Toshiba Brave Lupus defeated Suntory Sungoliath 28-20 in a tense League One semi-final to book a place in the final against Saitama Wild Knights at the National Stadium next Sunday.
In an error-strewn first half, with chances at a premium, Suntory starlet Mikiya Takamoto broke the deadlock after eight minutes with a pinpoint penalty.
Suntory hooker Kosuke Horikoshi grabbed his 13th try of the season after 22 minutes with a typically powerful showing of his many attributes.
Toshiba second row Jacob Pierce, the son of former Pontypool player and current Secom Ruggets head coach Scott Pierce, scored a timely and deserved try for his team after sustained pressure.
Pierce crossed in the 37th minute and Richie Mo'unga added the conversion to cut the deficit to three points at the break.
Flanker Takeshi Sasaki powered over the line to start the second half as he evaded the attention of Kotaro Matsushima.
All Blacks star Shannon Frizell charged over the line after 55 minutes and his compatriot Mo'unga added the conversion.
Japanese ace Jone Naikabula, who is on the radar of a host of Top 14 teams, showed his pace as he outsprinted his rivals to cross in the 64th minute.
Mo'unga, who acknowledged his late father’s birthday yesterday with a Zoom chat with his whole family and a birthday cake on Saturday, was the difference with his game management and coolness, especially in the second half, illustrating why incoming All Blacks coach Scott Robertson is desperate to bring the his former Crusaders fly-half home.
The laboursome Australia-born Harry Hockings kept Suntory in the game as he went over in the 74th minute and Takamoto scored the conversion but they chased an eight-point deficit and it proved to be too much.
Toshiba beat Suntory for the third time this season and can now look forward to a final against Saitama Wild Knights on Sunday at the National Stadium in Tokyo.
Toshiba (1-15): S. Kimura, M. Harada, Y. Kokaji, W. Dearns, J. Pierce, S. Frizell, T. Sasaki, M. Leitch (c), Y. Sugiyama, R. Mo'unga A. Kuwayama, N. McCurran, M. Collins, J. Naikabula, T. Matsunaga
Replacements: D. Hashimoto, M. Mikami, T. Makabe, S. Anise, S. Ito, K. Takahashi, Y. Mori, T. Mano
Suntory (1-15): Y. Morikawa, K. Horikoshi, S. Kakinaga, S. Jeffries, H. Hockings, K. Shimokawa, K. Yamamoto, H. Tui, N. Saito, M. Takamoto, C. Kolbe, I. Punivai, T. Ozaki, S. Ozaki, K. Matsushima
Replacements: T. Miyazaki, K. Kobayashi, K. Nakano, T. Hosea, S. Oketani, T. Ioane, R. Nakamura, S. Emi
Stay tuned to RugbyJP on social media for coverage from the final next Sunday.
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