Sport | Rugby union football |
---|---|
Inaugural season | 2004 |
Country | Japan |
Holders | Suntory Sungoliath (5th title) (2018) |
Most titles | Toshiba Brave Lupus & Suntory Sungoliath (5 titles each) |
Website | www.top-league.jp |
The Top League Championship is Japan's highest-level knockout tournament for rugby union clubs. Held annually, the leading teams from the Top League regular season qualify for the playoffs to decide the Cup title. From 2018 onward, the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship has doubled as the Top League Championship Cup. Previously, teams competed for the Lixil Cup, from 2014 to 2016, [1] and Microsoft Cup (prior to 2009).
The Top League competition is a Japanese industrial league that presently consists of sixteen teams, all owned by major companies.
Initially sponsored by Microsoft Japan, the knockout tournament was first contested by the top eight teams from the Top League in 2004. It was considered a separate competition to the Top League for the first three seasons but was officially integrated for the 2006–07 season. The number of teams was also cut to four to give a format of two semi-finals and a final, and from that time onward until the 2016–17 season the winner of the knockout cup was recognised as the Top League champion.
There were no title-play-offs in 2016–17, and the team on top of the league after the round-robin stage won the Top League title.
Summary totals for all Top League championships up to and including 2018:
Team | Championships | Runners-up | Semi-final losses | Premierships |
---|---|---|---|---|
Toshiba Brave Lupus | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Suntory Sungoliath | 5 | 3 | 2+ | 3 |
Panasonic Wild Knights 1 | 4 | 5 | 3^ | 5 |
Kobelco Steelers | 1* | 0 | 5^ | 3 |
Yamaha Júbilo | 0 | 3 | 2+ | 0 |
Kubota Spears | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Toyota Verblitz | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
NEC Green Rockets | 0* | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Notes:
1 The Panasonic Wild Knights summary includes results for the Sanyo Wild Knights from 2003 to 2012.
* NEC won the 2004 Microsoft Cup but Kobe Steel was the Top League champion. These were separate competitions prior to 2007.
^ The 2004 Kobe Steel and Sanyo (Panasonic) semi-final appearances are included, although that cup was not part of the championship.
+ Yamaha was 3rd and Suntory 4th in the 2003–04 Top League championship, but these results are not counted as semi-final appearances.
Teams listed are those that qualified from the Top League for the title play-offs in each season, or the top four teams where there were no play-offs. Results of the play-offs are written so that the score of the team in each row is mentioned first.
Legend | |||
---|---|---|---|
Cup winner (knockout play-offs). | Pos = Log Position, P = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Diff = Points Difference, TB = Try Bonus Points, LB = Losing Bonus Points, SP = Starting Points for Group Stage, Pts = Log Points, Semi = Semi-final, Refs = References | ||
Top League title winner. |
Suntory Sungoliath 12–8 Panasonic Wild Knights
There were no title-play-offs in 2018, and the team on top of the league after the round-robin stage was crowned the Top League title winner. However, the top three teams progressed to the All-Japan Championship.
The All-Japan Championship doubled as the Top League Champions Cup title from 2018 onward, with university teams excluded.
Year | Cup period | Pos | Team | Top League regular season | Play-offs | Ref | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pts | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TB | LB | Semi | Final | |||||
2018 | 6 January to 13 January | 1 White | Panasonic Wild Knights | 63 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 580 | 142 | +438 | 11 | 0 | 17–11 | 8–12 | [2] |
1 Red | Suntory Sungoliath | 55 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 450 | 180 | +270 | 7 | 0 | 49–7 | 12–8 | |||
2 White | Yamaha Júbilo | 46 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 440 | 232 | +208 | 8 | 2 | 7–49 | — | |||
2 Red | Toyota Verblitz | 46 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 394 | 288 | +106 | 4 | 2 | 11–17 | — | |||
2017 | 21 January to 29 January | 1 | Suntory Sungoliath | 71 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 563 | 184 | +379 | 11 | 0 | 52–29 | 15–10 | [3] |
2 | Yamaha Júbilo | 67 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 580 | 208 | +372 | 11 | 0 | 24–36 | — | |||
3 | Panasonic Wild Knights | 62 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 579 | 268 | +311 | 9 | 1 | 36–24 | 10–15 | |||
4 | Kobelco Steelers | 48 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 473 | 328 | +145 | 7 | 1 | — | — |
From the 2013–14 season, the Top League tournament was contested by sixteen teams. The top four teams from the league competition (or the top eight in 2016) advanced to the play-offs to compete for the Lixil Trophy and Top League Championship.
Year | Cup period | Pos | Team | Top League regular season | Cup play-off results | Ref | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pts | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TB | LB | SP | Qtr | Semi | Final | |||||
2016 | 9 January to 24 January | 1A | Panasonic Wild Knights | 31 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 290 | 137 | 153 | 5 | 0 | – | 48–6 | 42–10 | 27–26 | [4] |
1B | Yamaha Jubilo | 29 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 226 | 140 | 86 | 5 | 0 | – | 27–6 | 22–34 | — | |||
2A | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 26 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 253 | 100 | 153 | 4 | 0 | – | 29–17 | 34–22 | 26–27 | |||
2B | Kobelco Steelers | 27 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 235 | 137 | 98 | 5 | 2 | – | 42–10 | 10–42 | — | |||
3A | Kintetsu Liners | 23 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 189 | 193 | -4 | 3 | 0 | – | 10–42 | — | — | |||
3B | Toyota Verblitz | 26 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 203 | 125 | 78 | 5 | 1 | – | 17–29 | — | — | |||
4A | NTT Com Shining Arcs | 22 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 190 | 142 | 48 | 4 | 2 | – | 6–27 | — | — | |||
4B | Canon Eagles | 25 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 196 | 142 | 54 | 4 | 1 | – | 6-48 | — | — | |||
2015 | 24 January to 1 February | 1 | Kobelco Steelers | 29 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 242 | 113 | +129 | 4 | 1 | 4 | — | 12–41 | — | [5] |
2 | Panasonic Wild Knights | 29 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 218 | 131 | +87 | 5 | 0 | 4 | — | 50–15 | 30–12 | |||
3 | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 28 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 213 | 147 | +66 | 4 | 1 | 3 | — | 15–50 | — | |||
4 | Yamaha Júbilo | 27 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 165 | 134 | +31 | 4 | 1 | 2 | — | 41–12 | 12–30 | |||
2014 | 1 February to 9 February | 1 | Panasonic Wild Knights | 36 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 224 | 105 | 119 | 4 | 0 | 4 | — | 55–15 | 45–22 | [6] |
2 | Suntory Sungoliath | 32 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 261 | 169 | 92 | 4 | 0 | 4 | — | 27–19 | 22–45 | |||
3 | Kobelco Steelers | 24 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 223 | 194 | 29 | 5 | 1 | 2 | — | 19–27 | — | |||
4 | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 23 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 181 | 151 | 30 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | 15–55 | — |
Competition rules | |||
---|---|---|---|
Points breakdown: * 4 points for a win * 2 points for a draw * 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less * 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match * 4, 3, 2, or 1 starting points in the group stage for 1st through 4th respectively in the pool stage (seasons 2014–15 and 2015–16 only) Classification: |
This section needs expansionwith: results for 2010 to 2013. You can help by adding to it. (January 2015) |
Microsoft Cup banner 2005–2009. |
For the 2006–07 season the tournament was expanded to fourteen teams and the Top League and Microsoft Cup competitions were combined. Only the top four teams on the regular season table progressed to title play-offs and the winner of the knockout competition was awarded both the Microsoft Cup and the Top League title.
Video referee (TMO) decisions were introduced for the 2009 Cup series. The naming rights partnership with Microsoft for the knockout competition ended after the 2009 Cup final.
Year | Cup period | Pos | Team | Top League regular season | Play-off results | Ref | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pts | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TB | LB | Semi | Final | |||||
2009 | 17 February to 24 February | 1 | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 59 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 563 | 211 | +352 | 11 | 0 | 26–7 | 17–6 | [7] |
2 | Sanyo Wild Knights | 58 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 584 | 197 | +387 | 10 | 0 | 32–22 | 6–17 | |||
3 | Suntory Sungoliath | 51 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 482 | 298 | +184 | 10 | 1 | 22–32 | — | |||
4 | Kobelco Steelers | 43 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 358 | 300 | +58 | 5 | 2 | 6–27 | — | |||
2008 | 17 February to 24 February | 1 | Sanyo Wild Knights | 63 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 593 | 170 | +423 | 11 | 0 | 25–21 | 10–14 | [8] |
2 | Suntory Sungoliath | 53 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 453 | 229 | +224 | 10 | 1 | 33–10 | 14–10 | |||
3 | Toyota Verblitz | 50 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 452 | 269 | +183 | 9 | 3 | 10–33 | — | |||
4 | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 47 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 398 | 263 | +135 | 5 | 2 | 21–25 | — | |||
2007 | 28 January to 4 February | 1 | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 60 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 502 | 234 | 268 | 11 | 1 | 38–35 | 14–13 | [9] |
2 | Suntory Sungoliath | 56 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 545 | 161 | 384 | 10 | 2 | 40–39 | 13–14 | |||
3 | Yamaha Jubilo | 48 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 379 | 306 | 73 | 5 | 1 | 39–40 | — | |||
4 | Toyota Verblitz | 47 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 448 | 267 | 181 | 8 | 3 | 35–38 | — |
Competition rules | |||
---|---|---|---|
Points breakdown: * 4 points for a win * 2 points for a draw * 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less * 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match Classification: |
For the first three seasons the competition format was a single round-robin tournament contested by twelve teams, with the team finishing top of the table winning the Top League title. The Microsoft Cup was a separate knockout competition for the top eight teams in the league.
Year | Cup period | Pos | Team | Top League regular season | Play-off results | Ref | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pts | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TB | LB | Qtr | Semi | Final | |||||
2006 | 22 January to 5 February | 1 | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 46 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 406 | 193 | 213 | 10 | 0 | 38–7 | 23–10 | 33–18 | [10] |
2 | Sanyo Wild Knights | 42 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 416 | 276 | 140 | 6 | 0 | 24–40 | — | — | |||
3 | NEC Green Rockets | 41 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 270 | 136 | 134 | 4 | 1 | 17–12 | 10–23 | — | |||
4 | Toyota Verblitz | 37 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 431 | 263 | 168 | 6 | 3 | 12–17 | — | — | |||
5 | Kobelco Steelers | 33 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 284 | 225 | 59 | 4 | 1 | 7–38 | — | — | |||
6 | Suntory Sungoliath | 32 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 308 | 241 | 67 | 6 | 2 | 35–17 | 44–25 | 18–33 | |||
7 | Yamaha Jubilo | 28 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 328 | 211 | 117 | 4 | 4 | 17–35 | — | — | |||
8 | Kubota Spears | 23 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 324 | 297 | 27 | 5 | 0 | 40–24 | 25–44 | — | |||
2005 | 8 February to 28 February | 1 | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 50 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 463 | 166 | 297 | 9 | 1 | 33–13 | 41–0 | 20–6 α | [11] |
2 | Yamaha Jubilo | 45 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 380 | 218 | 162 | 8 | 1 | 38–33 | 33–33 β | 6–20 α | |||
3 | NEC Green Rockets | 44 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 407 | 253 | 154 | 7 | 1 | 16–51 γ | — | — | |||
4 | Toyota Verblitz | 43 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 427 | 224 | 203 | 9 | 2 | 42–21 | 33–33 β | — | |||
5 | Kobelco Steelers | 34 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 326 | 356 | -30 | 8 | 2 | 51–16 γ | 0–41 | — | |||
6 | Kubota Spears | 27 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 277 | 334 | -57 | 6 | 1 | 33–38 | — | — | |||
7 | Sanyo Wild Knights | 24 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 346 | 296 | 50 | 4 | 4 | 21–41 | — | — | |||
8 | Suntory Sungoliath | 24 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 307 | 282 | 25 | 4 | 4 | 13–33 | — | — | |||
2004 | 8 February to 22 February | 1 | Kobelco Steelers δ | 47 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 439 | 286 | 153 | 11 | 0 | 35–27 | 10–34 | — | [12] |
2 | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 44 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 503 | 283 | 220 | 9 | 1 | 39–10 | 36–34 | 19–24 | |||
3 | Yamaha Jubilo | 42 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 334 | 223 | 111 | 6 | 0 | 10–39 | — | — | |||
4 | Suntory Sungoliath | 42 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 408 | 265 | 143 | 9 | 1 | 5–32 | — | — | |||
5 | World Fighting Bull | 32 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 349 | 285 | 64 | 7 | 1 | 27–35 | — | — | |||
6 | NEC Green Rockets δ | 30 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 411 | 274 | 137 | 6 | 0 | 32–5 | 34–10 | 24–19 | |||
7 | Sanyo Wild Knights | 24 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 319 | 331 | -12 | 6 | 0 | 39–32 | 34–36 | — | |||
8 | Kubota Spears | 22 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 262 | 362 | -100 | 4 | 2 | 32–39 | — | — | |||
Competition rules | |||
---|---|---|---|
Points breakdown: * 4 points for a win * 2 points for a draw * 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less * 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match Classification: |
Notes:
^α Toshiba Brave Lupus won the Top League and Microsoft Cup double. [13]
^β The number of tries and goals being equal, the result was decided in favour of Yamaha over Toyota by a lottery at Hanazono after the game.
^γ Reigning Microsoft Cup holders the NEC Green Rockets were knocked out at the quarter-final stage. [14] [15]
^δ In 2003–04, Kobe Steel won the Top League but NEC won the Microsoft Cup. The League and Cup were separate competitions prior to 2007.
The Japan Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in Japan. It was formed 30 November 1926, and organises matches for the Japan national team.
Japan Rugby League One is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional 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.
Tokyo Sungoliath is owned by the Suntory beverage company and is one of the Japanese rugby union teams in the Top League. The team is based in Fuchū, Tokyo, as is their local rival Toshiba Brave Lupus. The team rebranded as Tokyo Sungoliath ahead of the rebranding of the Top League to the Japan Rugby League One in 2022.
Saitama Wild Knights is a Japanese rugby union team formerly based in Ōta city, Gunma prefecture which plays in the Top League. Inspired by Tony Brown at fly half, it dominated the league in the fifth season and was the first team to be unbeaten throughout a Top League season. The team rebranded as Saitama Wild Knights ahead of the rebranding of the Top League to the Japan Rugby League One in 2022, with the team relocating to Saitama.
Rugby union in Japan is a moderately popular sport. Japan has the fourth largest population of rugby union players in the world and the sport has been played there for over a century. There are 125,000 Japanese rugby players, 3,631 official rugby clubs, and the Japan national team is ranked 10th in the world.
The All-Japan Rugby Football Championship is played at the end of the season and is doubling as the title playoff in the Top League. The first championship was played in 1963 and won by Doshisha University RFC which beat Kintetsu 18–3. Before that the NHK invitation cup was played three times, 1960-2.
The 2009–10 Top League was the seventh season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. The Toshiba Brave Lupus defeated Sanyo Wild Knights by 6–0 in the final of the Microsoft Cup to claim their fifth Top League championship.
The 2008–09 Top League was the sixth season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. The Toshiba Brave Lupus defeated Sanyo Wild Knights by 17–6 in the final of the Microsoft Cup to claim the 2008–09 Top League championship.
The 2010–11 Top League was the eighth season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. The Sanyo Wild Knights defeated Suntory Sungoliath 28-23 in the final of the Microsoft Cup to claim their first Top League title.
The 2011 The All-Japan Rugby Football Championship starts on Feb 6th and finishes with the final on Feb 27th.
The 2012 The All-Japan Rugby Football Championship took place from Feb 25th up to the final on March 18.
The 2011–12 Top League was the ninth season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. The Suntory Sungoliath team defeated Sanyo Wild Knights by 47–28 in the final of the Microsoft Cup to claim their second Top League championship.
The 2012–13 Top League was the tenth season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. It kicked off on 31 August 2012. The final was held on 27 January 2013 and won by Suntory Sungoliath to claim their third Top League title.
The 2013–14 Top League was the 11th season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. It kicked off on 30 August 2013. The final was held on 9 February 2014 and won by Panasonic Wild Knights.
The 2014–15 Top League was the 12th season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. It kicked off on 30 August 2014. The final was held on 8 February 2015 and won by Panasonic Wild Knights, 30–12 over Yamaha Júbilo.
The 2013 The All-Japan Rugby Football Championship took place from Feb 2nd up to the final on Feb 24th.
The 2015 All-Japan Rugby Football Championship took place from 8 February up to the final on 28 February.
The 2014 All-Japan Rugby Football Championship took place from February 16 up to the final on March 9.
The 2015–16 Top League was the 13th season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. It kicked off on 13 November 2015 and was completed on 24 January 2016. The final was won by Panasonic Wild Knights defeating Toshiba Brave Lupus by 27–26.
Katsufumi Miyamoto is a former Japanese rugby union player and coach. He played as flanker.