The Blues have melted in the Tokyo heat, going down 48-21 to an unfancied Sunwolves outfit in their Super Rugby dead rubber in Japan.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Sunwolves 48
Blues 21
The Sunwolves face extremely unlikely odds if they’re going to claim a second win for the season in their last match of the year, against the Blues. Join The Roar for live scores from the match at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon, starting from 1:05pm AEST.
The Sunwolves in their second year in the competition have struggled once again, boasting only a single win for the season and a -383 points differential, the worst in the league by some margin.
The simple fact is that they are a long distance off being competitive with the rest of the league – for now, at least.
The Blues, on the other hand, have a fair bone to pick with the conference system that will keep them out of the finals this year.
They have the eighth-best record in the league but will miss out on a finals spot because of the complications are the conference system.
Although the Brumbies have a worse record, they will get automatic qualification into finals as the top Australian side, pushing the Blues down to ninth on the table.
A win here by the Blues will be another reminder to the powers that be in Super Rugby that they really ought to be playing in the post-season.
Sunwolves
15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Willy Tupou, 12 Timothy Lafaele, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Tu Tamura, 9 Keisuke Uchida, 8 Willie Britz (c), 7 Shuhei Matsuhashi, 6 Malgene Ilaua, 5 Uwe Helu, 4 Kotaro Yatabe, 3 Koo Jiwon, 2 Takeshi Hino, 1 Koki Yamamoto.Replacements: 16 Yusuke Niwai, 17 Keita Inagaki, 18 Yasuo Yamaji, 19 Yuya Odo, 20 Yoshitaka Tokunaga, 21 Kaito Shigeno, 22 Jumpei Ogura, 23 Ryohei Yamanaka.
Blues
15 Michael Collins, 14 Matt Duffie, 13 George Moala, 12 TJ Faiane, 11 Melani Nanai, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Augustine Pulu, 8 Steven Luatua, 7 Blake Gibson, 6 Akira Ioane, 5 Scott Scrafton, 4 Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 James Parsons (c), 1 Ofa Tu’ungafasi.Replacements: 16 Hame Faiva, 17 Pauliasi Manu, 18 Sione Mafileo, 19 Josh Goodhue, 20 Jerome Kaino, 21 Sam Nock, 22 Stephen Perofeta, 23 Rene Ranger.
Join The Roar for live scores from the match between the Sunwolves and the Blues at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon, starting from 1:05pm AEST.
FYI
Guest
Gee that is so much better than oz! 1 SA team from conference 1 can beat nz teams. If conference 2 was playing nz teams then probably only lions would have won a game. It has tacken 20 years for the lions to be any good. In saying that it has taken highlanders, chiefs and hurricanes 20 years to be any good. Will rebels and force be given that chance? Cheetahs and kings weren't given that chance but they have taken the money and gone somewhere else. Maybe the force should take the money and join up with the sunwolves to stay in the comp??games in Perth instead of Singapore? Same Timezone. Will still be part of oz conference. Will Still be a well travelled team! The 'rebel force' sounds better than the 'sunwolves force' though.
Lostintokyo
Guest
Shocking? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! Don't crow when victorious and make excuses with losses. It reeks of the NZ mentality that the kiwis have the right to win every game as ordained! Just slow down.
Daveski
Guest
Pride not motivation enough hey tman?
Pinetree
Guest
No, 2 wins. The Stormers beat the Blues and Chiefs. 3 wins all up for the SA1 conference.
FYI
Guest
Aren't South African teams on 1 win against nz teams too!?
Charging Rhino
Roar Guru
Thanks mate, as you're a Crusaders fan I'm sure you'll be supporting the Sharks if the Canes beat the Saders! Either way, we end up "8th" due to the conference winners getting a home QF.
Ronaldo
Guest
Well there you go. A (should I say "the") Japanese team has recorded a win against a NZ outfit this SR season. That says a lot about where Australian Rugby now sits. No wins at all this SR season for any of the 5 Australian teams. Who says Rugby is not near death in Australia? It's an indictment of the ARU. Well done ... when do you collectively stand down??
Atlas
Roar Rookie
For the record : Sunwolves 48 (Tim Lafaele 3, Keisuke Uchida, Ryohei Yamanaka, Kaito Shigeno, Yoshita Tokunaga tries penalty try, Yu Tumura 2 con, Jumpei Ogura con ) Blues 21 (James Parsons, Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, Michael Collins, Ihaia West 3 con). Halftime: 14-21. Great result for the Sunwolves, what a farewell for Charlie Faumuina (Toulouse) and Steven Luatua (Bristol), what a game to remember...
taylorman
Guest
Shocking result but not as if thecBlues have had much to play for for a while.
Pinetree
Guest
Yeah, I noticed that the Sunwolves were paying $15 for a win. Not a bad return at all TNVFS!
The Neutral View From Sweden
Roar Guru
This must be one of the biggest surprises in SR history? Before the game, the betting companies gave the Blues a 29 point handicap. Even weirder, Sunwolves could/should have scored almost 70 points today.
Pinetree
Guest
The heat probably didn't help the Blues, but the Wolves were certainly hungry for tries tonight mate! Good luck with the Sharks playing the Lions later on. That would be a huge home game for he boys to pull through on and win!
Canetragic
Guest
And achieved something no Aussie team could this season!
Charging Rhino
Roar Guru
Amazing! Why couldn't they play like that earlier!?
Blue Horned Mike
Roar Rookie
Wow! Only one team pitched up today for the match. Well done Sunwolves!
Pinetree
Guest
Ouch! 8 tries to 3...
DaniE
Roar Guru
This season is doing my head in
The Neutral View From Sweden
Roar Guru
Wow, Sunwolves are destroying the Blues in the second half. Interesting that the Sunwolves beats a Kiwi team before the Jaguares.
Pinetree
Guest
Could be a bonus point for the Sunwolves too Rhino! Edit: will be a BP for sure!
Charging Rhino
Roar Guru
Sunwolves are jol'ing boy!! Playing incredibly well!!!