Having shown their allegiance to Wales in its cracking win over France in Paris on Saturday, the rugby gods traveled quickly to Tokyo to cast their celestial eyes over the 42nd All Japan Championship final at Chichibunomiya on Sunday.
Glen Marsh of the NEC Green Rockets scores a try during the All Japan Championship final against Toyota Verblitz at Chichibunomiya on Sunday. The Green Rockets won 17-13.
OK, so the standard of rugby wasn't quite in the same league, but in a enthralling seesaw game played in ideal conditions in front of a good-sized and enthusiastic crowd, the NEC Green Rockets beat Toyota Verblitz 17-13 to claim their second championship overall.
The game eventually proved to be a tale of two red cards handed out in the past month.
With Troy Flavell ridiculously handed a two-game suspension for picking up a second yellow card for offside in last week's semifinal win over Toshiba Brave Lupus, there were always going to be question marks over whether the Toyota pack could put in another massive performance in his absence.
They didn't disappoint however, constantly competing at the breakdown and causing a number of turnovers. But in the end the absence of the former All Black, without doubt the biggest water boy rugby fans in Japan have ever seen, was to prove decisive.
In Takuro Miuchi and Glen Marsh, the Green Rockets have two of the most street-wise forwards in Japan, and with the Toyota pack beginning to tire, the two combined for the decisive score.
First, Miuchi used his strength to rip the ball from the Toyota pack, following a prolonged series of attacks on the NEC line, before Marsh, himself coming off an over-the-top, one-month suspension for a red card that at least enabled him to be well-rested for this match, followed up a kick by Koichiro Kubota to score the Green Rockets' second try of the day.
"I just chased it up and didn't have too much to do," said Marsh. "You have to take your opportunities in finals as they don't come around too often."
The New Zealand openside flanker had also played a major role, along with fellow-veteran Kiwi George Konia, in NEC's first try, scored by Takeshi Ohigashi, as NEC responded to two early penalties from Keiji Hirose.
The 6-0 lead that Toyota held was the biggest of the game as both teams responded to their opponents' punch with a counter-punch.
Koichiro Shirahama's penalty in the 42nd minute saw NEC go 10-6 up but Toyota replied with a try by captain Hiroshi Sugawara three minutes later and Hirose's touchline conversion made it 13-10.
With Toyota applying the pressure, one felt a further score would have won the game for the Verblitz. But tremendous defense from the NEC players, repeated again in the final three minutes, proved decisive as Miuchi first saved his team before Marsh used his relatively fresh legs to score 90 meters downfield.
"Our defense at the end won the game for us," said NEC's Jaco van der Westhuyzen, who may well have played his last game for the club.
Konia was playing his last game for the team and a sign in the crowd read, "George. Thank you for an impression."
The thousands of Toyota fans, who made the journey up from Nagoya in buses and a shinkansen rugby special, also made a great impression, but in the end their team was beaten by one that on the day had a bit more big-match experience.
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