Springboks centre Jesse Kriel fired the Canan Eagles to victory in the Japan Rugby League One this weekend scoring two tries against Kwagga Smith’s Shizuoka Blue Revs.
In a 12-try thriller, it was the Eagles who emerged 53-35 victors with Kriel setting up one try and finishing off two himself while teammate Faf de Klerk enjoyed a lively outing at scrum-half.
Meanwhile, Blue Revs’ captain Smith also scored in a losing effort as he racked up 80 running metres in another standout performance, albeit in defeat.
Jesse Kriel inspires Eagles
While Kriel led the charge with his pair, the Springboks centre was outscored by his winger Masayoshi Takezawa, who crossed for a hat-trick, with Sione Halasili grabbing two and speedster Kippei Ishida grabbing a five-pointer, too.
Smith got the Blue Revs on the board in the defeat with Malo Tuitama scoring twice while Murray Douglas and Shuntaro Kitamura both crossing the whitewash too.
Kriel played his part in the opening try for Canon with a well-timed pass inside the Blue Revs‘ 22 with the ball eventually finding Takezawa who went over in the corner.
The Springboks centre was next to score as he benefitted from a misread from the Blue Revs’ backfield and a lucky bounce that sat up perfectly for him as he cantered through from behind the halfway line.
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The Revs’ response came through their inspirational skipper Smith as the back-rower got the ball in space out wide and from there, it was all too easy for him to skin Matt Philip and the cover defence to score.
Takezawa’s second try and a quick-fire Halasili brace put the Eagles in a commanding 34-14 half-time lead but it was the Blue Revs who hit the ground running the second half.
Ex-Edinburgh and Brumbies lock Douglas was at the centre of the action as his inside ball to second-row teammate saw Yuya Odo speeding through a gap and the Scotsman provided the support and was rewarded for doing so as the quick 1-2 saw him race away for the try.
A brilliantly executed set move from the lineout resulted in Takezawa’s hat-trick try before Malo Tuitama responded for the Blue Revs.
Kippei Ishida run a superb line to put the Eagles even further in front which meant that Kitamura’s score soon after meant little in the grand scheme of things particularly when Kriel finished off the scoring with another try at the death.
The result means that the Blue Revs have now suffered their first defeat of the new season after winning their first four matches of the new campaign.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/jesse-kriel-benefits-from-lucky-bounce-as-springboks-star-fires-eagles-to-victory-over-kwagga-smiths-blue-revs
