Ardie Savea's Japan sabbatical ends on a sour note

World Rugby player of the year Ardie Savea has missed out on the chance of finishing his one-year sabbatical with an experience of the Japan Rugby League One play-offs after Kobelco Kobe Steelers were knocked out of the semi-final race at Hokkaido.

The Dave Rennie-coached Steelers were felled 39-29 by outgoing champions Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay, who themselves had been eliminated earlier in the weekend after Yokohama Canon Eagles beat Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars 43-19.

Yokohama’s win had left five teams standing, after erasing the mathematical hopes of Toyota Verblitz and Shizuoka Blue Revs, as well as Kubota.

Kobe then joined that trio on the outer, despite 19 points from ex-Chiefs fly-half Bryn Gatland, confirming the Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights, Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo, Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath and Eagles as the semi-final line up.

The Wild Knights claimed the top spot in the regular season for the fourth time since the game resumed following covid after crushing Toyota Verblitz 40-7.

Their assault was led by the Test pair of Wallaby Marika Koroibete and Springbok Lood de Jager who each scored two tries.

It was Koroibete’s third try-scoring double in as many weeks after he had scored just twice in 11 appearances before the run, while de Jager scored his fifth and sixth tries from nine games following a career reboot in the aftermath of well-publicised health problems.

The win extended a record between the rival coaches which has seen ex-All Black boss Steve Hansen unable to beat his former Wallaby counterpart Robbie Deans in seven attempts since he took over at Verblitz following the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Deans’ men have hit 40 points or more in five of those matches. Unbeaten in 14, the Wild Knights will face the fourth-placed finisher in the semi-finals.

Currently fourth, the Eagles welcomed back Springbok centre Jesse Kriel, who had been out since mid-January after breaking his thumb, and the South African capped off an excellent weekend for the club with a try in the win over the Dynaboars.

Sungoliath, who needed a late penalty goal by fly-half Mikiya Takamoto to secure a 31-31 draw with Shizuoka Blue Revs on Friday night, are only two log points ahead of the Eagles and face a massive derby on Saturday against their Fuchu neighbours and fierce rivals, Brave Lupus.

With one eye to that game, Toshiba coach Todd Blackadder made eight changes to the combination that drew with Kobe last week, including fielding a third fly-half in as many weeks, with Hayata Nakao standing in for All Black Richie Mo’unga, who was absent on bereavement leave.

While they narrowly squeezed past second-from-bottom Mie Honda Heat 8-7, Honda coach Kieran Crowley will have taken encouragement ahead of next month’s promotion/relegation series from the return of the former Argentine captain Pablo Matera.

The 30-year-old, who played the first half, hadn’t featured this season after arriving back from the Rugby World Cup with a leg injury.

Hanazono Kintetsu Liners will also play the relegation series, and they may have taken 10th-placed Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo with them after their 34-23 win.

Kintetsu’s first win of the season – at the 14th attempt – has left the Black Rams 10 points from safety with two games to play.