By Rich Freeman, KYODO NEWS - Sep 8, 2017 - 22:38 | Sports

Kobe Kobelco Steelers maintained their unbeaten start to the Japan Rugby Top League season Friday night, downing NEC Green Rockets 29-12 at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground.

The victory ensures Jim McKay's side remain top of the Red Conference, but their inability to make more of their territorial advantage left them without a bonus point for scoring three more tries than their opponents.

As such, a bonus-point win for Suntory Sungoliath over NTT Communications Shining Arcs on Saturday would see Kobe drop behind the defending champions after four weeks of action.

Not that that was bothering McKay.

"If we are honest with ourselves we were a bit off in a few areas," he said. "But full credit to NEC, they are a good quality side. We knew they would not give up and they did not disappoint. They made us fight the whole game."

With Shohei Maekawa leading by example from No. 8, the Steelers dominated possession and territory. But they were up against an NEC side that showed a lot more spine than in recent years.

"We showed we are a team of fighters," NEC coach Pater Russell said. "Kobe played very well and put us under pressure from the first minute and were quite relentless in the first 30 minutes. But we showed a lot of heart and character in the second half."

The game opened with Kobe's two centers going over in contrasting styles with Issei Shige weaving his way over from an attacking scrum in the fourth minute and Ryohei Yamanaka adding a 60-meter intercept try seven minutes later.

Rugby World Cup 2011 winner Andy Ellis then made the most of a good break by Ryuta Yasui to cross the chalk and with Codey Rei adding his third straight conversion it was 21-0 inside 16 minutes.

To their credit, the Green Rockets regrouped, despite losing powerful No. 8 George Risale to injury, and there was no further score in the half despite Kobe laying siege to the NEC line for an extended period leading up to the halftime hooter.

The Green Rockets' revival continued into the second half with Hiromasa Yoshihiro put over by Yoshiya Hosoda after the opening 12 minutes of the stanza had seen play go from one end to the other.

A penalty from Rei allowed Kobe to regroup though, and they eventually turned pressure into points with Maekawa going over for a well-deserved try from a five-meter scrum.

But NEC had the last word when Mao Enoki went over from a line-out five meters out, despite the intended receiver, Adam Thomson, clearly struggling to understand the call from his new teammates.

"In isolation we were disappointed not to get a bonus point," McKay said. "But we have to look at the big picture and I'm proud of the effort and progression we have made."

This season the league has been split into two conferences -- Red and White -- based on how the teams finished last time out.

Teams play the seven other sides in their conference plus six from the other group to determine the rankings for the end of season playoffs, with the top four sides competing for the league title, which doubles as the All-Japan Championship.