spears142269245
4Shizuoka Blue Revs144063112
5KOBELCO Kobe Steelers108051133
6Tokyo SUNTORY Sungoliath88240-26
7Black Rams Tokyo612033-17
8Yokohama CANON Eagles612030-48
9Sagamihara Dynaboars612026-217
10Toyota Verblitz413124-172
11Mie Honda Heat414018-294
12Urayasu D-Rocks315014-267
WP=Winning Point
SD=Score Difference

The top 3 teams were pretty much as predicted before the season started, with the 3 teams that have won the championship in the last 3 seasons of the Japan Rugby League One having won it all.

The 4th-place team, Blue Revs, is a team that has won the championship in the Top League, so it is a revival of an old favorite.

However, since they are the only team with a win over the top 2 teams, they are likely to be the center of a storm in the playoffs and win the championship.

Steelers (5th) and Sungoliath (6th) seem to have a big gap between themselves and the top teams as far as the league is concerned. However, in a tournament where a loss is the end of the road, anything can happen. That is what the fans are expecting.

The playoff pairings for this season are as follows

1) Quarterfinal A: 4th vs. 5th

2) Quarterfinal B: 3rd vs. 6th

3) Semifinal A: Winner of 1) vs. 1st place

4) Semifinal B: winner of 2) vs. 2nd place

5) 3rd place match: Loser of 3) vs Loser of 4)

6) Winner of 3) vs. winner of 4)

This time, I went to watch the game:

1) Quarterfinal A: 4th place (SHIZUOKA Blue Revs) vs. 5th place (KOBELCO Kobe Steelers) The venue was Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Higashiosaka City.

The temperature was 23.6 degrees Celsius. The weather was cloudy and sometimes rainy. Perhaps due to the bad weather, the number of spectators on the day was 7,006, a small number for the playoffs.

First, let me introduce the 2 teams that will play in the quarterfinals of the playoffs.

First, let me introduce the 4th-place team, SHIZUOKA Blue Revs.

The Blue Revs have earned the right to participate in the playoffs by leaping up from 8th place last season to 4th place this season. The Blue Revs are the only team to have won from the top 2 teams this season. The Blue Revs are a team that has excellent players in each position, with excellent running ability and breakthrough ability, making them a very rewarding team for supporters to cheer for. Although they are ranked 4th in the standings, they are a dark horse in the playoffs this season, with a chance of winning the championship.

This day’s starting lineup was as follows.

Shizuoka Blue Revs
No.Nameheightweightage 
1Kazuhiro KAWATA172cm103kg28 
2Takeshi HINO172cm100kg35Japan 5caps
3Sean VETE190cm146kg24 
4Murray DOUGLAS198cm113kg35 
5Justin SANGUSTER198cm115kg28 
6Vueti TUPOU190cm121kg25 
7Yuya Odo187cm100kg35Japan 5caps
8Malgene ILAUA187cm108kg31Japan 7cap
9Shuntaro KITAMURA168cm77kg22 
10Sam GREENE178cm85kg30 
11Malo TUITAMA182cm91kg27 
12Viliami TAHITUA183cm111kg33Tonga 9caps
13Charles PIUTAU186cm95kg32NZ17caps, Tonga 9caps
14Valynce TEWHARE182cm112kg24 
15Fuuto YAMAGUCHI167cm74kg26 

** Player to watch **

Valynce TEWHARE. 182 cm, 112 kg, 24 years old. Position = WTB. from NZ. He joined the Blue Revs this season from the Australian 13-man rugby team Dolphins. He scored a try in his debut match in Japan. In another match this season, he scored a try when the ball was kicked back deep into enemy territory and he ran back to retrieve it. He ran more than 200 meters, a feat that stunned Japanese rugby officials and fans alike. He is a formidable opponent, as he is impossible to stop on a one-on-one basis, and the opposing team would need 4 or 5 players to attack him all at once. Despite his ability, he was unable to make a living on his salary as a player alone when he was in Australia, so he had to work as a part-time groundskeeper. We look forward to seeing what the future holds for this 24-year old who has unlimited potential, using his hunger as a springboard.

And now, let us introduce our opponent for the day, the KOBELCO Steelers, who finished 5th this season.

The Steelers, who boast of having won a championship in the Top League, made it to the playoffs for the first time since becoming a League One team. Despite their depth of players, they managed to make it to the playoffs, although their game play was erratic, with one week after a dominant win, they suffered a disastrous loss. The team has always had high potential, so if they work together as a team, they can be expected to have a good match against a top-ranked team. Hanazono, the venue for the match, is a quasi-home ground for the Kansai-based Steelers, so their supporters will be looking forward to an exciting match.

The starting lineup for the day’s match was as follows

KOBE Steelers
No.Nameheightweightage 
1Shigure TAKAO178cm110kg28 
2Takuya KITADE180cm100kg32 
3Hiroshi YAMASHITA183cm120kg39Japan 51caps
4Gerard COWLEI-TUIOTI197cm115kg32 
5Brodie RETALLICK204cm120kg33New Zealand 109caps
6Waisake RARATUBUA193cm118kg27 
7Willie POTGIETTER190cm105kg23 
8Amanaki SAUMAKI189m110kg28Japan 5caps
9Atsushi HIWASA166cm70kg37Japan 51caps
10Bryn GATLAND180cm88kg29 
11Kanta MATSUNAGA167cm79kg25 
12Lafaere TIMOSY186cm98kg33 
13Michael LITTLE180cm98kg32 
14Ataata MOEAKIOLA185cm107kg29Japan 4caps
15Seunsin LEE176cm85kg24Japan 18caps

** Player to watch **

Atsushi HIWASA. 166 cm, 70 kg, 37 years old. He played in the RWC 2011 and 2015, and in 2011, he was selected as one of the 15 best overseas players by a local newspaper in NZ. When it comes to continuous attacks, he shows his true potential as a quick ball-starter. At the age of 37, he still shows no signs of slowing down in terms of his athleticism during the game, and we look forward to seeing him play a key role in the Steelers’ offense and defense in the playoffs.

Let’s get the first half underway.

The Steelers kicked off the game.

5 minutes into the 1st half:

The Steelers took the advantage with the first scrum right after the start of the game, pushing the Blue Revs’ ironclad scrum and getting the Steelers going first.

The Steelers advanced deep into enemy territory and launched a series of attacks, where the Blue Revs were fouled. The penalty kick was almost in front of the goal post, about 20 meters away, so the Steelers opted to go for the PG, which SO GATLAND of the Steelers converted to give the Steelers the lead. The score was 0-3.

9 minutes into the first half:

From the restart kickoff, the Blue Revs entered the enemy territory and made an aggressive tackle to turn over. The Blue Revs then had a scrum on their own ball near the enemy 22m line.

However, the Blue Revs again lost the scrum.

However, in the lineout that followed, the Steelers committed an infringement, resulting in the 3rd scrum of the day near the halfway line. Again, the Steelers were the better team, but the Blue Revs managed to get the ball rolling and WTB TUITAMA broke the line, which was followed up by WTB TEWHARE who scored a try right under the opponents’ goal posts.

The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 7-3.

18 minutes into the first half:

Another scrum near the halfway mark on the left side of the field, this time with the Blue Revs in possession, was again won by Steelers prop YAMASHITA, and the Blue Revs were fouled. Up to this point, the Blue Revs, who are absolutely confident in their set plays, especially in the scrums, had not been able to gain the upper hand.

From this point, the Steelers took a penalty kick to close in on the enemy try line, and from there they secured the ball in their own lineout and launched a series of attacks.

Steelers WTB MATSUNAGA was pushed out by Blue Revs WTB TEWHARE just before the try on the left side. However, TEWHARE’s tackle was ruled as an infringement and the Steelers were awarded a try.

The score was 7-10.

Blue Revs WTB TEWHARE was temporarily sent off for 10 minutes for this foul tackle.

27 minutes into the first half:

Midway through the game, the rain began to fall harder, and both sides began to make handling errors. The Steelers switched to forward contact and pushed deep into enemy territory, where they mauled their way over 10 meters for a near try.

The Blue Revs were able to hold off the Steelers with a strong defensive effort, but soon after, the Steelers broke the line through a series of attacks by WTB UEDA and went close to the try line, where FL RARATUBUA finally scored a try in the left corner at the enemy goal post.

The Steelers also scored a conversion goal after the try to make the score 7-17.

38 minutes into the first half:

The Blue Revs pushed deep into enemy territory towards the end of the first half and went for a try with a maul and sign play, but they just couldn’t break through the Steelers’ defensive net.

The Blue Revs then chose to go for a PG in front of the goal post after a foul by their opponents with time remaining, and SO GREENE scored it.

The score was 10-17. The first half ended here.

The Blue Revs were unable to gain an advantage in the set plays they relied on, and it will be interesting to see what measures they will take in the second half.

Now, let’s start the second half.

The second half started with a kickoff by Blue Revs.

5 minutes into the second half:

Both teams are competitive in contact play, but the Blue Revs’ set pieces were unsteady in this match. The Steelers, on the other hand, had the advantage in the set piece and gradually advanced deeper into the enemy territory.

The ball rolled to the left side near the try line, and WTB MATSUNAGA of the Steelers appeared to hold it up, but the try was canceled after a VTR decision.

5 minutes into the second half:

After the game resumed, the Steelers broke out of their own half and FL RARATUBUA broke the line and went close to the enemy try line. And  finally FB Lee scored a try at the right side of the goal post.

The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 10-24.

11 minutes into the second half:

So far in this match, the Steelers had been steadily winning the battle for the ball, both in set pieces and in dense battles.

However, the Blue Revs were determined to break through on the run. The Blue Revs connected the ball from WTB TUITAMA to CTB PIUTAU with an offload pass, and finally to SH KITAMURA who followed up and scored a try just below the goal post in enemy territory.

Blue Revs supporters in a frenzy.

The conversion goal after the try was also successful, and the score was 17-24.

17 minutes into the second half:

This was when the Blue Revs began to regain momentum, replacing the first row of FW players and scrumming to win by force.

With a series of attacks, the Blue Revs showed the strength of their individual contact and gradually advanced deeper and deeper into the enemy territory.

About 30 meters from the goalposts, the Steelers committed an infringement. The Blue Revs elected to go for the PG, which SO GREENE converted to make the score 20-24.

From this point on, both teams were on a roll, and the match entered a stalemate, with the Blue Revs even in the scrums, where they had been held back in the first half.

They also formed an ironclad defense that did not allow any forward movement in contact play after deployment. However, the Steelers were just as hard on defense and did not allow any points to be scored even with their backs to the goal line.

The atmosphere was such that the next team to score a try would take control of the match.

33 minutes into the second half:

The game was finally broken as the Steelers brought the ball deep into enemy territory and came close to the try line several times, only to have their attempts rebound off the Blue Revs’ iron-clad in-goal defense.

Just after the Steelers had made 5 or 6 flank attacks on the right side of the field just before the try line, Steelers SO GATTLAND turned around and kicked a pass to the opposite corner. Steelers’ substitute WTB BURUA caught the kick, dodged a tackle, and scored a valuable try in the left corner of the enemy’s in-goal.

The conversion goal after the try failed, but the score was 20-29.

36 minutes into the second half:

With time running out, the Steelers kicked the ball from their own territory, and Blue Revs WTB TEWHARE ran hard to pick up the ball and counter-attack from there. but were caught by the opposing defense. The Blue Revs were then pushed back and were penalized for collapsing the ball. The Blue Revs were suffering from the mental damage of being pushed down in the scrum at the end of the match. Since the position of the foul was close and in front of the goalposts, the Steelers opted for a PG, which SO GATTLAND converted. The score was 20-32. Considering the time remaining, the score was a no-brainer.

39 minutes into the second half:

After the restart of the PG, the Blue Revs kicked off deep into enemy territory, but the Steelers got the ball back and kicked the ball deep into enemy territory. Blue Revs WTB TEWHARE ran back, picked up the ball, and tried to counterattack from that position. However, as before, he was caught by the Steelers defense and was penalized for Not Release the Ball. The Steelers’ SO GATTLAND scored on this PG to make the score 20-35.

The game then ended with this score.

KOBELCO Steelers, ranked 5th in Division 1, beat Blue Revs, ranked 4th in Division 1, and will play last season’s champion Brave Lupas in the semifinals of the playoffs.

And with the loss, the Blue Revs were now finished for the season.

This match was a playoff match, where a loss would end the season, so the persistence of the Professional teams in betting on a win was evident in this match.

The semi-finals and finals will follow, but which team will come out on top in this season’s League One?

The fun for rugby fans continues.

**********************

Stop the war.

Peace to Ukraine

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RUGBY JERSEY – Japan Rugby League One Section 15 – Panasonic Wild Knights vs RICOH Black Rams

 (Written by Azul: May 6, 2025)

Division 1 of Japan Rugby League One reached its 15th round on Saturday, April 26, 2025. Including this day, each team has only 3 games left to play. The standings for Division One so far were as follows.

2024-25League One Order(Division 1) 4/26 
rankingteamWinLoseEvenWPSD
1TOSHIBA Brave Lupas TOKYO132161223
2Saitama Panasonic Wildnights122160241
3Kubota Spears122157203
4Shizuoka Blue Revs11405086
5KOBELCO Kobe Steelers8704195
6Tokyo SUNTORY Sungoliath67231-9
7Yokohama CANON Eagles690301
8Black Rams Tokyo510027-47
9Sagamihara Dynaboars69026-161
10Toyota Verblitz311120-140
11Mie Honda Heat411018-222
12Urayasu D-Rocks214010-270
WP=Winning Point
SD=Score Difference

The top 3 teams must give their all in their remaining 3 games to accumulate enough points to finish in the top 2 to gain an advantage in the playoff tournament.

The teams ranked 6th through 10th do not want to drop a single game as they have a chance to make the playoffs.

Teams in 8th through 12th place will be looking to avoid the possibility of playing in the Division 2 round, where they will be eliminated from the playoffs.

This season’s League One has been a close battle since the beginning of the season, and it has become a very rewarding season for the fans of each team, as they cannot take their eyes off the competition until the final game.

On this day (April 26), I went to Kumagaya Rugby Stadium in Saitama Prefecture to watch the match between the No. 1 Wild Knights and the No. 8 Black Rams. The game started at 14:30, and the temperature in Kumagaya that day rose to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, making the weather conditions tough for the players playing in the game.

The number of fans who came to watch the game that day was 8,003, according to the organizer.

This is the home stadium of the Wild Knights, but the Black Rams seemed to have more fans cheering during the game.

The Wild Knights had already decided to advance to the playoffs, but the Black Rams had not yet decided, so the cheers and attendance may have been a reflection of the fans’ feelings.

Here is the latest information on the two teams that will be playing on this day.

First, let me introduce the home team, the SAITAMA Wild Knights.

This season, however, the Wild Knights have seen a succession of retirements and transfers of key players, as well as injuries to key players, and have not been as strong as they have been in the past 3 seasons. However, the overall strength of the team competing for the top position in League One is still very impressive. From another point of view, the loss of the main players has led to the development of young players, so there are high expectations for the team to win the championship next season and beyond.

The starting lineup for the day was as follows.

Panasonic Wild Nights
No.Nameheightweightage 
1Keita INAGAKI186cm116kg34Japan 53cap
2Atsushi Sakade180cm104kg31Japan 47cap
3Lisala FINAU189cm125kg22 
4Liam MITCHELL197cm117kg29 
5Esei HAANGANA198cm120kg26 
6Ben GUNTER195cm120kg27Japan 9cap
7Lachlan BOSHIER191cm104kg30 
8Jack CORNELSEN195cm110kg30Japan 20cap
9Daiki Koyama171cm74kg30Japan 7cap
10Kyohei YAMASAWA176cm84kg24 
11Tomoki OSADA179cm90kg25Japan 17cap
12Vince ASO185cm90kg30 
13Dylan RILEY187cm102kg27Japan 28cap
14Kohki TAKEYAMA175cm87kg28Japan 1cap
15Tom PARTON178cm90kg27 

** Player to watch **

Tom PARTON. 178cm, 90kg, 27 years old. After playing for London Irish RFC and Saracens, he signed a contract with Wild Knights this season. At just 19 years of age, he is a talented player making his professional debut. He has the potential to become a very decisive back-three player as he adapts to Wild Knights.

Next, an update on the Visitor Team of the day, the Ricoh Black Rams.

Last season, the team was in the bottom half of the standings and had to play in the replacement round. This season, however, the team has made significant reinforcements, beating top teams such as Sungoliath and Eagles, and coming close to beating last season’s champion Brave Lupas in the final round. As the season progresses, they are showing more and more their ability, and at this point, they are in a good position to make the playoffs. Unfortunately, their set pieces, especially lineouts, are a little unstable, and they make too many mistakes on scoring chances, which will be an issue for the future. The good news is that the Black Rams’ fan base is growing as they steadily improve their abilities.

The starting lineup for the day is as follows.

Black Rams
No.Nameheightweightage 
1Taishi TSUMURA174cm108kg23 
2Shin OUCHI183cm107kg27 
3Paddy RYAN190cm116kg36Australia 3 caps
4Michael  STOLBERG204cm116kg33 
5Harrison FOX199cm117kg24 
6Brodi MCCURRAN193cm108kg30 
7Shuhei MATSUHASHI180cm99kg31Japan 9 caps
8Fakatava AMATO195cm118kg30Japan 13 caps
9TJ PERENARA184cm94kg33New Zealand 81caps
10Kotaro ITO177cm86kg23Japan
11Semisi TUPOU190cm98kg25 
12Yuki IKEDA187cm100kg29Japan
13PJ LATU189cm105kg24 
14Main TAIRA180cm91kg24Japan 1cap
15Isaac LUCAS180cm85kg26 

** Player to watch **

Kotaro ITO. 177 cm, 86 kg, 23 years old. Position=SO,

FB. graduate of Meiji University. He is a candidate for the Japan national team. Although he is a rookie this season, he has been able to get an opportunity to play in games at an early stage, and has been steadily making appearances. Since his days at Meiji University, he has shown an extraordinary sense of attack, and his run play, especially from beyond the 22-meter line, can be a wonder for opposing teams. Physically, he is still slender, but his strong torso and ability to break through in tight packs will be enough for him to make it as a professional player. I can’t wait to see how he develops as he gets more opportunities to play in the future.

Now, let’s start the first half.

From the kickoff, both teams came close to the enemy try line, creating the decisive moment for scoring, but failed to score.

This was not because the Wild Knights have become weaker, but because the rules regarding the registration of foreign players had been relaxed, which has led to an increase in the intensity of contact play in Division 1. Wild Knights and Black Rams played in the third round on January 4, when Wild Knights defeated Black Rams 39-16. The games so far suggest that the Black Rams were building on their overall team strength in the second half of the season.

16 minutes into the first half:

In a closely contested match, it was Wild Knights who scored first.

As the Wild Knights pushed forward to the 22-meter line, the Black Rams committed an infringement, and although the Wild Knights could have gone for the PG, they opted for a penalty kick and were awarded a lineout on the left side near the try line. The Wild Knights secured the ball, and a maul was set up and they quickly moved forward to cross the enemy try line, where hooker Sakate scored a try in the middle left of the enemy’s in-goal.

The Wild Knights took the lead with a brilliant maul attack on a scoring opportunity.

The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 7-0.

21 minutes into the first half:

Wild Knights again seized the opportunity and approached the enemy try line. After a video review of the attack and defense in front of the try line, the try was disallowed.

However, a foul by the Black Rams near the goal posts was found, and the Wild Knights opted to go for the PG.

Wild Knights’ SO Yamasawa made steady progress on this PG, and the Wild Knights scored 3 more points. The score was 10-0.

22 minutes into the first half:

ITOH of the Black Rams, selected for the first time as the starting SO on this day, put in a surprising performance.

From the restart kick-off after the try, the Black Rams attacked into the enemy territory, and gradually made progress with a series of attacks by the FW and BK in unison.

Then, Black Rams’ SO ITOH received the ball near the enemy 22m line, and with a run play, he drove forward, shook off the enemy defenders one after another, and shook off nearly 7 opponents to score a try on the right side of the enemy goal post.

ITOH’s amazing play brought a huge cheer from the stadium crowd, both friend and foe.

The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 10-7.

32 minutes into the first half:

The Black Rams got into a good flow of the game and attacked deep into enemy territory.

However, in a tight pack, Black Rams CTB LATU made a dangerous play and was shown a yellow card and temporarily sent off for 10 minutes.

The Wild Knights then attacked the enemy line, and after a series of flowing attacks, WTB TAKEYAMA scored a try in the right corner of the enemy’s in-goal.

The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 17-7.

36 minutes into the first half:

From the restart kick-off after the try, the Black Rams attacked into the enemy territory and gradually made progress through a series of attacks. Then, in a tight pack, the Wild Knights committed an infringement and the Black Rams opted to go for the PG. The Black Rams kicker was WTB TAIRA.

However, he missed the important PG.

41 minutes into the first half:

The Black Rams had another decisive chance late in the game.

FB LUCAS passed to WTB TUPOU, who scored a try in the left corner of the enemy’s in-goal.

However, a video judgment was made, and the try was canceled.

The first half ended here.

On this day, the temperature rose to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, and the fans watching the game were sweating.

Both teams had to win this game in order to advance to the playoffs, but Wild Nights had to finish in the top 2 to make it to the playoffs, so they could not afford to lose.

As for Black Rams, they could not afford to lose any of their remaining games in order to make the playoffs.

It will be interesting to see how the Black Rams will fare against the Wild Knights in this match.

Let’s start the second half.

The Wild Knights kicked off the second half.

10 minutes into the second half:

First in the second half, Black Rams approached the enemy try line and had a chance to score, but Wild Knights got the ball back and missed the scoring opportunity.

After a change of possession, the Wild Knights attacked into the enemy territory.

After the Wild Knights had crossed the 22-meter line, CTB TANIYAMA, who came on as a substitute, broke away and scored,

A successful conversion goal after the try also put the Wild Knights ahead in the second half. The score was 24-7.

18 minutes into the second half:

From the kickoff of the restart after the try, the Black Rams entered enemy territory and gradually moved forward, closing in on the enemy try line.

With the Wild Knights’ backs to the try line, the defense became more focused, and up to this point, the Black Rams had difficulty scoring.

However, on this occasion, SH PERENARA was able to pry open the strong defense and score a try right in the middle of the enemy’s in-goal.

The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 24-14.

25 minutes into the second half:

From the restart kickoff after the try, the Wild Knights pushed deep into enemy territory and almost scored a try, but the Black Rams defense managed to hold them off.

The Black Rams regained the ball and counter-attacked, moving into the enemy territory at once.

The Black Rams pushed forward with a maul attack from a lineout in front of the enemy try line, and although the Wild Knights pushed back, SH PERENARA broke through the dense side and scored his second try of the day in the middle of the enemy in-goal on the right.

The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 24-21, and the Black Rams were finally within 3 points.

41 minutes into the second half:

It was a physically demanding game as the offense and defense switched rapidly, and both sides had players repeatedly moving up and down on the field. Whenever the game was interrupted, some players were on their feet and others were breathing on their shoulders, and the remaining time was a battle of strength.

Until the horn sounded to end the game, the Wild Knights continued to attack in front of the enemy in-goal, and the Black Rams did not allow any points to be scored.

In the end, however, the Black Rams were fouled in a scrum just in front of the try line, and the Wild Knights opted to go for the PG.

SO Yamasawa of Wild Knights scored the PG to make the score 27-21 and end the game.

Wild Knights maintained their lead in League One with 4 winning points. The Black Rams, on the other hand, lost by 7 points or less, so they have 1 winning point and hope to advance to the playoffs in the next round and onward.

Kudos to the players of both teams for a hard-fought battle.

**********************

Stop the war.

Peace to Ukraine

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