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Two star-studded Japan League One matches live on RugbyPass TV
By Grant Constable
Round 11 of the Japan Rugby League One kicks off on Friday night in Tokyo with a replay of the last Grand Final, while on Saturday a double World Cup winner returns to action after injury.
You can watch both matches live and on demand, with English commentary, on RugbyPass TV.
Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay and Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights met in the grand final last season but so far it's the Wild Knights that sit top of the table with 10 wins from 10 matches.
The defending champion Spears have been struggling this season, with just 5 wins to date. They’ve struggled without last year’s leading points scorer Bernard Foley, who has been sidelined since round three with injury.
Wales fullback Liam Williams and All Blacks hooker Dane Coles have also been out for the last two weeks. The latter returns against the Wild Knights, but coach Frans Ludeke will be well aware of the fact that his side have lost all four of their home matches this season.
Boasting the likes of Marika Koroibete, Damian de Allende, Lood de Jager and Vince Aso, the Wild Knights have won their last 19 away games with an average winning margin of 25 points, so will be raring to go come kick off on Friday evening.
Watch the match live on RugbyPass TV (9:50am GMT)
(*apart from in Japan, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Africa)
Saturday’s fixture sees the return of Cheslin Kolbe, who missed the last three matches, as Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath host Yokohama Canon Eagles, who have semi final aspirations of their own.
Currently in fifth position on the table with 29 points, the Eagles are tied with Kobe Steelers, but have begun to run out of steam, losing three of their last five matches, after having won four in a row between rounds two and five.
Missing the likes of Faf de Klerk and Jesse Kriel due to injury, fellow South African SP Marais is having to step up, along with Australian Matthew Phillips.
The Eagles were unable to beat Sungoliath in regular season matches last time out, going down 32-23 against 14 men, and then being edged out by a late try to lose 11-9 in the return fixture.
With just two losses so far - to the two sides above them on the table - Suntory are having a great season, despite injuries affecting some of their star recruits, Kolbe and All Blacks captain, Sam Cane.
With Kolbe making his return, and the likes of Gareth Anscombe in their ranks, expect to see a lot of excitement from the fans at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium come kick-off.
Watch the match live on RugbyPass TV (5:20am GMT)
(*apart from in Japan, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Africa)
All Japan Rugby League One fixtures - Round Eleven
Division One
Friday March 22
Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay v Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights
Saturday March 23
Shizuoka Blue Revs v Toyota Verblitz
Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath v Yokohama Canon Eagles
Sunday March 24
Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo v Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo
Mie Honda Heat v Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars; at Suzuka
Kobelco Kobe Steelers v Hanazono Kintetsu Liners
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Latest Comments
It’s a good, timely wake up call for NZ Rugby (seem to be a few of them lately!) - sort out the bureaucratic nonsense at board level. We can’t expect to stay the number one option without keeping fans/players engaged. We’ve obviously been bleeding players to league for years but can’t let the floodgates open (although I think this headline is hyperbolic as it’s a result of a recent Warriors pathways system where they are tracking things more closely) Understand the need to focus boys on rugby if they’re at a proud rugby school too, don’t think it’s harsh at all re Barakat in Hamilton. Reward the committed players with squad positions. An elite 1st XV system in NZ has done more for league than they even realise, think it’s good to protect our game further.
Go to commentsDon’t pay a blind bit of notice to Lukie… he likes the sound of his own voice and is always looking for something controversial to say. He has been banging on about Leinster's defensive system all season like he knows something Jacques Nienebar doesn’t. Which is the reason why he didn’t apply for the job obviously
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