Semifinal - Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo vs Kobelco Kobe Steelers

Defending JRLO Division 1 champions Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo get the first of the weekend’s semifinals underway when they play Kobelco Kobe Steelers at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo on Saturday, 23rd May, and try to do what no side has done in the JRLO era and defend their title.

The Steelers, under the captaincy of former All Black Brodie Retallick, who has been in fine form and has scored nine tries in his best season yet in Japan, leads the team coached by Dave Rennie. The former Wallaby coach has named an unchanged match day 23 for this weekend after they dispatched this season's surprise team, Shizuoka BlueRevs 35-20 in the quarterfinal. Both George Turner & Ngani Laumape are still unavailable.

Rennie is a two-time title-winning coach with the Chiefs in Super Rugby, and after making an encouraging start in his maiden season in League One last year, has steered his Kobe Steelers to a semifinal against the defending champions. The last four matches between Brave Lupus and the Steelers have produced high scores at an average of 81 per game.

The Steelers won nine matches during Rennie’s first season at the helm, and went one better this season. Will he channel the karma of Ange Postecoglou from Tottenham Hotspur and deliver in his second season?

The team haven’t enjoyed playoff rugby since they won their last title in 2018. After winning last week, he said, “The last time we played Toshiba, we were humbled and we know they are champions and a fantastic side. We are looking forward to the challenge next week.”

Rival coaches Brave Lupus’s Todd Blackadder and Dave Rennie faced each other twice in Super Rugby semi-finals, where Rennie went on to win the title on each occasion.

Blackadder has had the advantage in Japan, winning on three of the four occasions and drawing in the fourth match. He is with the club for his 6th season, and last season’s title was the first Brave Lupus had won since the 2009-10 campaign. It was also the maiden title of his professional coaching career, and he has achieved a 75 per cent winning rate since taking over and reached the playoffs in three of the four completed seasons he has been in charge in Japan.

On the field, where will the battle be won? The packs boast star power and ferocious physicality, and the Steelers ground down the usually solid Blue Revs pack last week. For the Brave Lupus, All Black backrower Shannon Frizell is the competition’s leading try-scoring forward with ten, and they enter the playoffs coming off a run of 10 wins from their last 11 matches.

Warner Dearns in the second row for the champions, arrived in Japan in 2016 when his father Grant took up a strength and conditioning role at Green Rockets Tokatsu, and he has become one of the best players on the Brave Blossoms side.

In the loose forwards for the Brave Lupus, captain Michael Leitch, who led Japan at the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups, and has been to four Rugby World Cups (87 caps in total for country and more than 100 for club) is in his 15th season in the league and amazingly led the Division tackle stats (269) across the whole league. Legendary status already confirmed - he will want to add a second JRLO title to his remarkable career.

A grizzled and tested midfield for the Steelers features Timothy Lafaele and Michael Little in the centres, Bryn Gatland at flyhalf (passing 200 points for the season last week), and Seungsin Lee at fullback. Widely touted since his debut for the club in 2021, he has been living up to the initial promise when introduced to the team as a 19-year-old. Now serving as vice-captain on the side, he was one of the try scorers in the win last weekend in the quarterfinal.

Opposite them, the Brave Lupus rely on the experienced and talisman qualities of All Black flyhalf Richie Mo’unga, who helped them to be champions of Japan in his maiden JRLO season. Aside from being a general for the team and his reliable boot, he has also scored 11 tries this season.

The side is without the services of Jone Naikabula & Yuto Mori - the former is the joint-leading try scorer in the Division (15).