Rikiya Matsuda: “We don’t change what we do — we just need to improve our accuracy”

On December 27, in Round 3 of League One, Toyota Verblitz faced Kobelco Kobe Steelers in Kobe. Verblitz opened the scoring with a try by hooker Yoshikatsu Hikosaka in the 6th minute of the first half, but were overturned and went on to lose 29–49.

It was Verblitz’s first match at Noevir Stadium Kobe in ten seasons, since the 2015–16 Top League season. With Steelers prop Hiroshi Yamashita making his record-setting 200th career appearance, the crowd was more energized than usual, creating a tough away-game atmosphere.

“Kobe kept applying pressure, and we kept losing to it. Our execution level was also low.”

Captain Kazuki Himeno summarized the full 80 minutes in the post-match press conference.

The match statistics tell the story. Gain meters were similar — Toyota with 451, Steelers with 423. Toyota also held the advantage in possession and territory at roughly 60–40. The major difference was tackle count: Toyota made 99 tackles, while the Steelers recorded 217.

Despite Toyota’s territorial dominance, the Steelers continued to defend stubbornly, and when Toyota lost control of the ball, Kobe capitalized immediately, turning those moments into tries.

Kobe head coach Dave Rennie said:

“Toyota are strong after the tackle, and all three of their back-rowers are good at getting involved around the ball. We talked about winning the contest by starting with good carries.”

While Toyota sustained their attack, they were placed under heavy pressure in contact situations.

The first half saw a back-and-forth contest. In the 6th minute, Hikosaka scored from a lineout maul to give Toyota the lead. After Kobe equalized, Toyota attempted to attack from a scrum deep in the opposition’s territory, but a spilled ball was immediately punished with a counterattack try, resulting in a reversal of momentum. Trailing by 11 points in the 33rd minute, flanker Keito Aoki scored to close the gap to 17–21. However, straight from the ensuing kickoff, Toyota lost possession at a counter ruck and conceded again. They repeatedly gave up points immediately after scoring.

In the second half, Toyota spent long periods attacking near the opposition try line but were unable to break through.

“We got lifted and lost the ball, and there were moments where mentally we got impatient and pushed too far forward,” Himeno reflected.

Kobe proved more composed in the key moments. The score stretched to 22–49 in the 31st minute of the second half, but Toyota scored two tries just before full time to bring the final score to 29–49.

“In today’s rugby, once momentum is taken away from you, the score gap can open up quickly. We need to face that reality and restart,” head coach Steve Hansen said, looking ahead. Toyota also struggled in the scrum during the second half, but Hansen noted, “The surface was slippery. The scrum wasn’t the reason we lost.”

Fly-half Rikiya Matsuda, who played until the 25th minute of the second half as the on-field general, had suffered a serious injury last season in Round 9 against the Steelers at Hanazono in Osaka.

“We lost the match, but I got through it without getting injured. For me, it feels like I’ve truly returned,” he said. Although he has started since the opening round, this match marked the moment when the stopped clock finally began ticking again.

“It was a game we lost because of our own mistakes, allowing the opposition to capitalize. What’s most important is not changing what we do, but improving our accuracy,” Matsuda said.

In the 39th minute of the second half, flanker William Tupou continued attacking even after the final siren, leading to consecutive tries finished by fly-half Shinya Komura. The energy shown by the finishers who came on in the second half, and the ability to close the gap at the end, reflected the team’s growth since last season.

“It’s only three games in. There were good things and bad things. All we can do is keep looking forward,” Matsuda added.

After Round 3 of League One, the team sits ninth with a 1–2 record. Their first opponent of 2026 will be Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo, currently in tenth place. Although the team now enters a bye week over the year-end and New Year period, they hope to carry the spark of their late comeback into the new year without letting it fade.