Cheslin Kolbe and Sam Cane were on the losing end of a closely fought Japan Rugby League One clash as Tokyo Sungoliath were beaten 22-20 by Kobelco Kobe Steelers.<\/b><\/p>\n
Former All Blacks skipper Cane was shown a red card early in the second half of the encounter, shortly after returning from the sin-bin for a high tackle.<\/p>\n
The 33-year-old was fortunate not to be red-carded for his tackle on ex-Highlanders hooker Ash Dixon in the latter stages of the first half, in the build-up to Brodie Retallick\u2019s try.<\/p>\n
The ex-All Blacks<\/a> second-rower\u2019s try cut Sungoliath\u2019s lead to just 17-14, with Cane<\/a> yellow carded, and the incident was sent to be reviewed by the Foul Play Review Officer.<\/p>\n Retallick\u2019s try followed a score by scrum-half Itsuki Kamimura in the early knockings of the game for Kobe.<\/p>\n Sungoliath responded through prop Kenta Kobayashi and Kaleb Trask, on debut, who added both conversions and a penalty.<\/p>\n Kobe looked to have made the most of the man advantage in the latter stages of the first half, but had a try chalked off. Leaving Sungoliath<\/a> with a three-point lead at the break.<\/p>\n Decisive second half<\/p>\n The scores remained unchanged at 14-17 until Cane returned to the action in the 45th minute, and the ex-All Black would play just six further minutes before he was given his marching orders.<\/p>\n With Kobe on the attack just shy of the Sungoliath 10m line, Cane competed at the breakdown but failed to claim possession. The back-rower then stupidly slapped the ball out of Kamimura\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n His actions caused a bit of a melee before the referee issued Cane with a second yellow card, leaving his side down a man for much of the final 30 minutes of the encounter \u2013 they were restored to 15 men with seven minutes left to play.<\/p>\n Despite being down a player, Sungoliath remained resolute on defence and extended their lead through the boot of replacement fly-half Kazuki Ishida.<\/p>\n Malcolm Marx and All Blacks snub star to remain unbeaten in Japan along with Damian de Allende\u2019s Wild Knights<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n That set up a nervy finish, especially when Ardie Savea brilliantly set up a try for winger Kazuma Ueda with a superb offload that led to the speedster diving over in the corner. Suengsin Lee was unable to add the extras, making it a one-point game in the final 15 minutes.<\/p>\n Sungoliath defended valiantly in the final quarter of the game and even launched a few attacks of their own, but repeatedly came up short.<\/p>\n With two minutes left on the clock and Kobe camped inside the Suntory 22, Kolbe<\/a> charged out of the defensive line and picked off a pace and went sprinting downfield.<\/p>\n Springboks and All Blacks \u2018close to an agreement\u2019 for Greatest Rivalry series finale\u2019s venue<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Beauden Barrett\u2019s pivotal role in covering $21 million All Blacks hole after shock Jim Ratcliffe hook<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n However, the officials deemed that the Springbok was offside in the passage of play and awarded a penalty to Kobe and Lee made no mistake from in front of the sticks.<\/p>\n Sam Cane\u2019s red card in defeat to Kobe this weekend.<\/p>\n Cheslin Kolbe\u2019s intercept was called offside and gave Kobe an easy shot at goal for the 20-22 win. pic.twitter.com\/SIOqls8mPt<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) January 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Sungolitah fall short<\/p>\n Sungolitah\u00a0had one final shot at snatching back the result as they retained possession from the restart, however, a loose pass put them under pressure and the Kobe defence held up the ball carrier to secure the result and seal Kobe\u2019s seventh win in a row on their travels.<\/p>\n Kobe retained third position on the standings after four rounds of action in the top division of the Japan Rugby League One competition, while Sungoliath sit sixth overall.<\/p>\n Kubota Spears and the Saitama Wild Knights top the table respectively, having yet to lose so far this campaign, picking up wins over Honda Heat and Shizuoka Blue Revs in round four.<\/p>\n Suntory will host Honda in round five while the Black Rams travel to Kobe to tackle the Steelers.<\/p>\n Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n READ MORE: <\/b>All Blacks great reveals what it\u2019s like coaching alongside \u2018experienced operator\u2019 Eddie Jones with Japan<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n