(Written by Azul: June 8, 2025)
(TOSHIBA Brave Lupas head coach Todd Blackadder is aiming for another League One championship.)
The League One playoffs began on May 17 with the semifinals.
The results of the semifinals held the previous week were as follows
Quarterfinals Game 1 (5/17 at Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Higashiosaka):
SHIZUOKA Blue Revs vs KOBELCO Steelers
Steelers won 20-35.
Quarterfinal Match 2 (5/18 at Chichibunomiya Rugby Ground, Tokyo):
KUBOTA Spears vs SUNTORY Sungoliath
Spears won 20-15.
As a result, the pairings for the semifinals were decided as follows.
Semifinal Game 1 (5/24 at Chichibunomiya Rugby Ground, Tokyo):
TOSHIBA Brave Lupas vs KOBELCO Steelers
Semifinal Match 2 (5/25 at Chichibunomiya Rugby Ground, Tokyo):
Panasonic Wild Knights vs KUBOTA Spears
I went to watch the first semifinal match, which started at 14:05 on Saturday, May 24.
The weather was cloudy and there was a chance of rain, so I arrived at the stadium one hour before the game started. However, I went to the game in the standing room behind the goal. The number of spectators on that day was 16,253, which was quite a large crowd.
Let me introduce the two teams playing on that day.
First, let me introduce the KOBELCO Steelers.
This season in League One, they finished in 5th place with a record of 10 wins and 8 losses, making the playoffs for the first time since becoming a League One team.
During the season, the team’s form has fluctuated, with big wins followed by big losses, much to the worry of their supporters. With a strong group of players and a number of world-class players, the Steelers are a strong contender for the championship if they play to their full potential.
In the quarterfinals, the Steelers beat the upper-ranked SHIZUOKA Blue Revs in a close match, creating an upset. We expect the Steelers to play well in the semifinals as well.
This day’s starting lineup was as follows
| KOBELCO Steelers | |||||
| No. | Name | height | weight | age | |
| 1 | Shigure TAKAO | 178cm | 110kg | 28 | |
| 2 | Takuya KITADE | 180cm | 100kg | 32 | |
| 3 | Hiroshi YAMASHITA | 183cm | 120kg | 39 | Japan 51caps |
| 4 | Gerard COWLEI-TUIOTI | 197cm | 115kg | 32 | |
| 5 | Brodie RETALLICK | 204cm | 120kg | 33 | New Zealand 109caps |
| 6 | Waisake RARATUBUA | 193cm | 118kg | 27 | |
| 7 | Willie POTGIETTER | 190cm | 105kg | 23 | |
| 8 | Amanaki SAUMAKI | 189m | 110kg | 28 | Japan 5caps |
| 9 | Atsushi HIWASA | 166cm | 70kg | 37 | Japan 51caps |
| 10 | Bryn GATLAND | 180cm | 88kg | 29 | |
| 11 | Kanta MATSUNAGA | 167cm | 79kg | 25 | |
| 12 | Lafaere TIMOSY | 186cm | 98kg | 33 | |
| 13 | Michael LITTLE | 180cm | 98kg | 32 | |
| 14 | Kazuma UEDA | 177cm | 87kg | 22 | |
| 15 | Seunsin LEE | 176cm | 85kg | 24 | Japan 18caps |
** Player to watch **
Willie POTGIETTER. 190cm, 105kg, 23 years old. Position = FL, NO.8. He is from South Africa and is a promising young player who joined the Steelers in 2023. This season, he has been playing regularly among the strong Steelers FW members, and his presence is increasing with each game. He has been particularly strong in tight games, contributing to the team’s turn overs and securing the ball for his team.
Next, we would like to introduce the Defending Champion, TOSHIBA Brave Lupas.
Brave Lupas, last season’s Champion team in League One, came into the playoffs in first place in the league standings. The main injured player for this match is NAIKABULA, the WTB for Japan, who is sidelined. All other players were reported to be in good condition after about 2 weeks of rest. In the semifinal matchup, the Blue Revs were initially expected to advance, but the Steelers came out on top. The Steelers’ contact strength improved in the quarterfinals as if they were a different team. We expect a good match.
The starting lineup for this day’s match 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 | Syohei TOYOSHIMA | 175cm | 87kg | 35 | |
| 12 | Rob THOMPSON | 184cm | 103kg | 33 | |
| 13 | Seta TAMANIVAL | 189cm | 104kg | 33 | New Zealand 3caps, Fiji 3 caps |
| 14 | Toshiki KUWAYAMA | 184cm | 95kg | 28 | |
| 15 | Takuro MATSUNAGA | 172cm | 82kg | 26 | Japan 4caps |
** Player to watch **
Yuhei SUGIYAMA. 169 cm, 76 kg, 27 years old. He is a graduate of Tsukuba University. The veteran half of the Steelers’ team is likely to put SUGIYAMA under a lot of pressure in this match. It will be interesting to see if SUGIYAMA will be able to show their ability on the big stage of the playoffs under intense pressure.
Let’s start the first half.
Steelers kickoff to start the game.
3 minutes into the first half:
Both sides’ determination to win this one clashed, and intense contact play was seen. In the league matches this season, Steelers had suffered a heavy defeat against Brave Lupas, but in the tournament matches, the atmosphere was different from that in the league matches, because the season ends after a loss.
After a kicking battle for possession, the Steelers got into enemy territory and drew a foul from Brave Lupas, giving them the right of a PG almost directly in front of the goal posts.
The Steelers’ SO GATTLAND scored the first goal. The score was 0-3.
The Steelers, as in the quarterfinals, got off to a good start by scoring first.
11 minutes into the first half:
What was particularly noticeable since the start of the playoffs was the increased intensity of the Steelers’ contact. This was due to the fact that key players such as LO RETALLICK and CTB LITTLE have recovered from their injuries and have adjusted for this playoffs, and that there were no more holes in the defensive network as a result of the pre-game meetings.
However, Brave Lupas was not to be outdone in terms of defensive intensity in front of the try line, as the Steelers’ FL POTGIETTER broke the line and ran over 30 meters to close in on the try line, only to be stopped by a series of attacks. Brave Lupas was able to hold off a series of attacks to score a try.
The Steelers then broke the line with CTB Little, and from there they attacked again, this time deep into the opposition territory.
However, Brave Lupas won the ball back and SO MOUNGA kicked the ball from deep in their own territory, which sailed just short of the enemy in-goal and off the touchline.
This led to an up-and-down position recovery kick by Brave Lupas’ SO MOUNGA. The 50-22 rule was applied, and Brave Lupas quickly closed in on the enemy in-goal and had a great scoring opportunity, a lineout on their own ball.
The crowd cheered Brave Lupas’ SO MOUNGA’s super play.
From the lineout, Brave Lupas secured the ball and formed a maul to push forward. However, the Steelers were able to hold off this advance, and the Brave Lupas maul almost collapsed. Brave Lupas’ FL SASAKI made a breakthrough and dove into the in-goal for the try.
The Brave Lupas supporters, who probably made up 80% of the stands that day, cheered loudly.
However, a video review after the try confirmed an infringement in the play before the try, so the try was disallowed.
16 minutes of the first half:
The restart after the try was cancelled resulted in a scrum 5 meters in front of the in-goal by Steelers’ own ball.
The Steelers tried to push forward from this point with a side attack by the FWs, but Brave Lupas succeeded in turning it over and launching a series of attacks. Brave Lupas’ CTB THOMPSON dragged the defense behind him and scored a try right under the goal post.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 7-3 in favor of Brave Lupas.
After this, the first half was a stalemate in terms of score. However, a spectacular densely contested battle ensued, with the FWs playing a central role. In the contact phase, the Steelers players were no match for Brave Lupas.
The Steelers came close to the try line several times and created several scoring chances, but failed to score.
In the end, the first half ended with the score 7-3. Both teams played an athletic match, and it would be interesting to see which team will be the first to take control of the game in the second half.
3 minutes into the second half:
Brave Lupas was the first team to get into the game in the second half.
After Brave Lupas kicked off to start the second half, the Steelers tried to push forward, but a mistake during a deployed attack resulted in a foul and the ball went to Brave Lupas. Brave Lupas started their attack in the enemy territory and steadily approached the enemy try line while continuing their attack. From a scrum in front of the goalposts, Brave Lupas moved to the right, and on their second successive attack, the ball was passed to right wing WTB KUWAYAMA, who scored a try right in the middle of the enemy in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 14-3.
9 minutes into the second half:
The game continued to go back and forth with neither team scoring during this period. However, Brave Lupas had the ball in their own territory and a Steelers foul gave Brave Lupas a PG opportunity. The distance was over 40 meters, but it was right in front of the goal post, so SO MOUNGA of Brave Lupas scored it to make the score 17-3.
12 minutes into the second half:
From the restart after the PG, Brave Lupas entered the enemy territory, and in a series of attacks, SO MOUNGA broke the line at key points, approached the enemy try line, and finally scored a try just below the goal post by FL FRIZELL who followed up on it.
However, the try was cancelled out by a video review, which showed that Brave Lupas had been fouled for a Forwarad Pass in the process.
35 minutes into the second half:
The intensity of the contact from the start of the match was so strong that as the second half drew to a close, both teams were so worn out that both teams’ players were breathing on their shoulders during the scrums. Brave Lupas’ substitutes showed their performance during this period, with Brave Lupas’ CTB MANO showing strong tackling and struggling in dense battles, winning the ball for his opponents on several occasions.
(CTB MANO of Brave Lupas is the player on the far right)
Brave Lupas’s Hooker HASHIMOTO, who also came on as a substitute, made a series of line breaks from a dense battle in the enemy camp, and finally scored a try right under the goal post in the enemy camp.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 24-3.
40 minutes into the second half:
With the score then tied, the Brave Lupas were looking to win the match, but the Steelers were determined to get their revenge and continued their attack from the restart kickoff. However, from the restart, the Steelers continued to attack from the kickoff. From a tight battle, CTB TOMPSON intercepted the ball and ran over 30 meters to score a try right under the goalposts. The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 31-3.
The game was over, and Brave Lupas advanced to the League One playoff final for the second year in a row.
The defeated Steelers will play the third-place game the following Saturday for the season finale.
In the end, Brave Lupas won outright, but the game was close until the middle of the second half, much to the delight of the fans who came to the game.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
Stop the war.
Peace to Ukraine
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊