(Written by Azul: June 22, 2025)

On June 1, 2025, the Japan Rugby League One playoff final for the 2024-2025 season was held at the National Stadium in Shibuya, Tokyo.
This was the 4th season for League One, and the previous winners were as follows.
2022: SAITAMA Panasonic Wild Knights
2022-2023: KUBOTA Spears
2023-2024: TOSHIBA Brave Lupas
In the third-place match that preceded the final, KOBELCO Steelers (5th in the regular season) beat Panasonic Wild Knights (2nd in the regular season) by a score of 22-17.
And the combination for this final match is
TOSHIBA Brave Lupas (regular season 1st place) vs KUBOTA Spears (regular season 3rd place) .
The kickoff time was 15:05, the weather was cloudy, and the temperature was 24 degrees Celsius, making the conditions a bit humid. The final was played in front of 51,009 spectators, 80% of the National Stadium.

Here are the two teams that made it to the final.
First, an update on TOSHIBA Brave Lupas, last season’s champion and this season’s regular season’s 1st place finisher in League One.

Brave Lupas’ regular season record this season was 15 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw. Their losses were 2 to the SHIZUOKA Blue Revs and 1 draw against the Panasonic Wild Knights. Looking at the losses, in the 2nd match against Blue Revs on April 12, the team lost by a double score of 26-56. In this match, they had already lost one game to Blue Revs, so even though it was a revenge chance for Brave Lupas, they were outplayed by Blue Revs. They were pushed at set pieces and were unable to stop the strong individual skills and breakthroughs of the Revs’ individual players. I personally was hoping for a 3rd matchup between the Blue Revs and Brave Lupas, but alas, the Revs lost in the 1st round of the playoffs, so we never got to see them face off in person. In this season’s League One, the teams are so close that the outcome would not be known until they actually played each other. It has been an exciting season for fans watching the games. Then, we were looking forward to seeing what would happen in this day’s match.
This day’s starting lineup was as follows.
TOSHIBA Brave Lupas | |||||
No. | Name | height | weight | age | |
1 | Sena KIMURA | 175cm | 105kg | 24 | |
2 | Mamoru HARADA | 175cm | 101kg | 25 | Japan 10caps |
3 | Taufa LATU | 183cm | 120kg | 26 | |
4 | Jacob PIERCE | 201cm | 106kg | 27 | |
5 | Warner DEARNS | 202cm | 124kg | 23 | Japan 20caps |
6 | Shannon FRIZELL | 195cm | 114kg | 30 | New Zealand 33caps |
7 | Takeshi SASAKI | 180cm | 101kg | 26 | |
8 | Michael LEITCH | 189cm | 113kg | 35 | Japan 87caps |
9 | Yuhei Sugiyama | 169cm | 76kg | 27 | |
10 | Richie MO’UNGA | 176cm | 83kg | 30 | New Zealand 56caps |
11 | Yuto MORI | 174cm | 82kg | 24 | |
12 | Taichi MANO | 172cm | 88kg | 28 | |
13 | Rob THOMPSON | 184cm | 103kg | 33 | |
14 | Michael COLINS | 187cm | 94kg | 31 | |
15 | Takuro MATSUNAGA | 172cm | 82kg | 26 | Japan 4caps |
Brave Lupas had almost the best lineup. Unfortunately, Japan’s national WTB, NAIKABULA, was unable to play in this final due to injury.
** Player to watch **

Richie MO’UNGA is 175 cm, 80 kg, 30 years old. 56 caps for New Zealand. I have already introduced MOUNGA some times in this section, but he is a key player in Brave Lupas, and it is hard to imagine a victory for Spears without stopping him.
After winning 3 consecutive championships with the SUPER RUGBY Crusaders, he moved to Japan’s League One Brave Lupas and immediately became the MVP of last season’s championship, and if they win again this season, he will win his 5th consecutive championship. He is a player who can instantly spot an opening in the opposing team and move his own team freely, and even if he cannot find an opening, he can move on his own to make a precise breakthrough. In League One, MOUNGA has yet to reach its full potential.
The next team to advance to the finals was KUBOTA Spears.

In League One this regular season, they finished in 3rd place with 14 wins, 2 losses, and 2 draws. Their losing records were as follows
12/28: Wild Knights 26 – Spears 24
3/1: Brave Lupas 31 – Spears 27
All of the losses were close, but the Spears team is slowly improving towards the end of the season. The Spears have a consistent set play from their front row, which has kept them from falling too far behind in the standings.
When they play against teams with strong FWs, the margin will be very close, but when they dominate the FW game, we have seen many victories by large margins this season. It will be interesting to see if they can become the League One champions for the 2nd time on this day, following their victory the year before last.
The starting lineup for this day’s match was as follows.
KUBOTA SPEARS | |||||
No. | Name | height | weight | age | |
1 | Yota KAMIMORI | 172cm | 105kg | 25 | |
2 | Malcolm MARX | 189cm | 117kg | 30 | South Africa 74caps |
3 | Opeti HELU | 190cm | 127kg | 26 | Japan 1cap |
4 | Ruan BOTHA | 205cm | 120kg | 32 | |
5 | David BULBRING | 199cm | 113kg | 35 | |
6 | Tyler PAUL | 195cm | 111kg | 29 | |
7 | Takeo SUENAGA | 178cm | 98kg | 30 | |
8 | Faulua MAKISI | 182cm | 117kg | 28 | Japan 7caps |
9 | Shinobu FUJIWARA | 171cm | 76kg | 25 | Japan 6caps |
10 | Bernard FOLEY | 182cm | 89kg | 35 | Australia 75caps |
11 | Koga NAZUKA | 173cm | 82kg | 25 | Japan 3caps |
12 | Harumichi TATEKAWA | 180cm | 93kg | 35 | Japan 62caps |
13 | Rikus PRETORIUS | 193cm | 104kg | 24 | |
14 | Halatoa VAILEA | 187cm | 105kg | 25 | |
15 | Atsushi OSHIKAWA | 175cm | 87kg | 25 |
Spears has also assembled almost their best lineup for this match. One of the concerns was the accumulated fatigue from playing 5 rounds of matches in a row since the Regular Season, but how the team fights in their signature FW game will be the highlight of this match.
** Player to watch **

Malcolm MARX is 30 years old, 189 cm, 117 kg. He has 72 caps for the South African national team. Position = Hooker. World No. 1 hooker. This player has also been featured in this section some times, but since he is the central player in Spears, it would be unthinkable to exclude him from the final to determine the winner. The strongest scrums, mauls, and lineouts in League One are only as good as MARX. With the best big men in League One at the core of their team, the Spears would be able to show their strength on the defensive side of the ball. Their iron-clad defense would disrupt the rhythm of their opponents’ attacks, and when their opponents are exhausted, they would put their powerful frontline forward to score points by force. This is the rugby of Spears. Would it be Brave Lupas’ rugby or Spears’ rugby that wins the final?
Let’s start the first half.
The game started with a kick by Spears.

The spiritedness of each Speras player was remarkable. In a densely packed battle, they turned up their opponents, turned over, and made progress toward the enemy’s try line.

8 minutes into the first half:
The race to win the ball in set pieces and dense battles was almost a 50-50 battle.

However, Brave Lupas continued to attack and gradually pushed deeper and deeper into enemy territory.

Brave Lupas came close to the try line, and after a left-right move, SO MOUNGA broke the line with his individual skill and scored a try in the left corner of the enemy’s in-goal, dragging a couple of opposing defenders with him.


The conversion goal after the try was unsuccessful, but Brave Lupas succeeded in scoring the first points of the game. The score was 5-0.

Both teams played well in the final. The teams pushed each other individually and when they got into a development game, they were turned over and the play did not break down.

At this point, the game had already turned into a war of attrition. Both teams played with such intensity that it looked as if they might not last until the end of the game.

17 minutes into the first half:
The next scoring opportunity came for Speras. Brave Lupas’ CTB MANO committed a high tackle on Speras’ WTB VAILEA as the Spears moved into their own territory. Spears chose to go for the PG because they were in front of the goal post and about 30 meters away. Spears’ SO FOLEY scored to make the score 5-3.


22 minutes into the first half:
Brave Lupas had another scoring opportunity, this time in a tight battle as Brave Lupas entered enemy territory, and Spears committed a foul.

Brave Lupas chose to go for the PG and SO MOUNGA scored to make the score 8-3.


32 minutes into the first half:
At this time, Brave Lupas was spreading the ball around so much that the big Spears players were getting pushed around and having a hard time getting into the enemy territory.
The Spears broke the deadlock with a scrum deep in their own territory.

The Spears pushed in at this scrum and earned a collapsing foul from their opponents. From here, Spears pushed into enemy territory, deployed the ball, and attacked deep into enemy territory, where Brave Lupas was fouled in a tight battle. With the goalposts in front of them, Speras opted for the PG. SO FOLEY scored it to make the score 8-6.


The first half ended with this score. In the first half, Brave Lupas spent a lot of time on the attack, and the Spears were often forced to defend. Spears, who finished 3rd in the league, had been playing in the playoffs since the quarterfinals, so there were concerns about fatigue due to the consecutive games. However, with a 2-points difference on the score, Spears had plenty of room for an upset victory. The timing of the player changes in the second half could make or break this match.

So let’s get the second half underway.

From the kickoff to start the second half, Brave Lupas advanced forward as they entered enemy territory, advancing their position to near the 22-meter line. Here, Speras committed an infringement near the front of the goal post. This was a great PG opportunity, but Brave Lupas chose to go for a penalty kick instead of a PG, and from a lineout on their own ball, they made the strong choice to go for the try.

However, Spears played tenacious defense and did not allow them to score. Conversely, from this point on, the Spears pushed deep into enemy territory.


7 minutes into the second half:
Here, Brave Lupas deployed from deep in their own territory to make up ground.

Brave Lupas’ SO MOUNGA broke the line despite being tangled up with the opposing defense, and quickly attacked deep into the enemy territory.

He passed to Brave Lupas’ WTB MORI, who ran alongside him, and MORI scored a try in the middle of the enemy in-goal on the left side.

Brave Lupas scored the first points of the second half to put the game in their favor. The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 15-6.


16 minutes into the second half:
Brave Lupas continued to hold the ball and attack in enemy territory. Brave Lupas was able to break down the Spears’ defense, which had been rock solid in league play, allowing few line breaks to the other team. Brave Lupas broke down the Spears’ defense several times, and the crowd at the National Stadium cheered loudly each time.

Brave Lupas made full use of off-load passes, and their BK players made a big move from the left side to the right side, and finally SO MOUNGA scored a try right in the middle of the enemy’s in-goal.

However, this try was cancelled out by video judgment due to a throw forward infringement in the middle of the field.
21 minutes into the second half:
Brave Lupas took control of the match in the second half and continued to attack almost exclusively in enemy territory. However, the gap between the teams remained tight as Speras did not break down defensively. However, Brave Lupas had a couple of PG chances in this period. In the second half, Brave Lupas had been trying to score a try instead of going for the PG when they had PG chances, but finally, the Speras defense gave in and they went for the PG.

SO MOUNGA of Brave Lupas scored it, and the score was 18-6.


32 minutes into the second half:
With 30 minutes to go in the second half, it was finally time for Speras to attack.

The Speras team was able to get into the enemy territory, and from a lineout set play, they were able to push forward in a maul and score a try with their powerful FW.

However, Brave Lupas’ defense held strong, and the two teams battled hard around the try line, with Brave Lupas pushing the ball back and kicking it out to regain possession just short of the try line.

However, the Spears again made a series of forward advances to the try line. After 3 or 4 more of these attacks, the Spears challenged the FWs to a tight battle in front of the in-goal on the left flank.

From there, the Spears made a turnaround, and after a big move to the right, WTB NEZUKA went for a try, which was blocked by the opposing defense, but the Spears were able to expand again, and CTB TATEKAWA scored a try at the right side of the goal post.



The conversion goal after the try was also successful, and the score was 18-13.

With 8 minutes remaining, Speras had enough time to make a comeback, but the substitutes were unable to apply pressure at the set piece, and Brave Lupas pushed them back at the scrum. Brave Lupas, the match-winners, used their time skillfully here, and the game came to an end. In the end, SO MOUNGA kicked the ball out and the game was over.

With this result, Brave Lupas won the League One playoff final and became the champion for the second year in a row.

Spears kept Brave Lupas at bay until the end of the match, entertaining the crowd but falling short of their first championship in two years.


The final, which closed out the season, was just as heated as last season, with an unpredictable outcome until the very end. We look forward to another great match next season as the league as a whole raises its level.
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Stop the war.
Peace to Ukraine
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