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What to watch in men’s rugby: World Cup winning Springboks collide
By Martyn Thomas
Four Rugby World Cup winning Springboks will go head-to-head in Japan Rugby League One this weekend – and you can watch the match live and free via RugbyPass TV.
Lood de Jager and Damian de Allende starred for Saitama Wild Knights once again last Sunday, helping the league leaders to a 28-28 draw against Brave Lupus Tokyo that kept them top of the pile.
Wild Knights hit the road this weekend as they take on Yokohama Canon Eagles at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo.
That assignment will pit the Springbok duo against a couple of players they know incredibly well from their time in the famous green and gold jersey.
Faf de Klerk and Jesse Kriel, who both started the Rugby World Cup final victory against New Zealand in Paris 16 months ago alongside de Allende, are two of the Eagles’ most key players.
They were unable to prevent their side stumbling to their third defeat of the season in round seven, though, as Yokohama let a 22-16 lead slip in the final 15 minutes against Kubota Spears.
Late tries from Halotoa Vailea and Rikus Pretorius confirmed a 30-22 victory for Spears, the former’s 75th minute conversion denying the Eagles even a losing bonus point.
Defeat was their first in five matches and de Klerk, Kriel and co will hope to bounce back in the Japanese capital as they go in search of a first victory against Wild Knights since 2013. A rare win in the fixture could lift them back into the top four.
Wild Knights are unbeaten in seven matches so far this season as they set their sights on regaining the title they lost to Brave Lupus last season.
And they have won their last 16 matches against Canon Eagles, including semi-final triumphs in each of the previous two seasons. Wild Knights average almost 42 points per match in their last four wins in this fixture.
This Sunday’s match is one you won’t want to miss. You can find out whether Yokohama can spring a surprise or if history will repeat live and for free, except where there is a local broadcast deal in place.
Sunday, February 16
05:20 GMT – Yokohama Canon Eagles v Saitama Wild Knights, Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground – WATCH LIVE HERE
Unseen footage lifts lid on Lomu rise
Lomu: The Lost Tapes lifts the curtain on the rise of rugby’s first global superstar via previously unseen footage and the memories of some of those closest to him.
Between 2001 and 2005, Jonah Lomu gave a film crew access to his life and shone a light on his remarkable journey from South Auckland to the All Blacks and beyond.
Narrated by Lomu’s friend and former teammate, Sean Fitzpatrick, the documentary gives rugby fans unrivalled insight into his inspirational story.
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Latest Comments
Well lets hope so. England have developed a very strong kicking game and I'm all for them going to it on a regular basis to get into the right areas of the field but they need to find the right balance. They've been far too predictable and far too low risk. Tindall recently summed up my thoughts on this... “rugby is a pressure game, it's about building phases”. Against Scotland they almost never went over 2 phases, it was super weird. None of the top 4 sides are playing in this manner, I don't see where the precedent is for this staccato style of play. We've got an exceptional group of loose forwards developing, let's make use of that quick ball! Hopefully the Welsh game is a turning point and the coaches will trust the players to take a few more risks. It's not that I have anything against kicking in test matches, it's absolutely essential that we kick well but we do that already, it's the rest of the attack which has been missing. This relentless kicking isn't the way the best sides win test matches these days. Kick well, kick lots but we need to be setup to take advantage of quick ball and defensive misalignments around the halfway line and we need to build pressure by going multiphase in the 22 instead of grubber kicking it or crossfielding with such high regularity.
Go to commentsAgreed, seen far too many false dawns as an England fan and here are still far too many question marks over Borthwick and his coaching team. The Scotland and Ireland performances were still poor, even if we managed to stay on the right side of the scoreboard on one of them. France game we were fortunate but we at least played well
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