(Author: Azul, April 14, 2022)
April 9, 2022 marked the final day of Division 2 of Rugby’s League One, which began on January 9 and will end about three months later, in mid-April.
Let’s take a look back at the standings through last week.
The final section, Section 10, will mark the end of the season, and the standings will be assigned.
| Division 2 | ||||||
| order | team | Win | Lose | Even | WP | GD |
| 1 | Sagamihara Dynaboars | 9 | 0 | 0 | 42 | |
| 2 | Hanazono Kintetsu Liners | 7 | 2 | 0 | 35 | |
| 3 | Mie Honda HEAT | 6 | 3 | 0 | 27 | |
| 4 | Hino Red Dolphins | 3 | 6 | 0 | 17 | |
| 5 | Kamaishi Seawaves RFC | 1 | 8 | 0 | 7 | |
| 6 | Mazda Skyactivs Hiroshima | 1 | 8 | 0 | 4 |
The only difference is that the top 3 teams and the bottom 3 teams will be separated. After this, a playoff will be held to determine the final ranking for the replacement round. Therefore, even if a team finishes the season in first place, if it loses in the playoffs, it may drop to third place in the final standings. Furthermore, if the teams do not win the replacement round, the top three teams will not be able to move up to Division 1, and the bottom three teams will be relegated to Division 3 if they lose in the round-robin tournament. A very tough battle awaits the teams after this.
Now then, let me introduce the two teams that will be playing today.
First, let’s take a look at the home team, the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars.
They are currently ranked No. 1 in Division 2. They are undefeated in their last 9 games. Their final opponent is Mie Honda Heat, who are currently in third place, but in their last matchup, they led until the halfway point before finally pulling off a comeback victory. They are not an easy opponent. In addition, in the Top League until last year, the Dynaboars had lost five straight matches to Honda Heat, and with a rematch confirmed for the first round of the playoffs in late April, this is a matchup that neither team can afford to lose.
Let’s take a look at today’s starting lineup.
| Dynaboars | |||||
| No. | Name | height | weight | age | |
| 1 | Hayato Hosoda | 173cm | 103kg | 26 | |
| 2 | Yuya Otsuka | 171cm | 98kg | 26 | |
| 3 | Jun Morimoto | 175cm | 112kg | 25 | |
| 4 | Ryoma Tokuda | 188cm | 105kg | 32 | |
| 5 | Epineri Uluiviti | 198cm | 118kg | 28 | |
| 6 | Heiden Bedwell-Curtis | 194cm | 110kg | 30 | |
| 7 | Noriya Kobayashi | 185cm | 105kg | 37 | |
| 8 | Dylan Nel | 185cm | 110kg | 30 | |
| 9 | Ippei Oshima | 172cm | 78kg | 26 | |
| 10 | Nicholas Ealey | 180cm | 90kg | 33 | |
| 11 | Gosuke Kawakami | 173cm | 92kg | 27 | |
| 12 | Takumi Sugiura | 176cm | 90kg | 23 | |
| 13 | Yusho Takeda | 177cm | 87kg | 28 | |
| 14 | Keita Sekimoto | 174cm | 90kg | 28 | |
| 15 | Kazuki Ishida | 173cm | 85kg | 26 |
I was a bit surprised to see today’s starters. Dynaboars didn’t use any of their main players for this match, but instead went into the game with reserve players. It looks like they are focusing more on the next match to decide the ranking than on the match today.
＊＊ Players to watch ＊＊
Dylan Nel, 185 cm, 110 kg, 30 years old. Position: No. 8, from South Africa, He joined the team this season after working for the SUPER RUGBY Chiefs and other teams. He is expected to play an active role in the dense competition.
Next, I would like to introduce Mie Honda Heat, a varsity team. Until last year, they belonged to the Top League. They are a team with large players in key attacking positions and they have a very strong defense, and it is very difficult to break down their defensive network at set pieces.
Here is today’s starting lineup.
| HONDA HEAT | |||||
| No. | Name | height | weight | age | |
| 1 | Tatsuhiko Tsurukawa | 182cm | 114kg | 26 | |
| 2 | Shota Nishizawa | 176cm | 103kg | 25 | |
| 3 | Matthys Basson | 190cm | 116kg | 26 | |
| 4 | Franco Mostert | 200cm | 112kg | 31 | South Africa 49cap |
| 5 | Naoya Nakagawa | 191cm | 104kg | 25 | |
| 6 | Ryota Kobayashi | 182cm | 98kg | 30 | |
| 7 | Ryo Furuta | 183cm | 99kg | 26 | |
| 8 | Paddy Butler | 191cm | 107kg | 31 | |
| 9 | Kenta Yamaji | 171cm | 73kg | 32 | |
| 10 | Songgi Pak | 179cm | 89kg | 28 | |
| 11 | Kanta Omata | 171cm | 82kg | 27 | |
| 12 | Kaito Morikawa | 176cm | 87kg | 33 | Japan 1cap |
| 13 | Soki Watanabe | 175cm | 89kg | 24 | |
| 14 | Nobutaka Ubukata | 169cm | 82kg | 33 | |
| 15 | Matto Duffie | 192cm | 95kg | 31 | New Zealand 2cap |
While Dynaboars lost a member for today’s game, Honda Heat’s lineup is almost the same as usual, except for the absence of No.8 Kaipouli.
＊＊ Players to watch ＊＊
Nobutaka Ubukata. 169cm, 82kg. right WTB. 33 years old.
He is a former member of Japan’s 7-man national team. He is not a big man, but he is the team’s try getter who shows his determination when the time comes.
Let’s take a look at the match in Section 10.
The venue for the match is Sagamihara Guion Stadium, the home stadium of the Dynaboars.
The weather that day was clear and sunny. The temperature was 26 degrees Celsius, and most of the spectators were wearing short sleeves. It might be a little hard for the players.
I arrived at the venue at 10:30 a.m., although the game was scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m. The bus service here is not so good, so I arrived earlier than usual.
Today, I was seated on the lawn behind the goal. The reason why the bus access is not so good is that there are only about 2,000 spectators, so there are not many extra buses. The capacity of the stadium is 15,300 people, so I hope we can gather more. If they win the replacement match and advance to Division 1, I think the number of games will increase and the number of spectators will grow.
Now, let the games begin.
Today’s Dynaboars team started mainly young reserve players, but all the backs players were in the 170cm height range, and it was not easy to break through HONDA Heat’s defenders. However, the small backs were well-trained defensively, and they tackled hard to hold off the big HONDA Heat players.
First half, 19 minutes in.
Honda Heat had a PG opportunity deep into enemy territory with the goal in front of them. SO Pak scored. Honda Heat takes the lead 0-3.
First Half 24 min.
The Dyna Boars attacked into the enemy territory and made a series of attacks, but Honda Heat’s tight defense in front of the goal made it difficult for them to score. In the end, No. 8 Nel made a strong individual breakthrough in front of the enemy goal and scored a try in the left center. After the try, SO Ishida succeeded in scoring the conversion goal, making the score 7-3, and Dynaboars succeeded in reversing the score.
First half 27 min.
Honda Heat moved deep into the enemy territory and launched a series of attacks. However, they could not break through the Dyna Boars’ defensive net and could not make any headway. On their second attempt, a kick by Honda Heat’s FBDuffie was deflected in by the Dynaboars No. 8 Nel charged and caught the ball. As it was, he ran more than 50 meters on his own and scored his second try of the day in the right center. The conversion goal after the try failed. The score was 12-3, and the Dynaboars took a 9-point lead.
31 minutes in the first half:
From the kickoff after the try, HONDA HEAT attacked into enemy territory. In the midst of a series of attacks, the Dynaboars committed an foul in a crowded area, for which HONDA HEAT was awarded a penalty kick. Since the penalty was in front of the goal, HONDA Heat chose to go for the PG, which SO Pak succeeded steadily. The score was 12-6, and HONDA Heat The team was within 6 points.
The first half ended with this point difference.
It was now half time. At halftime, the official cheerleader of the Dynaboars, Dyna Stars performed a cheering dance to open the event.
As far as the first half of the game is concerned, there is no big difference in strength between the two sides. Since the Dynaboars did not have their core players in the match, it would not be surprising if HONDA Heat turned the tables in the second half. Can the Dynaboars finish the season undefeated?
Let’s start the second half.
Six minutes into the second half:.
In the second half, the HONDA Heat players showed a lot of momentum when attacking. They began to try to advance on every contact play and even run as hard as they could when receiving a pass. The Dyna Boars defense, though small in numbers, did their best to hold them off, but gradually the HONDA Heat began to move forward. FB Duffie broke through the opponent’s defensive network, and came close to scoring the goal in enemy territory. In the end, No.8 Butler scored a goal in the middle of the left field. The try was scored. The conversion goal after the try was unsuccessful, but the HONDA Heat were within one point, 12-11.
12 minutes into the second half.
From the kickoff after the opposing team’s try, the Dynaboars quickly attacked, and from a dense battle, they drew a foul on the opposing team, earning the right for a PG. FB Ishida scored it to make the score 15-11, giving the Dynamo Bears a 4-point lead.
From this point on, the game became a stalemate with neither side giving an inch. However, the Dynaboars could not break through the HONDA Heat’s defensive net, although they repeatedly ran around and developed their game. This was the limit of the power of the small backs of the Dynaboars today.
34 minutes into the second half.
HONDA Heat got out of a scrum five meters in front of the enemy goal line with the FW’s side attacked to advance. They came close to the goal line, but Dynavores bounced back several times. From there, HONDA HEAT moved to the left, and the final pass was passed from right WTB Ubukata to left WTB Omata, who scored a reverse try in the left corner of the in-goal. The conversion goal after the try failed. However, with only a few minutes remaining, HONDA Heat turned the score around, trailing by just one point, 15-16.
With only one point difference with four minutes remaining, a PG or DG was all that was needed to turn the tide. HONDA Heat continued to hold onto the ball and the match ended as it did.
HONDA Heat’s victory was a victory of persistence. The Dynaboars had their nine-game winning streak come to a halt, but they still maintained their hold on the top spot in Division 2.
The playoffs were to be a lot of fun. There is no difference in strength among the top three teams, so it is not surprising no matter who wins.
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Stop the war.
Peace to Ukraine