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Todd Blackadder and his Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo will try to do what no team has accomplished in the JRLO era, and that is defend a title and win a second championship on Sunday, 1 June at the National Stadium in Tokyo. However, their opponents, Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay, coached by Frans Ludeke, are also in the hunt for a second title in three years, and the finale of the Japanese domestic season could not be poised more finely.
Todd Blackadder and his Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo will try to do what no team has accomplished in the JRLO era, and that is defend a title and win a second championship on Sunday, 1 June at the National Stadium in Tokyo. However, their opponents, Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay, coached by Frans Ludeke, are also in the hunt for a second title in three years, and the finale of the Japanese domestic season could not be poised more finely.
Blackadder said they were excited to be in the final after playing good rugby this season, and the fourth final of the Japan Rugby League One dishes up plenty of quality on the field as Richie Mo’unga squares off against Bernard Foley.
Mo’unga was pulling the strings last week as he was awarded the Player of the Match in their 31-3 semifinal triumph over Kobe, and he has scored 11 tries for the season (4th highest), while kicking 29 of his 32 attempts on goal, while Brave Lupus’ fullback Takuro Matsunaga has the primary kicking responsibilities (with 174 points this season).
Between Mo’unga and Matsunaga, they have a combined 2,500 metres gained this season!
Foley is 4th on the Division’s points list with 159 to his name, and 35-year-old Wallaby has been a key cog in getting Frans Ludeke’s side to another final.
His teammate, Malcolm Marx, has also been in impressive form all season for the Spears, as he was in their maiden title-winning run two seasons ago. He was the Player of the Match in the quarterfinal win and last week scored another try - he has now tallied up 36 tries in 49 matches since joining the club in Japan.
The Springbok will need to be on top of his game, especially in the loose, where he acts like an additional loose forward as the defending champions' backrow has been consistent all season and hardly missed a match between them. That loose trio includes the stellar Michael Leitch and All Black Shannon Frizell, with the latter also getting across the try line 11 times.
The rising star of Brave Blossoms lock rower Warner Dearns can't be ignored, and he went toe to toe with Brodie Retalick last week. And if you are a fan of the scrum, there will be plenty of scrum porn as the Spears have a 95% scrum win rate this season (tied best, while Brave Lupus has a 93% scrum win rate (tied 3rd).
It should be noted that the Kubota side, who usually wear orange, will be wearing their 3rd jersey (black and white hoops), inspired by the jersey worn at the time of the team's founding, in the final. They wore the same strip in the 12th round on March 22, 2025.
Across the two teams, we have four of the Division’s top six try scorers for the season, so can we see a high-scoring finale, or will it be a tight contest between the two? When the sides last met in the regular season, the Brave Lupus won 31-27.
Elsewhere this weekend in Japan, Kobe will face off against the Wild Knights in Saturday's third and fourth playoff, and the Replacement Battles head into their second and final legs. Whatever happens in those crucial matches, it will be the final matches for Quade Cooper. Freddie Burns, and Will Genia and all three have announced they are leaving Japan.
Fixtures
Saturday May 31
3rd Place - (2) Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights vs (5) Kobelco Kobe Steelers; at Tokyo
Sunday June 1
Final - (1) Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo vs (3) Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay; at Tokyo
