2006 Top League Challenge Series

Last updated
2006 Top League Challenge Series
Countries Japan
Date 15 – 28 January 2006
Champions Coca-Cola West Red Sparks (1st title)
Runners-up IBM Big Blue
Promoted Coca-Cola West Red Sparks
IBM Big Blue
Matches played 6
←  2005
2007  →

The 2006 Top League Challenge Series was the 2006 edition of the Top League Challenge Series, a second-tier rugby union competition in Japan, in which teams from regionalised leagues competed for promotion to the Top League for the 2006–07 season. The competition was contested from 15 to 28 January 2006.

Japan Constitutional monarchy in East Asia

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asian continent and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea in the south.

Top League

The Top League is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the Japan Company Rugby Football Championship, to drive up the overall standard and popularity of the sport and improve the results of the Japan national rugby union team. The chief architect of the league was Hiroaki Shukuzawa who strongly felt the urgency of improving Japanese domestic company rugby to a professional level which would allow Japan to compete more convincingly at Rugby World Cups.

The 2006–07 Top League was the fourth season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. The league was expanded to from 12 to 14 teams for the 2006–07 season.

Contents

Coca-Cola West Red Sparks and IBM Big Blue won promotion to the 2006–07 Top League, while Honda Heat, Kintetsu Liners, Kyuden Voltex and NTT Communications Shining Arcs progressed to the promotion play-offs.

IBM Big Blue (rugby union)

IBM Big Blue is a Japanese semi-professional rugby union team in the Top League, founded in 1976 by IBM. The company decided to make rugby, along with baseball and American football, one of the official company sports in 1989, which allowed the rugby club to gain support and momentum.

Honda Heat

Honda Heat is a Japanese rugby union team based in Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan. The owner of the club is Honda Motor.

Kintetsu Liners rugby team are a Japanese rugby union team owned by Kintetsu Corporation which was founded in 1929. They have won the All-Japan Championship three times as an amateur team. Their home is at Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Higashiosaka, Japan, which was also opened in 1929.

Competition rules and information

The top two teams from the regional Top East League, Top West League and Top Kyūshū League qualified to the Top League Challenge Series. The regional league winners participated in Challenge 1, while the runners-up participated in Challenge 2.

The top two teams in Challenge 1 won automatic promotion to the 2006–07 Top League, while the third-placed team in Challenge 1 and the three Challenge 2 teams qualified to the promotion play-offs.

Qualification

The teams qualified to the Challenge 1 and Challenge 2 series through the 2005 regional leagues.

Top West League

The final standings for the 2005 Top West League were: [1]

2005 Top West League standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Kintetsu Liners (R) 7 7 0 0 448 106 +342 7 0 35
2 Honda Heat 7 6 0 1 470 83 +387 6 1 31
3 Toyota Industries Shuttles 7 5 0 2 487 141 +346 6 1 27
4 Osaka Police 7 4 0 3 286 206 +80 3 1 20
5 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes 7 3 0 4 299 208 +91 3 1 16
6 Chubu Electric Power 7 2 0 5 188 309 −121 3 0 11
7 Mitsubishi Red Evolutions 7 1 0 6 105 580 −475 0 0 4
8 Unitika Phoenix 7 0 0 7 66 716 −650 0 0 0
Legend:
P = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, PD = Points Difference, TB = Try Bonus Points, LB = Losing Bonus Points, Pts = Log Points.
(R) indicates a team newly relegated from the Top League.

Top East League

The final standings for the 2005 Top East League were: [2]

2005 Top East League (East) standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 IBM Big Blue (R) 9 9 0 0 487 99 +388 9 0 45
2 Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars 9 8 0 1 341 129 +212 7 0 39
3 NTT Communications Shining Arcs 9 6 0 3 237 174 +63 5 1 30
4 Kurita Water 9 6 0 3 268 211 +57 4 1 29
5 Tokyo Gas 9 6 0 3 280 243 +37 5 0 29
6 Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars 9 3 0 6 192 254 −62 4 1 17
7 Shimizu Blue Sharks 9 2 1 6 145 303 −158 2 2 14
8 Kamaishi Seawaves 9 2 1 6 161 296 −135 1 0 11
9 JAL Wings 9 1 0 8 144 360 −216 2 1 7
10 Insurance Meiji Life Yasuda 9 1 0 8 96 282 −186 2 1 7
2005 Top East League (North) standings
1 Akita Northern Bullets 6 6 0 0 420 83 +337 6 0 30
2 Funaoka SDF Wild Boars 6 3 0 3 207 148 +59 4 0 16
3 North Force 6 2 0 4 116 329 −213 2 0 10
4 NTT Burns 6 1 0 5 130 313 −183 2 1 7
Legend:
P = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, PD = Points Difference, TB = Try Bonus Points, LB = Losing Bonus Points, Pts = Log Points.
(R) indicates a team newly relegated from the Top League.

The following matches were played:

Top Kyūshū League

The final standings for the 2005 Top Kyūshū League were: [3]

2005 Top Kyūshū League First Phase standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Kyuden Voltex 6 6 0 0 453 56 +397 5 0 29
2 Coca-Cola West Red Sparks 6 5 0 1 432 74 +358 5 0 25
3 Mazda Blue Zoomers 6 4 0 2 299 112 +187 5 1 22
4 Chugoku Electric Power 6 3 0 3 183 253 −70 3 0 15
5 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 6 2 0 4 121 347 −226 2 0 10
6 Mitsubishi Mizushima 6 1 0 5 76 363 −287 2 1 7
7 JR Kyūshū Thunders 6 0 0 6 66 425 −359 0 1 1
Legend:
P = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, PD = Points Difference, TB = Try Bonus Points, LB = Losing Bonus Points, Pts = Log Points.
2005 Top Kyūshū League Second Phase standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Coca-Cola West Red Sparks 2 2 0 0 98 26 +72 1 0 9
2 Kyuden Voltex 2 1 0 1 54 49 +5 1 1 6
3 Mazda Blue Zoomers 2 0 0 2 36 113 −77 1 0 1
Legend:
P = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, PD = Points Difference, TB = Try Bonus Points, LB = Losing Bonus Points, Pts = Log Points.

Challenge 1

Standings

The final standings for the 2006 Top League Challenge 1 were: [4]

2006 Top League Challenge 1 standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Coca-Cola West Red Sparks 2 2 0 0 36 29 +7 0 0 8
2 IBM Big Blue 2 1 0 1 56 21 +35 1 1 6
3 Kintetsu Liners 2 0 0 2 12 54 −42 0 1 1
Legend:
P = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, PD = Points Difference, TB = Try Bonus Points, LB = Losing Bonus Points, Pts = Log Points.

Matches

The following matches were played in the 2006 Top League Challenge 1: [4]

Challenge 2

Standings

The final standings for the 2006 Top League Challenge 2 were: [4]

2006 Top League Challenge 2 standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Honda Heat 2 2 0 0 103 57 +46 2 0 10
2 Kyuden Voltex 2 1 0 1 57 54 +3 2 0 6
3 NTT Communications Shining Arcs 2 0 0 2 46 95 −49 1 0 1
Legend:
P = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, PD = Points Difference, TB = Try Bonus Points, LB = Losing Bonus Points, Pts = Log Points.

Matches

The following matches were played in the 2006 Top League Challenge 2: [4]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "West Regional Top League 2005/06". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  2. ↑ "East Regional Top League 2005/06". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  3. ↑ "Kyushu Regional Top League 2005/06". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Top League Challenge 2005/06". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
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