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Quade Cooper set for reunion with Robbie Deans following dramatic weekend of Top League play-offs

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Japan’s Top League has gained a major global promotional boost after a brave Kintetsu Liners overcame the Munakata Sanix Blues 31-21 in the first round of the elimination series on Sunday.

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The result put the Liners on a collision course with the Panasonic Wild Knights next Sunday, bringing former Wallabies Quade Cooper and Will Genia into direct confrontation with the coach who first selected them for Australia, Robbie Deans.

Cooper was one of two Australian try-scorers, with Kintetsu’s Queensland-raised skipper Michael Stolberg the other, as the qualifiers from the second-tier challenger tournament overcame the second-half sending off of No.8 Lolo Fakaosilea to dump the Top League side out of the competition.

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NZ players on why Springboks team to face Lions could be very different from 2019 RWC side

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NZ players on why Springboks team to face Lions could be very different from 2019 RWC side

Kintetsu, who are coached by former Queensland Reds coach Nick Stiles, led 17-14 when Fakaosilea was given his marching orders, but extended their advantage in the final 30 minutes to book a date with the unbeaten Wild Knights.

The Hino Red Dolphins also made it into the second knockout round, beating the Shimizu Blue Sharks 48-20 to secure a game against Michael Hooper’s Toyota Verblitz.

Saturday’s games saw NEC live to fight after day after an 80th-minute penalty goal by former English international Alex Goode allowed the Green Rockets to sneak home 25-24 against the Toyota Shuttles.

The Green Rockets, who have been heavily linked to former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika in recent days, looked dead and buried when they trailed 15-24 with 10 minutes left, and were down to 14 men after ex-NSW Waratahs lock Patrick Tafa was sent to the sin bin.

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Their dramatic escape against the Top League challenger tournament victors was even more surprising given they hadn’t won a game for two years.

Alongside Tafa, the Green Rockets fielded the Queensland-raised lock Sam Jefferies, while former Western Force and Queensland Reds coach Richard Graham is on the coaching staff.

NEC play the star-studded Suntory Sungoliath next weekend.

The Mitsubishi Dynaboars also remain afloat but were nearly sunk by another qualifier from the second tier, after trailing the Coca-Cola Red Sparks 17-14 with just four minutes left.

Two tries from Michael Little, the son of the 1990s All Black midfielder Walter Little, enabled Mitsubishi to escape, albeit by a flattering 24-17 score-line.

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The Dynaboars face the All Blacks-laden Kobelco Steelers in the next round.

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Eliza Galloway 1 hour ago
Geoff Parling: An Englishman roasting the Lions?

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JW 1 hour ago
James O'Connor, the Lions and the great club v country conundrum

Lol you need to shoot your editor for that headline, even I near skipped the article.


France simply need to go to a league format for the Brennus, that will shave two weekends of pointless knockout rugby from their season and raise the competitions standards and mystique no end.


The under age loophole is also a easy door to shut, just remove the lower age limit. WR simply never envisioned a day were teams would target people under the age of 17 or whatever it is now, but much like with Rassie and his use of subs bench, that day was obviously always going to come. I can’t remember how football does it, I think it’s the other way around with them, you can’t sign anyone younger than that but unions can’t stop 17 or 18 yo’s from leaving for a pro club if they want to. There is a transaction that takes place of a few hundred thousand for a normal average player. I’d prefer rugby to be stricter and just keep the union bodies signoff being required.


What really was their problem with Kite and co leaving though? Do we really need a game dominated by Internationals? I even think WR’s proposed calendar might be a bit too much, with at minimum 12 top tier games being played in the World Championship. I think 10 to 12, maybe any one player playing 10 of those 12 is the best way to think of it, for every international team is max, so that they can allow their domestic comps to shine if they want, and other nations like Japan and Fiji can, even some of the home nations maybe, and fill out their calendar with extra tours if they like them as a way to make money. As it is RA don’t have as good a pathway system, so they could simply buy back those players if they turn good. Are they worried they’ll be less likely to? We wait for baited breath for the new season to be laid out in front of us by WR.

It could impose sanctions on the Fédération Française de Rugby, but the body which runs the Top 14 and the ProD2, the Ligue Nationale de Rugby, is entirely independent.

It’s not independent at all. The LNR is a body under, and commissioned by, the FFR (and Government control) to mediate the clubs. FFR can simply install a new club competition if they don’t listen, then you’d see whether the players want to stay at any club who doesn’t tow the line and move to the new competition, as they obviously wouldn’t fall under the auspice of world rugby. They would be rebels, which is fine in and upon itself, but they would isolate themselves from the rest of the game and would need to be OK with that. I have no doubt whatsoever that clubs would have to and want to fall in line to remain part of the EPCR and French rugby. Probably even the last thing they would want is to compete with another French domestic competition that has all the advantages they don’t.


All those players would do good for a few seasons in France, especially the fringe ones, with thankfully zero risk of them being poached if they turn good. New Zealand had a turn at keeping all of it’s talent, and while it upticked the competitiveness of the Super Rugby teams into a total dominance of Australian and South African counterparts (who were suffering more heavily than most the other way at that stage), it didn’t have as positive an effect on the next step up as ensuring young talents development is not hindered does. Essentially NZR flooded the locate market with players but inevitably it didn’t think the local economy could sustain any more pro teams itself, so now we are seeing a normal amount of exodus for the availability of places again. Are Australia in exactly the same footing? I think so, finances where dicey for a while perhaps but I doubt they are putting money constraints on their contracting now. It’s purely about who leaves to open up opportunity.

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