Former All Blacks captain Sam Cane is set to return to action for Suntory Sungoliath in Saturday’s Fuchu derby against champions Toshiba Brave Lupus.
Cane, 33, has only played 34 minutes this season, with his lone appearance coming in round one in a loss to Saitama Wild Knights.
The former Chiefs loose forward, who signed a three-year contract extension with Suntory in May, suffered a concussion against Saitama.
"I was supposed to be back from the concussion in two weeks, but I suffered another injury during those two weeks, which made it even longer,” said the 2015 World Cup winner.
“It was difficult to watch the games when the team wasn't producing results and I had a lot of desire to contribute to the team."
Cane has recovered in time to return for a key match and one of the highlights on the domestic calendar as the Fuchu derby takes centre stage at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Tokyo.
Seventh-placed Suntory are riding a three-match winning-streak while champions Toshiba sit second with five wins, one draw and one loss.
"I've been able to train fully for the past three weeks, so I've been looking forward to my chance to play in a match. I'm looking forward to the collision battle with Toshiba, and I want to do my best in both defence and ball carrying."
Cane’s timely return will see him oppose his former New Zealand teammates Shannon Frizell and last season’s MVP winner Richie Mo’unga.
"Richie is a player who has a strong influence in every game and can make an impact in various ways. To lead to victory, it is important for the forwards to perform well, and we need to work together defensively to prevent Richie from getting the clean ball he needs. That said, it is important not to focus too much on Richie, but to focus on ourselves and do our best."
Suntory team (1-15): Kenta Kobayashi, Alex Mafi (League One debut), Shinnosuke Kakinaga, Sam Jeffries, Harry Hockings, Kanji Shimokawa, Sam Cane, Ryuga Hashimoto, Yutaka Nagare (c), Mikiya Takamoto, Taiga Ozaki, Shogo Nakano, Isaiah Punivai, Seiya Ozaki, Ryosuke Kawase
Replacements: Tatsuya Miyazaki, Yukio Morikawa, Kan Nakano, Trevor Hosea, Kai Yamamoto, Kenta Fukuda, Keisuke Moriya, Hideto Niguma
Toshiba team (1-15): Sena Kimura, Mamoru Harada, Yuta Kokaji, Shohei Ito, Jacob Pierce, Shannon Frizell, Takeshi Sasaki, Michael Leitch (c), Yuhei Sugiyama, Richie Mo’unga, Yuto Mori, Rob Thompson, Seta Tamanivalu, Jone Naikabula, Takuro Matsunaga Replacements: Daigo Hashimoto, Teruo Makabe, Taufa Latu, Samuela Anise, Yoshitaka Tokunaga, Kohei Takahashi, Taichi Mano, Michael Collins
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