Brave Lupus Tokyo continued their unbeaten start to the Japan Rugby League One season Saturday as they downed Yokohama Eagles 27-7 with a stifling defensive performance.
Todd Blackadder's men notched their seventh straight win to stay hot on the heels of the only other unblemished side, the Robbie Deans-coached Saitama Wild Knights, who lead the table by a bonus point.
New Zealand flyhalf Richie Mo'unga scored 12 points, including a second-half try, as he marshalled the Brave Lupus attack at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground.
"We want to give the fans an awesome brand of footy," the 56-cap All Black said. "We want to win, but at the same time we want to improve each week, which I think we're doing."
Brave Lupus flanker Takeshi Sasaki scored the opening try in the fourth minute, finishing through a tackle after winger Atsuki Kuwayama made good distance from a quick restart.
Kuwayama helped his team take a 12-0 lead in the 16th minute when he caught Mo'unga's kick-pass before sending center Nicholas McCurran into space for their second try.
Mo'unga made it 22-0 midway through the second half, dotting down in the corner and following with a difficult conversion.
The Tokyo side went the length of the ground for their fourth try, with McCurran setting the stage for Kuwayama to go over with an intercept and storming run.
Yokohama only breached the Brave Lupus defense after the siren when replacement back Rohan Janse van Rensburg broke a tackle near the line.
"The Eagles can vary their attack, so we were focused on defending them tightly," Brave Lupus captain Michael Leitch said. "We can take confidence from holding them to one try."
With the lowly Hanazono Liners next on their schedule, Brave Lupus look likely to remain unbeaten heading into their highly anticipated March 9 showdown with the Wild Knights at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium in Saitama Prefecture.
"After today's performance, we (still) have a lot to work on, which I think is really exciting," Mo'unga said. "At the moment the boys are just showing a lot of care, which is really good."
Defending champions Kubota Spears overpowered the Liners 56-19 at Hanazono Rugby Stadium, while Sagamihara Dynaboars upset the visiting Shizuoka BlueRevs 53-45 in Saturday's other matches.
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