Serial championship winner Richie Mo’unga will be chasing a second title in Japan, to go with seven in Super Rugby, when he goes head-to-head with former Wallaby flyhalf rival Bernard Foley in the League One final.
The pair featured prominently on a weekend that saw two former Wallaby coaches ousted from the competition.
Mo’unga gave a masterful display on Saturday, which included two 40/20 kicks and five-from-five off the goal-kicking tee, as his Brave Lupus overran Dave Rennie’s Kobe in the second half, turning a 7-3 half-time advantage into a crushing 31-3 victory.
Foley’s Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay edged out the Robbie Deans-coached Saitama Wild Knights 28-24 in Sunday’s second semi-final, holding their nerve after their opponents threatened to run down a 15-point deficit when they closed to 25-24 midway through the second half.
The Spears, who had the Wild Knights on the back foot from the third minute when Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx scored, wouldn’t be denied, and will bid for their second title in League One, after they upset the Wild Knights two seasons ago.
Brave Lupus will be hunting for back-to-back championship crowns in Sunday’s grand final, after beating the Wild Knights in last year’s decider.
Rennie guided Kobe to the semi-finals for the first time since they won the Japanese nationwide league in 2018, but they were gradually worn down by the defending champions, conceding four tries.
However, it could have been even worse, with Brave Lupus twice being called back for offences in the build-up after crossing the goal line.
Elsewhere, Urayasu D-Rocks’ stars Samu Kerevi and Israel Folau still have work to do, even though both scored tries, with the former continuing to push his Wallabies claims by scoring twice in his side’s 43-42 defeat by Shuttles Aichi in the first leg of their promotion/relegation series.
Quade Cooper and Will Genia also have to come from behind in the return match if they are to sign off from Hanazono Liners with promotion, after their side lost 29-25 to Mie Heat, for whom ex-Wallaby Tom Banks was a try-scorer.
