Super Rugby 2016 - Sunwolves vs Bulls

Japan’s HITO-Communications Sunwolves took on South Africa’s Bulls on Round 5 of the 2016 Rugby Super League at the National Stadium last week.

The new Japanese franchise came exceptionally close to registering their first win since joining the expanded competition this season, scoring three spectacular tries against the three-time champions.

The amazingly well-lit pitch at the National Stadium, with all the photographers and videographers stationed at one end to capture those memorable shots...

The Bulls dominated almost every single facet of the game, had almost three times the carries, double the metres made but still struggled against a side that played with exceptional heart for the entire game.

It was quite amazing, the heights that were reached with each throw...

 There were the occasional skirmish that the referee had to step in.

In one of these, the Sunwolves lost No. 8 Tomas Leonardi for a cynical foul while stopping a try...

Sunwolves' Tomas Leonardi (8) and Bulls' Warrick Gelant (15) rush to the aid of their team mates...

 Bulls' Rudy Paige (9) makes a break...

At 23-10 it looked as if the Sunwolves were going to be left behind late in the second half, but they simply never gave up.

Having a pep talk as they motivate each other and plot out their next moves...

Kicking off...

Intense concentration...

 

It didn't seem enough with only minutes left...

Then came the support of the loyal fans,
some screaming well-meaning moves across the whole grandstand...

A view of the scrums...

A sea of reds was visible around each tackle...

And the Sunwolves dashed for their try and succeeded!

Final score...

Moving in for the friendly handshakes...

Thank you for the truly amazing experience to watch a team play with such heart! 

  

|   Sunwolves - Training In Yio Chu Kang Stadium   |

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Sunwolves - Training In Yio Chu Kang Stadium

The Sunwolves (Japanese: サンウルブズ) – currently known as the HITO-Communications Sunwolves for sponsorship reasons – are a professional rugby union team and is Japan's representative team in SANZAR's international Super Rugby competition. The team is based in Tokyo, Japan, but will also play some home matches in Singapore. They made their debut in Super Rugby in 2016.

The name "Sunwolves" was derived from a combination of the "Land of the Rising Sun" and the wolf, which was chosen to represent bravery, strength and an ethos of teamwork...

Since its launch in 1996, the SANZAR-organised Super Rugby competition was limited to teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. In 2011, it was announced that SANZAR would expand its international Tri Nations competition to include Argentina, which resulted in that competition being rebranded as The Rugby Championship. SANZAR confirmed that they would explore expansion to other regions in future. However, since SANZAR sold the existing Super Rugby package to its broadcasters for the period 2011–15, it meant that no changes to the format would be permitted until the 2016 season.

Asia emerged as the preferred destination for the final licence and Japan was subsequently granted the licence for the 18th franchise in October 2014 - with an agreement reached that Singapore would host three of their home matches each season at the Singapore Sports Hub.

And that was how Merlion Wayfarer finally got to see the Sunwolves in Singapore.

Training With The Boys

The Sunwolves trained with the national rugby team at Yio Chu Kang Stadium. The mutual training session helped hone the skills of both teams, and enabled the coaches to exchange pointers on strategies. It also enabled the national team to benefit from the experience of interacting with a professional rugby team with international experience against traditionally strong opponents.

Warming up with running from base to base...

Nifty footwork...

Time out as the coach gives a briefing...

 Getting tackled for the ball...

A quick capture of the intense pace of training...

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