Franco Mostert was at the heart of Mie Honda Heat’s clutch 26-21 victory over Kwagga Smith’s Shizuoka Blue Revs in the Japan Rugby League One this weekend.
The veteran Springboks forward produced a match-winning try assist in the latter stages of the game, completing a stunning come-from-behind victory over the Smith-captained BlueRevs.
Honda started the match in stunning fashion as they made the most of a turnover inside their own 22, with fly-half Riku Kitahara finishing off a brilliant counter from deep in the opening three minutes.
Franco Mostert saves the day for Honda
The BlueRevs finally made the most of sustained pressure when they were awarded a penalty try in the 27th minute with Ben Paltridge sin-binned.
They quickly capitalised on the one-man advantage with Semi Radradra sparking an attack from turnover ball with Valynce Te Whare tearing down the touchline for his sixth try of the season. Scrum-half Shuntaro Kitamura furthered the BlueRevs’ advantage in the 36th minute as they led 21-5 at half-time.
Into the second half and the Honda Heat launched their comeback through former Junior Springboks back Dawid Kellerman, who qualifies to represent Japan later this year. He ran a sharp line near the BlueRevs’ line to cut the lead to 21-12.
Looking for a response, the BlueRevs had a threatening-looking attack when powerhouse lock Daniel Maiava received the ball near the halfway line but Mostert and his teammate Talifolofola Tangipa emphatically shut it down, shunting the second rower into touch.
A powerful lineout drive saw Ryoma Nishimura dot down over the line and put Honda within striking distance in the final 30 minutes of the match.
Heading into the final 10 minutes of the game and captain Mostert produced the match-winning play, latching onto a superb long pass from Kitahara and serving centre Kyogo Okano on a platter as he ran through for the try to put his side back in front.
The BlueRevs had a final opportunity to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, forming a maul inside the Honda 22 in the latter stages of the game but they were denied through the excellence of Los Pumas star Pablo Matera, who disrupted the maul and forced the turnover.
A poor clearance from Honda at the ensuing scrum gave the BlueRevs one final shot at glory, and they looked to have stolen the victory when Sena Hosoya dived over in the corner, but the try was ultimately ruled out for an obstruction in the build-up.
Honda held their nerve to see out the victory which lifted Kieran Crowley’s side to eighth, one point and position behind BlueRevs.
After nine rounds of action, they still trail sixth-placed Black Rams by eight points with nine games of the regular season remaining.
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