(Author: Azul, May 15, 2022)
Japan Rugby League One has finally entered the post-season. This time (May 8, 2022), I went to Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Minato-ku, Tokyo to watch the Sagamihara Dynaboars vs the Kintetsu Liners.
When I went to see the final game of the season for the Dynaboars, only about 3,000 people came, but this time, when I arrived at Chichibunomiya Rugby Ground, the crowd was unexpected. According to the organizer’s announcement, the number of visitors on that day was 5,731. As I expected, the post-season is getting more and more popular.
Well, today’s game will decide who will be promoted to Division 1 next season, so the expectations of the players, staff, and fans have high tension.
The host team for the day was the Sagamihara Dynaboars. The crowd was twice as large as usual, so the excitement was high. Especially, the Dynaboars were distributing special T-shirts for free to the first 1,500 fans.
** About the Rankings **
The top three teams in Division 2 will be eliminated from the tournament. Division 2 teams will play with the bottom three teams from Division 1 in the elimination round. For the regular season
1st : Sagamihara Dynaboars
2nd : Kintetsu Liners
3rd : HONDA Heat
In the regular season, the order was as follows: 1st : Sagamihara Dynaboars, 2nd : Kintetsu Liners, 3rd : HONDA Heat. Therefore, even the first-place Dynaboars, if they lose two games in a row, they will be ranked as the third-place team in Division 2. Division 2 as the third-place team. Division 1, and the team ranked 1 If they lose two or more games in a row, they will be ranked third in Division 2 and have to compete with the team ranked first in Division 1. Before the replacement game, I thought, “Well, it will be decided according to the regular season standings. However, in the first round, the Dynaboars lost to HONDA In the first game, however, the Dynaboars were defeated by Honda Heat.
In the second game, Kintetsu Liners defeated HONDA Heat.
In the final match of the day, if the Dynamo Boars beat the Kintetsu Liners by 8 points or more, the Dynamo Boars will be in first place. However, if they lose, they will be in third place.
Can the Dynaboars win as their fans expect?
The standings for the Division 2 tournament so far are as follows.
Division 2 Play-off
| order | team | Win | Lose | Even | WP | GD |
| 1 | Hanazono Kintetsu Liners | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 2 | Mie Honda HEAT | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | Sagamihara Dynaboars | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
However, the Kintetsu Liners’ fans have traveled more than 500 km to get here, since their home base is in Higashiosaka City. This is quite a strong feeling for today’s victory. Liners fans are less than 20% of the fans I see around the stadium. But they are hoping to return to the First Division for the first time since they were relegated to the Second Division in 2018.
Let me give you some new information about each team before the match.
First, let’s hear from the home team, Sagamihara Dynaboars. Since entering the playoffs, the Dynaboars have miscalculated due to a string of retirements of key players due to injury.
*Major retired players*.
1) SO Colin Slade~In Slade’s case, he was injured in the first game of the season and was out for a long time, finally returning in April. However, in the first game of the playoffs, he was injured early in the game and was out again. He is the pillar of the Dynaboars’ attack, so his departure is a blow to the team.
2) WTB Ben Paltridge – Paltridge suffered an injury in the March 12 game against the Liners and has been out for an extended period of time. Prior to his departure, he was the No. 1 try scorer in Division 2, so this is another major loss for the team.
(3) No.8 Heden Bedwell-Curtis~ Bedwell-Curtis is the captain of the Dynaboars, so his departure due to injury is a big loss for the team both mentally and in terms of strength.
(The player in the center of the photo above is Heden Bedwell-Curtis.) The Dynaboars have won two straight games against the Liners, but with the departure of their main players, the second round of the playoffs is going to be very tough
Today’s starting lineup is as follows.
| Dynaboars | |||||
| No. | Name | height | weight | age | |
| 1 | Naoki Kawamata | 184cm | 125kg | 36 | Japan 18cap |
| 2 | Yoshimitsu Yasue | 176cm | 109kg | 37 | Japan 2cap |
| 3 | Tomoaki Ishii | 182cm | 120kg | 26 | |
| 4 | Makoto Daniel Linde | 196cm | 109kg | 34 | |
| 5 | Jackson Hemopo | 195cm | 112kg | 28 | New Zealand 5cap |
| 6 | Sam Chongkit | 197cm | 106kg | 27 | |
| 7 | Masataka Tsuruya | 186cm | 104kg | 31 | |
| 8 | Dylan Nel | 187cm | 111kg | 30 | |
| 9 | Kota Iwamura | 182cm | 87kg | 28 | |
| 10 | Kazuki Ishida | 173cm | 85kg | 26 | |
| 11 | Honeti Taumohaapai | 180cm | 94kg | 29 | |
| 12 | Michael Little | 183cm | 89kg | 29 | |
| 13 | Matt Vaega | 178cm | 90kg | 27 | |
| 14 | Keita Sekimoto | 174cm | 85kg | 28 | |
| 15 | Alaia’sa Solarorand | 177cm | 95kg | 26 |
Can the Dynaboars win against the Liners and make up another 8 points or more?
＊＊ Player to watch ＊＊
Michael Little, 183 cm, 89 kg, position = CTB. He is one of the best players for the Dynamo Bears, scoring several tries in a game, even in a poor game. However, in the current situation of the Dynamo Bears, the opposing team only needs to mark Little in attack to keep the Dynaboars’ attack at bay.
Next up is today’s visiting team, the Hanazono Kintetsu Liners.
The Liners played their last three games of the season without their mainstays, the Australian duo of SH Will Genia and SO Quade Cooper. They have been able to pick up wins in their last three games. However, these two players returned from the playoffs and came into this match in perfect condition. This is in stark contrast to the Dynaboars.
Will the Liners be able to achieve the team’s long-cherished dream of promotion to the first division for the first time in four years?
Today’s starting lineup is as follows.
| Liners | |||||
| No. | Name | height | weight | age | |
| 1 | Shun Sasaki | 174cm | 107kg | 33 | |
| 2 | Atsushi Kashimoto | 180cm | 106kg | 34 | |
| 3 | Sila Puafisi | 185cm | 135kg | 34 | |
| 4 | Isamu Matsuoka | 190cm | 107kg | 38 | |
| 5 | Sanaila Waqa | 202cm | 120kg | 26 | |
| 6 | Shohei Nonaka | 183cm | 100kg | 26 | |
| 7 | Jed Brown | 186cm | 105kg | 31 | |
| 8 | Jose Seru | 197cm | 107kg | 31 | |
| 9 | Will Genia | 174cm | 82kg | 34 | Australia 110cap |
| 10 | Quade Cooper | 187cm | 90kg | 34 | Australia 75cap |
| 11 | Ryosuke Kataoka | 171cm | 83kg | 24 | |
| 12 | Takumi Yoshimoto | 171cm | 85kg | 24 | |
| 13 | Siosaia Fifita | 187cm | 105kg | 33 | Japan 6cap |
| 14 | Tomoya Kimura | 175cm | 81kg | 24 | |
| 15 | Yoshizumi Takeda | 180cm | 93kg | 31 |
＊＊ Players to watch ＊＊
Jose Seru is a 197cm,107kg. He is a player with exceptional running ability and ball-getting ability. If he gets behind the defense, he is decisive enough to score a try.
Now, let the game begin.
The atmosphere seen in each team’s game after entering this ranking game is more severe compared to the regular season. First of all, the sound when contact is made is different. The culmination of the season will be played out in this match, so each contact play will be more forceful.
5 minutes into the first half:
Dynaboars lost their first game, so they were hoping to get the first goal up in this match, but the Liners took the lead.
The game started with the kickoff by the Liners, and after entering the enemy territory, they gradually advanced through a series of attacks. The Liners scored a try at the left edge of the in-goal after Waqa, a lock, rushed in to secure the ball from a lineout in front of the enemy goal. The conversion goal after the try was scored from a difficult position by Liners’ SO Cooper. The score was 0-7 in favor of the Liners.
12 minutes into the first half:
The Liners took control of the game in the early stages. The Dynaboars’ desire to win was too much and they could not win the ball at the crucial moment. The Liners attacked in the enemy territory, and finally, in front of the goal, they moved to the left, with an extra man on the outside, WTB Kataoka received a pass, and scored a try in the left corner. The conversion goal after the try was also successful, and the score was 0-14 to the Liners.
18 minutes into the first half:
Not wanting to let the score get any closer, the Dinaboars finally got into enemy territory and began to continue their attack. From a tight pack in the middle of the field, WTB Honetti took advantage of a moment of weakness and brought the ball up and scored a try right under the goal post. The conversion goal was also successful, making the score 7-14 in favor of the Dynaboars.
20 minutes into the first half:
From the kick-off after the try, the Liners entered the enemy territory and made a series of attacks in the center of the field. They deployed to the left and, as in the previous try, SO Cooper released a pass to the left side. This was received by Lock Waqa, who continued to push forward. Waqa was 204cm tall, but he was fast and hard to stop. Waqa passed to WTB Kataoka, who scored his second try of the day in the left center of the in-goal. The conversion goal after the try failed. The score was 7-19, and the Liners once again outscored the Dynaboars.
23 minutes in the first half:
Dynaboars continued to attack for a while in the enemy territory from the kick-off after the try. The Liners won a short punt by CTB Little, which was taken by the Liners, and they formed a dense group. The Liners’ SH Genia kicked a box kick behind the cluster and the Dynaboars’ CTB Little charged and blocked it. This time, Little won the rolling ball himself and ran straight into the in-goal to score a try in the left center. The conversion goal after the try was missed. The score was 12-19.
32 minutes in the first half:
The Dynaboars were penalized for offsides by the Liners near the 10-meter line, and the PG was awarded to the Dynaboars. Dynaboars’ SO Ishida scored it to close the score to 4 points, 15-19.
33 minutes in the first half:
On the kickoff after the PG, the Liners kicked off into enemy territory, and the Dynaboars were fouled for falling down in a tight pack. The Liners opted to go for the PG, which SO Cooper converted. The score was 15-22.
39 minutes in the first half:
The Liners made a series of attacks in the closing minutes of the game. The backs moved to the right, and SO Cooper’s pass went to Lock Waqa, who was running on the right edge, and he burst over the line and scored a try on the right edge. The conversion goal after the try was missed. The score was 15-27. The first half ended with the Liners leading by 12 points.
** After the first half, the Liners’ team was more complete. Especially in attack, they were hard to stop as they placed big, strong runners on the outside and let them run with extra men at the end.
In contrast, the Dynaboars miscalculated early in the game when they were scored a series of tries by the Liners. The Dynaboars, who were originally ranked lower in the standings, needed to score first to gain the upper hand in the game.
So, will the Dynaboars be able to come back in the second half?
(Pictured above are the Dynastars, the Dynaboars’ support team.)
Let’s start the second half.
18 minutes into the second half
Each team had studied other’s attacking patterns at halftime, and no points were scored so far in the second half.
It was Dynaboars who scored first of the second half. Once in enemy territory, the Dynaboars launched a series of attacks. This time, the Liners’ lock Waqa committed a high tackle foul, where the Dynaboars opted for a penalty kick. Kicking forward, from a lineout on their own ball, the Dynaboars won the ball and expanded to the left, closing in on their opponents’ goal. Finally, FL Uluiviti, who came on during the game, scored a try at the left corner of the goal post. The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 22-27 in favor of the Dynamo Bears.
28 minutes in the second half:.
The Liners had been held scoreless by the Dynaboars so far since the start of the second half. At this time the Dynaboars seemed to be in a hurry to score quickly and began to commit more penalties. The Liners opted to take a penalty kick after a foul they had incurred in their own half, and recovered their position to the enemy goal. From there, The Liners then launched a series of attacks, with CTB Fifita breaking through the enemy defense to close in on the goal line, and finally, SO Cooper followed up to score a try in the middle of the right field. The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 22-34.
The Dynaboars then tried to make a comeback and attacked the enemy territory, but failed to score. The final score was 22-34, and the Hanazono Kintetsu Liners were crowned champions and automatically promoted to Division 1.
With the win by the Liners, the second place team was Mie HONDA Heat, and the third place team was Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars.
The second- and third-placed teams will face the lower-ranked teams of Division 1 in a match-up. The pairings are as follows
Mie HONDA Heat vs. NEC Green Rockets
Sagamihara Dynaboars vs NTT Shining Arcs
Honda Heat and the Dynamo Boars will be able to get their long-cherished promotion to Division 1 if they win the replacement game. What kind of hot match will they play?
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Stop the war.
Peace to Ukraine
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