In round 1 of the Japan Top League Rugby Competition (outside of the states, my personal favorite yearly competition) the results were fairly unsurprising. The big teams all came away with wins, these teams include the Suntory Sungoliaths, NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes, Panasonic Wild Knights, and the current defending champion, the Kobelco Steelers. These teams all hold World Cup athletes (from not only Japan but also from big teams like New Zealand and South Africa.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was the win that Toyota Verblitz took from the Toshiba Brave Lupus. The Verblitz recently acquired the former captain of the 2011 and 2015 World Cup winning All-Blacks. One of only 20 players to win multiple World Cups. He is one of the most capped players of all time at 128 caps for the All Blacks. The Brave Lupus, however, is a consistently a great team due to their strong team base including the captain of the Japan National Rugby team who led the Blossoms to the biggest upset in World Cup history in 2015 against South Africa. The match between the Lupus and Verblitz was by far the closest match, and an exciting one to watch. With only one point difference, it was one that kept you on your toes.
The highlight of the first round, though was in the monumental game between Suntory and Mitsubishi. With Beauden Barrett, a world champion rugby player joining the ranks of the Sungoliaths, Suntory crushed the Dynaboars 75-7. The game, despite a winner being obvious from the beginning, was a thrilling game to watch the incredible attacking style of Barrett and his team behind him. This season, with their former star player, Kotaro Matsushima gone, everyone was up in the air as to whether the Sungoliath would do well, but with Beauden Barrett to fill the gap, the Sungoliath are proving to already be a strong contender for the championship.
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