TOKYO - Kobe Steelers gave departing head coach Dave Rennie a triumphant send-off as they clinched the Japan Rugby League One championship with a 22-13 win against Spears Tokyo Bay on Sunday.
Having topped the regular season standings, the Steelers secured their maiden League One trophy in Rennie's last match before returning to New Zealand to take over the All Blacks with less than a year and a half until the 2027 Rugby World Cup kicks off.
The closely fought battle provided plenty of action but only one try apiece in front of 50,451 at Tokyo's MUFG Stadium, where Frans Ludeke's Spears finished runners-up for the second year in a row.
"We had a lot of big performances today," Rennie said. "I reckon when you go back and look at the tape...it was a massive contribution from a lot of people."
The Spears were missing star Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx due to a bicep injury and South African-born Brave Blossoms forward Tyler Paul with a foot issue, both sustained in last week's semifinal win against Saitama Wild Knights.
Despite the big-name absences, the Tokyo Bay forwards posed plenty of problems for a star-studded Steelers pack led by former New Zealand lock Brodie Retallick and All Blacks back-rower Ardie Savea.
"It was a game worthy of a final, two teams going at it physically, and with some pretty big swings in momentum," said Retallick, who was named player of the match. "I think in the first half we did well to absorb a lot of the pressure that (Tokyo Bay) put us under."
The two teams went into the break deadlocked 13-13 after prop Keijiro Tamefusa dotted down for the Spears and winger Inoke Burua answered for Kobe.
Making his last appearance for the Spears, former Wallabies flyhalf Bernard Foley slotted a pair of penalties either side of Kobe No. 10 Lee Seung Sin's successful shot for a 6-3 lead before winger Koga Nezuka's chip and chase set the stage for Tamefusa to dive over in the 25th minute.
Kobe hit back just four minutes later through Fijian-born flyer Burua, whose try in the corner was confirmed by the television match official.
Another Lee penalty saw the teams head to the dressing room neck and neck at halftime. The Brave Blossoms playmaker hit three more penalties after the break to go a perfect six-from-six from the kicking tee.
Kobe last won a championship as Kobe Steel in the 2018-19 Top League season before the rebranding of Japan's premier rugby competition as League One.
"It's been a hell of a lot of work from a lot of people," said Rennie, who began his Kobe tenure in 2023. "It's just a really special day for our boys, our company, and our city."
The Wild Knights came back to beat Tokyo Sungoliath 26-19 in Saturday's third-place playoff at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground.
