Japan Rugby League One’s third season will come to a must-see conclusion next weekend at the National Stadium in Tokyo following this weekend’s semi-finals.
Favourites Panasonic Wild Knights, who are based in Saitama, registered a perfect regular season campaign with 16 wins.
Robbie Deans' relentless winning machine is 80 minutes from a third League One final in a row.
Panasonic, who also boast the best attack and meanest defence this season, face Yokohama Canon Eagles, who finished fourth, in the first semi-final at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium on Saturday.
The Kumagaya side demolished Yokohama 53-12 in their season-opening game in December and met little resistance when they squared off three weeks ago as the former ran out 43-14 winners.
Former Wallabies coach Deans, who was arguably the best candidate for the Brave Blossoms job last year, has assembled a squad which is the envy of teams and coaches far beyond the land of the rising sun.
The multiple-time Super Rugby winner has found a perfect balance of a liberal splashing of domestic stars and a sprinkling of winners with international pedigree and didn’t need to add any additional World Cup stars in the off season.
Last season’s beaten finalists have only made one change from the team that dominated Yokohama in their last match.
Hooker Atsushi Sakate, who has 37 caps for the Brave Blossoms leads the Knights into battle as part of an unchanged front row.
Japan international Ben Gunter brings his bulk and guile to the second row alongside former Chiefs flanker Lachlan Boshier.
Their only change sees Hokkaido native Itsuki Onishi replace prospect Shota Fukui at number eight with continuity being the theme for Panasonic’s season and their continued success.
Taiki Koyama and Rikiya Matsuda form one of the best Japanese half-back duo’s in the league while Marika Koroibete operates on the left wing with the dominant midfield pairing of two-time World Cup-winning Springbok Damian de Allende and Dylan Riley powering their title bid this season.
Panasonic’s depth is further illustrated by the fact that six of their replacements have represented Japan including legend Shota Horie who will hang up his boots at the end of the season.
Yokohama have made a raft of changes after resting a host of their leading players in their loss to Panasonic.
Yusuke Niwai is preferred at hooker to the barnstorming Shunta Nakamura who has to settle for a spot among the replacements despite scoring 11 tries this term and crossing in his last six appearances.
The imposing yet troublesome Amanaki Lelei Mafi retains his number eight berth with Kouki Arai holding onto his scrum-half jersey in the absence of Faf de Klerk who is back in training but the game has too soon after his minor knee surgery in February.
Japanese veteran Yu Tamura comes in at 10 for Yuragi Mori but has it all to do to try and outplay and outthink his compatriot Rikiya Matsuda whose the second highest points scorer this season (192).
Fiji-born right wing Viliame Takayawa, who possesses power and speed in equal measure, will be tipped to add to his 12 tries and is the danger man that Panasonic needs to contain.
Takayawa, who represented Fiji at the 2013 Cadet World Judo Championships for Fiji, is undoubtedly on the radar of Eddie Jones after meeting eligibility rules this season.
Jesse Kriel campaigns at 13 and will oppose his international colleague Damian de Allende while the highly-underrated Jumpei Ogura starts at full-back.
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