HSBC ASIAN 5 NATION (A5N) RUGBY TOURNAMENT

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STAR SPORTS Commentator Mike Rehu looks ahead to Week 4

The last two years of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations has been like a bicycle race.Initially Japan and Korea made big statements and easily stormed away from the pack. But the peloton, the chasing pack has caught Korea well and truly. The yellow jersey is firmly on the back of Japan, and it remains to be seen whether Korea's struggles have helped or hindered them in catching Japan. All will be revealed this weekend when the two teams clash in Osaka.

It's been a torrid and horrid two weeks for Korea, after flipping off an inexperienced Singapore 65-0 they went down 30-27 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. By all reports it was a great day for the Nomads as the crowd whipped the side into a frenzy and their two stars, Maxim Lifontov and Anton Rudoy played leading parts by scoring all their points. But watching the clumsy Kazakhs commit simple errors and show a lack of discipline in sneaking home 22-19 against Singapore, it's hard to see how Kazakhstan had the finesse to take apart the Koreans.

And Korea certainly looked as though they had made amends in last weekend's other Round 3 match, storming to a 31-3 lead at halftime against Hong Kong. However their hot turned into cold in the second half, as the visitors stormed back to finish within 2 points, final score 36-34.

So is it a puncture, or are Korea re-joining the pack for a breather? My belief is they are obviously so focused on shocking Japan, they forgot their full duty is to retain their number two crown in Asia. Korean coach Park Ki Haeng took the fall for the late lapse, admitting that he was looking at squad welfare for the big clash against Japan, and took some key players off early.

I won't dip my toe into history, but its always a tense occasion when these two countries match up. Almost half the Koreans play professionally in Japan now too, so I liken it to when the Argentineans play the French. There's a lot of ribbing that goes on all year on the training pitches, and this is the Korean's chance to settle the score.

Where can Korea out-match the Japanese? One area the Koreans are strong is in the loose. They have two number eights playing in the trio, Han Kun Kyu and Lee Kwang Moon. That means if the pack gets go forward ball, these two wrecking balls can smash the way forward. Also their inside back pair have had some time together, Yang Young Hun and Hong Jun Ki have the ability to dictate, but its all dependent on their tight five.

I hope for the sake of the competition Korea can make a game of it. They outscored Japan in the second half at Incheon last year before going down 39-17. That has given them some belief. At the time of writing Japan has not named their XV, but I would be surprised if John KIrwan did not name his best, most experienced players. He is on record to say he will experiment until the Pacific Nations Cup, but he can't hide how important this game is for them.

One player who I am sure who will star this week is number one hooker Yusuke Aoki. With three hookers in the 32-man squad he missed out completely against Hong Kong and was fuming in a way that professional sportsmen do, trying hard to bridle his competitive instincts for the good of the team, but wanting desperately to get on the park and get stuck in!

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Speaking of getting stuck in, both Singapore and Hong Kong showed some real backbone in their second clashes of the competition. Singapore had a fortnight to recover from their 65-0 hiding at the hands of Korea, and the step up of intensity and pace in their game against the Kazakhs was a sight to behold. Look no further than young blindside flanker Johnathon Lee for an illustration. He was thrown in for his starting debut, giving away 5 inches and 20 kilos on his opposite. But with a mixture of accurate technique, pace and hunger, he was one of the key players for the island republic. If they can keep the level of improvement up, Singapore could give Hong Kong a real fright in the fight to avoid the wooden spoon this weekend.

Hong Kong will want to focus on their start against Singapore, as last weekend was the second time in two years they'd given Korea a big lead early on. Look for them to be breathing fire like Dragons when they come out of the sheds at the Hong Kong Football Club at 4 o'clock in Hong Kong on Saturday. Get down there if you are in Honkers this weekend.

And be sure to tune in to STAR Sports next week for the Japan/Korea match. Look out on Monday at 1930hrs if you're in Hong Kong, and elsewhere in Asia 2300hrs on the Tuesday.

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