Four of the modern game’s greatest coaches will match wills this weekend as Japan Rugby League One brings together Eddie Jones, Wayne Smith, Steve Hansen, and Robbie Deans.
Jones and Smith are advisors at Tokyo Suntoy Sungoliath and Kobelco Kobe Steelers respectively, and the pair are on opposite sides on Saturday as their teams square off in Kobe in what promises to be one of the games of the round.
Sharing fourth place on the ladder, both have recovered from first round losses, and will be looking to maintain the momentum against a potential semi-final rival.
The Jones v Smith ‘trilogy’ dates to their time coaching the Wallabies and All Blacks in 2001, with the pair having crossed paths wearing a number of different ‘hats’ in the time since.
A similar dynamic is at play on Sunday when Deans takes on his one-time Super Rugby assistant Hansen, in a match that is shaping as an important moment in the season for Toyota Verblitz, after two losses from the first three matches.
After coaching together at the Crusaders, the pair went their separate ways, with five-time Super Rugby title-winner Deans later coaching against Hansen while in charge of the Wallabies, before the rivalry resumed in Japan.
Rugby World Cup-winning coach in 2015, Hansen held the upper hand against Deans while coaching the All Blacks but is still to find the keys to success in Japan, where his long-time rival has won five titles with the Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights. You could win through these online slot sites.
The second division returns from an extra week off with a clash between the two remaining unbeaten teams, as Israel Folau’s Urayasu D-Rocks host the Toyota Industries Corporation Shuttles Aichi at the Komazawa Olympic General Park Sports Ground in Tokyo.
While the home side’s coach Johan Ackerman has a full-strength squad at his disposal, the Shuttles will be without both of their international locks, France‘s Yoann Maestri, and England‘s James Gaskell.
