(Written by Azul: March 8, 2025)
On February 22, 2025, the Japan Rugby League One Section 9 match between Black Rams (11th) and Brave Lupas (2nd) was held at the Chichibunomiya Rugby Ground in Minato-ku, Tokyo.
The match was played under cloudy skies with a temperature of 8 degrees Celsius, a typical seasonal chill in the air. The event drew a decent crowd of 8,380 spectators that day.
The match between Brave Lupas and Wild Knights on February 9 was a battle for first place, and the attendance was 11,051. Considering this, the attendance of 8,380 for the match between the second and eleventh-ranked teams was a decent turnout. The pre-match prediction was for last season’s champion Brave Lupas to win the match.
However, League One has had a few upsets so far this season. How will the Black Rams fare against last season’s champion Brave Lupas?
League One’s standings so far in the 2024-2025 season were as follows
| 2024-25 | League One Order(Division 1) 2/21 | ||||||
| ranking | team | Win | Lose | Even | WP | SD | |
| 1 | Saitama Panasonic Wildnights | 8 | 0 | 1 | 34 | 128 | |
| 2 | TOSHIBA Brave Lupas TOKYO | 6 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 101 | |
| 3 | Kubota Spears | 6 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 55 | |
| 4 | Shizuoka Blue Revs | 6 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 38 | |
| 5 | Yokohama CANON Eagles | 4 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 28 | |
| 6 | KOBELCO Kobe Steelers | 3 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 52 | |
| 7 | Tokyo SUNTORY Sungoliath | 3 | 3 | 2 | 17 | -3 | |
| 8 | Mie Honda Heat | 3 | 5 | 0 | 14 | -58 | |
| 9 | Sagamihara Dynaboars | 3 | 5 | 0 | 14 | -90 | |
| 10 | Toyota Verblitz | 1 | 6 | 1 | 11 | -27 | |
| 11 | Black Rams Tokyo | 2 | 6 | 0 | 10 | -61 | |
| 12 | Urayasu D-Rocks | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4 | -163 | |
| WP=Winning Point | |||||||
| SD=Score Difference | |||||||
The win-loss table so far this season,
* Last season’s runner-up, Wild Knights, remains as strong as ever and is the only undefeated team in the field.
*Brave Lupas, last season’s champion, is in second place with only a few points behind.
* Spears, the champion of the previous year, has recovered from last season’s 6th place finish and is now in 3rd place.
*Verblitz, who was considered a strong contender for the championship, has only one win so far and is languishing in 10th place.
*The teams from 5th to 9th are separated by only 6 winning points, so the order changes from week to week.
Which team will make it to the top 6 to qualify for the playoffs?
*The bottom two teams will have to play in the round-robin tournament, but which team will be able to escape? The difference in winning points between 8th and 11th place is only 4.
Let me introduce you to the two teams that will be playing on this day.
First, an update on the home team, the Ricoh Black Rams.
Black Rams’ record so far this season is 11th place with 2 wins and 6 losses and 10 winning points. This season, they accomplished a Giant Killing in the second round, defeating last season’s third-place finisher Sungoliath in a close game. However, after suffering 5 consecutive defeats, they finally got their second win of the season against 12th-ranked D-Rocks in the previous round. The team has been unable to ride the wave of success, although they have been able to showcase their new international star, T.J.Perenara, in every game. Brave Lupas, their opponent on this day, is a strong team, but will they be able to create another Giant Killing?
The starting lineup for this day’s match was as follows.
| Black Rams | |||||
| No. | Name | height | weight | age | |
| 1 | Kazuma NISHI | 180cm | 108kg | 28 | |
| 2 | Shin OUCHI | 183cm | 107kg | 27 | |
| 3 | Shohei OYAMA | 186cm | 116kg | 26 | |
| 4 | Reijiro YAMAMOTO | 191cm | 110kg | 22 | |
| 5 | Josh GOODHUE | 199cm | 113kg | 29 | |
| 6 | Michael STOLBERG | 204cm | 116kg | 32 | |
| 7 | Shuhei MATSUHASHI | 180cm | 99kg | 31 | Japan 8caps |
| 8 | Liam GILL | 184cm | 95kg | 32 | Australia 15 caps |
| 9 | TJ PERENARA | 184cm | 94kg | 32 | New Zealand 81caps |
| 10 | Ichigo NAKAKUSU | 174cm | 84kg | 24 | Japan |
| 11 | Semisi TUPOU | 190cm | 98kg | 25 | |
| 12 | Yuki IKEDA | 187cm | 100kg | 29 | Japan |
| 13 | Amanaki LOTOAHEA TAIYO | 191cm | 107kg | 34 | Japan 8caps |
| 14 | Main TAIRA | 180cm | 91kg | 24 | Japan 1cap |
| 15 | Kotaro ITO | 177cm | 86kg | 23 | Japan |
＊＊ Player to watch ＊＊
Yuki IKEDA. 187cm, 100kg, 29 years old. He is a graduate of Tokai University. He is a candidate for the Japan national team. He is one of the few Japanese players who can physically compete with foreign players on the professional stage. After graduating from Tokai University, he joined the NTT Shining Arcs for three seasons before moving to the Black Rams in 2021. In games this season, his work between the try line and scoring tries has been outstanding. We hope that he will continue to play an even more active role and make this season a breakthrough year.
Next, an update on the Visitor Team for this match, TOSHIBA Brave Lupas.
Brave Lupas, last season’s League One Champion, is in second place again this season with 6 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw, for 30 winning points. The only team they have lost to this season is the fourth-placed Shizuoka Blue Revs. Brave Lupas has the ability to score tries from all positions and has a strong group of players. The only weakness of this team is that they always play a power game centered around their FW, which makes them surprisingly fragile when they play opponents whose styles of play do not match up.
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 | Daigo HASHIMOTO | 174cm | 105kg | 31 | Japan 3caps |
| 3 | Taufa LATU | 183cm | 120kg | 26 | |
| 4 | Shohei ITO | 190cm | 105kg | 27 | |
| 5 | Anise SAMUERA | 198cm | 118kg | 38 | Japan 12caps |
| 6 | Yoshitaka TOKUNAGA | 185cm | 100kg | 32 | Japan 15caps |
| 7 | Takeshi SASAKI | 180cm | 101kg | 26 | |
| 8 | Michael LEITCH | 189cm | 113kg | 35 | Japan 87caps |
| 9 | Yuhei Sugiyama | 169cm | 76kg | 26 | |
| 10 | Richie MO’UNGA | 176cm | 83kg | 30 | New Zealand 56caps |
| 11 | Yuto MORI | 174cm | 82kg | 26 | |
| 12 | Rob THOMPSON | 184cm | 103kg | 33 | |
| 13 | Seta TAMANIVAL | 189cm | 104kg | 33 | New Zealand 3caps, Fiji 3 caps |
| 14 | Jone NAIKABULA | 177cm | 95kg | 29 | Japan 17caps |
| 15 | Takuro MATSUNAGA | 172cm | 82kg | 25 | Japan 4caps |
** Player to watch **
Takuro MATSUNAGA. 172 cm, 82 kg, 25 years old. A graduate of Tenri University, MATSUNAGA was called up to the national team last fall to take part in a tour of Europe when there were injuries to the national team. At first, Matsunaga was used as an inexperienced SO, but when he returned to his main position, FB, he began to show his true potential. When participating in attacks, MATSUNAGA’s specialty is to accurately spot holes in the opposing defense and work in tandem with other players to make big gains. He is the fastest growing BK player in League One this season. I hope he will show his further growth in the Japan national team games this summer and fall.
Let’s start the first half.
1 minute into the first half:
Brave Lupas kicked off to start the match. FB MATSUNAGA passed the ball to WTB NAIKABULA, who scored a try in the middle of the enemy in-goal. The conversion goal after the try was also successful, and Brave Lupas was ahead by 7 points. The score was 0-7.
5 minutes into the first half:
From the restart after the try, the Black Rams went into enemy territory, regained the ball, and from a series of attacks, they quickly approached the in-goal try line. Brave Lupas was fouled for offside, giving the Black Rams a PG opportunity right in front of the goal posts. Black Rams SO NAKAKUSU converted the PG to make the score 3-7.
13 minutes into the first half:
From the restart kickoff after the PG, Brave Lupas entered the enemy territory, dominated the ball, and attacked in succession. In the flow of the game, Brave Lupas FB MATSUNAGA received the ball on the right touchline and skillfully shook off the opposing defense to score a try right in the middle of the enemy in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try failed, but Brave Lupas extended their lead with a score of 3-12.
19 minutes into the first half:
The Black Rams’ defense was not able to handle the continuous forward movement of the Brave Lupas attack. Brave Lupas came close to the try line, and CTB THOMPSON scored a try at the left side of the goal post.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 3-19. Brave Lupas had a one-sided advantage in the match up to this point.
21 minutes into the first half:
From the kickoff after the try restart, the Black Rams entered the enemy territory and a mistake by the opposing team gave them the opportunity to have a scrum on their own ball just inside the 22-meter line in front of the goal posts. The Black Rams then took advantage of a scrum to the right, and SH PERENARA made a long pass to the right corner.
WTB TAIRA scored a try in the right corner of the enemy’s in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try failed, but the score was 8-19.
The Black Rams’ advantage in this match will depend on how long they can keep attacking in the opposition’s territory.
27 minutes into the first half:
Brave Lupas had a scrum in front of their own goalposts, and after a 15-meter gain, they moved to the right and then to the left, where the ball was passed to WTB MORI, who ran across the left touchline for what looked like a try.
However, Black Rams SO NAKAKAKUSU stopped MORI’s advance about 10 meters short of the try line. But Brave Lupas took the ball in a tight battle, and FB MATSUNAGA scored his second try of the day in the left center of the enemy’s in-goal. With this attack, Brave Lupas had advanced nearly 100 meters at a stretch from their own goal to the enemy’s in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 8-26.
35 minutes into the first half:
The Black Rams took the restart kickoff and went into the enemy territory, but Brave Lupas counter-attacked them and drove them back to their own in-goal. However, in a tight battle, Black Rams’ No. 8 GILL succeeded in stealing the ball. However, Black Rams’ SO NAKAKUSU’s penalty kick did not make it off the touchline, and the Brave Lupas counter-attacked again. The Black Rams’ SO NAKAKUSU made a number of kicking errors on the day.
However, the Black Rams were later awarded a penalty kick for a foul on their opponents, giving them a chance for a lineout on their own ball on the right side just beyond the enemy 22-meter line.
The Black Rams secured the ball, and SH PERENARA, who was caught by the defense, advanced forward and connected with an off-load pass to lock GOODHUE, who scored a try in the right corner of the enemy in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try failed, but the score was 13-26.
42 minutes into the first half:
The Black Rams launched a series of attacks near the enemy 22-meter line near the end of the first half, but were unable to advance due to the solid defense of their opponents.
An injury to a Black Rams player halted the game, and the horn sounded to signal the end of the first half and the last play of the first half. Here, the Black Rams went on a series of attacks in an attempt to score the last point of the first half. Black Rams’ SH PERENARA kicked a pass from the right side in front of the enemy in-goal, and FL MATSUHAHI caught it and scored a try in the left corner of the enemy in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try failed, but the score was 18-26, and the Black Rams were now 8 points behind at the end of the first half.
The first half ended with a 15-minute halftime break.
At halftime, mascots from various companies in Tokyo gathered and circled the field.
The temperature was low that day, but the wind was not blowing much, so it did not feel as cold as one might expect.
Now, let the second half begin.
7 minutes into the second half:
While watching this game, I noticed that the Black Rams, currently ranked 11th in Division 1 of League One, were more than even with Brave Lupas, the second-place team in Division 1, in the scrums. One wonders why such a strong FW team is ranked 11th. They dominated Brave Lupas in the scrums, especially after prop Puddy LYAN came on in the second half as a substitute.
Early in the second half, the Black Rams gained the upper hand in the scrum, and after pushing hard from a scrum set up slightly to the right in front of the enemy in-goal, SH PERENARA brought the ball up and scored a try under the enemy goalposts.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 25-26, and the Black Rams were finally within 1 point of Brave Lupas.
12 minutes into the second half:
The Black Rams had another scrum that drew an infringement from the opposing team, giving the Black Rams the right of a penalty kick 30 meters from the goalposts. Black Rams’ SO NAKAKUSU tried and missed again, as NAKAKUSU had missed 5 SHOTs on the day, putting the brakes on the team’s momentum.
14 minutes into the second half:
Brave Lupas replaced their hooker with Japan’s national team player, Harada, and then prop with Mikami in an attempt to recover from their poor showing in the scrums. This helped stabilize the Brave Lupas scrum a little, but it did not change the Black Rams’ scrum dominance.
After the game resumed, the Black Rams pushed in at the scrum, and SH PERENARA made a short punt up the back of the opposing defense, which was held by Black Rams CTB IKEDA in the left center of the enemy in-goal for a try.
The conversion goal after the try failed, but the score was 30-26. The Black Rams finally succeeded in turning the tide.
16 minutes into the second half:
After the try, Brave Lupas kicked off from the restart, and Brave Lupas CTB TOMPSON received the ball on the right side near the enemy 22m line, dodged two opposing defenders, and scored a try just under the goal post in the enemy’s in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 30-33, and Brave Lupas was back in the game.
21 minutes into the second half:
Once the Black Rams had attacked deep into enemy territory, Brave Lupas secured the ball after it was spilled in a tight battle and counter-attacked from there. Brave Lupas then had a scrum in the middle of the field, but Brave Lupas’ SH OGAWA, who came on as a substitute, got to the side of the scrum and got into the enemy territory.
Brave Lupas FB MATSUNAGA received a pass from OGAWA, and advanced forward at once, closing in on the enemy’s in-goal try line.
As the match entered its climax, the 2 teams were on the same page in terms of content, and both sides continued to attack in succession, with many spectacular scenes emerging. Whenever a player approached the try line, the screams of the fans, especially female fans, echoed around the stadium. That was how excited the fans watching the game were.
The Black Rams caught up with MATSUNAGA and managed to stop them, but from there, Brave Lupas took the ball to the right, where WTB NAIKABULA, the decisive trump card, received a pass and scored a try in the right corner of the enemy in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try was missed, but the score was 38-30 and Brave Lupas extended their lead.
24 minutes into the second half:
From the restart kickoff after the try, the Black Rams moved into enemy territory and gradually gained ground, crossing the enemy 22-meter line. Brave Lupas was fouled for offside and the Black Rams opted to go for the PG at this point as it was right in front of the goal posts.
However, SO NAKUSU missed this relatively easy looking PG, and it was a painful failure. The score remained 30-38.
31 minutes into the second half:
The Black Rams entered the final minutes of the match in a rather uncomfortable position. Brave Lupas broke out of the crowd, and Black Rams’ SH PERENARA intercepted the ball and ran straight into the enemy’s in-goal. However, just two meters from the try line, he was caught by Brave Lupas’ CTB TOMPSON.
The Black Rams try was disallowed.
The Black Rams continued to attack, keeping the game in enemy territory. The Black Rams pushed the opposing scrum into the opponents’ territory, forcing an infringement by the opposing team, which led to a penalty kick and a lineout for their own ball. The Black Rams secured the ball at the lineout, and after closing in on the enemy in-goal, the FW side attacked in succession, and finally, when SH PERENARA mis-timed his pass, Black Rams prop TSUMURA, who came on as a substitute, ran in and scored a try on the left side of the goal post. He ran in and scored a try on the left side of the goal post.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, bringing the score to 37-38, Black Rams within one point.
34 minutes into the second half:
From the kickoff after the try, Brave Lupas made steady progress and advanced deep into the enemy territory. Brave Lupas was pushed back in the scrums, but they showed their strength in the attacking sequences from the tight pack. WTB NAIKABULA got the ball and came close to the try line, but the Black Rams did their best to stop him with a defensive stop. But Brave Lupas’ CTB MANO followed up and scored a try right in the middle of the enemy’s in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, and the score was 37-45, Brave Lupas again outscoring the hosts.
37 minutes into the second half:
With only a few minutes left in the second half, the Black Rams worked hard to connect with the ball in hopes of winning the game. Once Brave Lupas turned the ball over and pushed deep into their own territory, the Black Rams regained possession. The Black Rams counter-attacked from their own territory, and FB TAIRA and WTB TUPOU made a clever passing move to get around the defense. As they approached the enemy in-goal, TAIRA passed to TUPOU who followed him up and TUPOU ran right under the goal posts for the try.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, and the score was 44-45, with the Black Rams again within one point.
40 minutes into the second half:
The horn had already sounded to signal the end of the match, and the Black Rams were down to one last play. From a scrum on their own ball, the Black Rams attacked and attacked again until Phase 6, when the Black Rams went deep into enemy territory. The Black Rams attacked until Phase 6, when the ball hit a Brave Lupas player and was spilled, ending the game. Brave Lupas won the match.
As a result of the hard-fought match, the Black Rams were one point behind and thus received 1 bonus point for a loss by 7 points or less. Although it was not the second Giant Killing game of the season, Black Rams fans were treated to a great match. We look forward to another good game like this one in the next round and beyond.
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Stop the war.
Peace to Ukraine
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