In Round 14 of the NTT Japan Rugby League One, held on April 5th at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium, Toyota Verblitz faced off against Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights and suffered a 17–55 defeat. Facing the league’s second-place team, the match also marked a significant milestone for two players. Toyota Verblitz’s scrum-half Kaito Shigeno and the Wild Knights captain and hooker Atsushi Sakate, both key figures for the Japan national team, each celebrated their 100th cap. From the start of the game, both sides played at a high tempo in a fiercely contested match, but things unraveled for Verblitz late in the game.
The Wild Knights took the early lead, with Verblitz catching up. At halftime, the score stood at 12–24, but just six minutes into the second half, hooker and game captain Yoshikatsu Hikosaka powered over from a lineout maul to close the gap to 17–24, putting Verblitz back within striking distance.
However, in the 20th minute, flanker Kosei Miki making his first appearance since Round 5 came off the bench and was penalized following a ruck collision. A TMO review deemed it dangerous play, earning him a yellow card and was out of the game for ten minutes which was later upgraded to a red. Reduced to 14 men for the rest of the game, Verblitz conceded a try almost immediately in the 21st minute, and gave up four more within 15 minutes. The match ultimately ended in a 17–55 scoreline.
“It may look one-sided on the scoreboard, but it didn’t feel like that on the field. It was a game that could have gone either way,” said Head Coach Steve Hansen. The TMO review came during a tightly contested phase of the match, and its impact was significant. Verblitz had earlier been reduced to 14 men in the 36th minute of the first half, when flanker Michael Hooper was temporarily sent off for repeated team infringements. “Instead of each player becoming passive, we tried to cover for each other with energy and we were able to do that, but we needed to do that in the last 20 minutes of the game as well.” said Hikosaka. “We’ll accept the result as a team and keep working even harder,” added Hansen. The penalty count was 14 against Verblitz compared to just 5 for the Wild Knights, highlighting areas the team must work on.
Number eight Akito Okui, making his return after two matches out, reflected, “We got caught out in key moments and conceded quickly at the end. That’s something we need to learn from. Every team is competitive now, and to win these close games, it's crucial to be resilient in those tough situations.” Okui made his League One starting debut back in Round 5, also against the Wild Knights in Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu. Where the final score was 22–38. While the scoreline was wider this time, the team played more to their identity. One standout moment came in the 12th minute of the second half, when Hooper sparked a turnover deep in their own half, leading to a sustained attack. Though they couldn’t finish with a try against a solid defensive unit, they maintained pressure for nearly three minutes straight. The team’s intended style of play is beginning to take shape.
“We’re moving forward, step by step, both individually and as a team. What matters now is how we express that through our play.” Toyota Verblitz currently sits in 10th place with a record of 3 wins, 1 draw, and 10 losses. “It’s tough when there aren’t many visible results to show for our efforts,” said Okui. “Once you give up, everything can fall apart quickly. Holding things together is hard too, but as a team, we’re all determined to keep pushing forward, no matter how tough it gets.”
In this long 18-match League One season, the path forward can seem uncertain. But even when the light flickers in and out, the team remains clear on their direction. “We’ve been talking each week about preparing well, and we’ve really started to build something solid. The quality of our preparation has improved,” Hikosaka said. The match against the Wild Knights is over for this season. We will continue to work even harder, and next time we will fight through the 80 minutes without regrets.
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