Aaron Smith: “We want to finish strong”

Toyota Verblitz announced the lineup for their League One final-round match against Mie Honda Heat on the 9th of May. Akito Okui returns for the first time in a month and a half since Round 11 and will serve as game captain. Zach Gallagher, who started at flanker in the past two matches, moves up to lock, while William Tupou starts at No. 6. Hooker Shintaro Fukuzawa, who made his debut as a substitute in Round 13, will wear the No. 2 jersey for the first time.

The match against the Heats will be Toyota Verblitz’s final game of the season. Although both teams are out of contention for the top six, for the opposition it will be their last game in Suzuka, which had long served as their home ground. Their motivation is therefore high. Co-head coach Ian Foster said:

“It’s a special place for them, but it’s the same for us as well. Without the pressure of relegation playoffs, they’ll be able to play freely. We’re also looking forward to seeing how this match unfolds.”

Scrum-half Aaron Smith, who is nearing the end of his third season in Japan, said:

“We want a strong finish. It’s an opportunity to show how much we’ve grown over these eight months.”

He continued:

“The start of the season was difficult, but I’m proud that we got ourselves into a position where a top-six finish was possible. Still, if we had earned more points earlier in the season, we’d still have more matches ahead of us. We want to finish strongly and use that momentum for a fast start next season.”

Aaron also highlighted the growth of the younger players as one of the season’s biggest positives.

“Players developed through the Mirai Match program and got more opportunities to play in League One. The future of this team is bright.”

Coach Foster named five young players who had shown notable improvement.

“Unfortunately, scrum half Kaisei Tamura suffered an injury midway through the season, but he continued to develop. Hooker Shintaro Fukuzawa has progressed to the point of earning a starting role. Okui, Miki, and Aoki have also improved tremendously. Those three loose forwards will become very important players for Verblitz moving forward.”

The player serving as game captain in the final match is Okui himself. Although there are still two matches remaining including the Mirai Match, he reflected on the season by saying:

“It was a season with a lot of emotional ups and downs.”

In his second season with Verblitz, Okui achieved his long-awaited first start in the opening-round match against the Heats, but had to leave injured in the 32nd minute of the first half. He returned in Round 7, only to suffer another injury in the Round 12 match against Shizuoka BlueRevs. It was the first time in his career that he experienced two injuries in a single season. Although there were moments when he felt discouraged, he said:

“The team kept moving forward no matter what, and I was proud of them every game. I spent that time wanting to come back as quickly as possible and contribute.”

Now entrusted with the role of game captain, Okui noted that he has always spoken up during matches regardless of title.

“Whether I’m captain or not, I’ve always spoken up. What’s expected of me is how tough I can be. I want to express that through my play.”

In the previous match against Tokyo Sungoliath, Okui was not selected in the squad. While watching his teammates battle on the field, he was also following the simultaneous Black Rams Tokyo match. He learned before the players on the pitch that their hopes of making the top six had ended.

“Everyone gave a great effort. That made it even more frustrating.”

That is exactly why he wants the remaining two matches to end on a satisfying note and carry momentum into next season.

“This is a game where we can show the standards of what we’ve worked on throughout the season. We want to demonstrate that clearly and then build on it next year.”

As for the key to beating the Heats, he said:

“It’s about how much we can dominate the physical battle. They’ll come at us hard there. We need to surpass them in collisions, breakdowns, and contact intensity.”

Number 7 will first have to lead by example on the field.