The 2004–05 Top League was the 2nd season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. Toshiba Brave Lupus won both the league round-robin and the Microsoft Cup knockout competitions.
Teams
| Team |
Region |
| IBM Big Blue |
Chiba, Kanto |
|
| Kintetsu Liners |
Osaka, Kansai |
| Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers |
Hyogo, Kansai |
| Kubota Spears |
Chiba, Kanto |
| NEC Green Rockets |
Chiba, Kanto |
| Ricoh Black Rams |
Tokyo, Kanto |
| Sanyo Wild Knights |
Gunma, Kanto |
| Suntory Sungoliath |
Tokyo, Kanto |
| Toshiba Brave Lupus |
Tokyo, Kanto |
| Toyota Verblitz |
Aichi, Tokai |
| World Fighting Bull |
Kobe, Kansai |
| Yamaha Jubilo |
Shizuoka, Tokai |
|
Table
| Top League Table |
|
Club |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Points For |
Points Against |
Points Difference |
Try Bonus |
Losing Bonus |
Points |
| 1 | Toshiba Brave Lupus |
11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 463 | 166 | 297 | 9 | 1 | 50 |
| 2 | Yamaha Jubilo |
11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 380 | 218 | 162 | 8 | 1 | 45 |
| 3 | NEC Green Rockets |
11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 407 | 253 | 154 | 7 | 1 | 44 |
| 4 | Toyota Verblitz |
11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 427 | 224 | 203 | 9 | 2 | 43 |
| 5 | Kobe Steelers |
11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 326 | 356 | -30 | 8 | 2 | 34 |
| 6 | Kubota Spears |
11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 277 | 334 | -57 | 6 | 1 | 27 |
| 7 | Sanyo Wild Knights |
11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 346 | 296 | 50 | 4 | 4 | 24 |
| 8 | Suntory Sungoliath |
11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 307 | 282 | 25 | 4 | 4 | 24 |
| 9 | World Fighting Bull |
11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 230 | 366 | -136 | 3 | 1 | 20 |
| 10 | Ricoh Black Rams |
11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 207 | 370 | -163 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| 11 | Kintetsu Liners |
11 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 261 | 514 | -253 | 4 | 1 | 13 |
| 12 | IBM Big Blue |
11 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 243 | 495 | -252 | 4 | 2 | 10 |
|
• The top 8 teams qualified to the Microsoft Cup play-offs.
• The top 4 teams also qualified to the for entry into the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.
• Teams 9 and 10 went through to the promotion and relegation play-offs against regional challengers.
• Teams 11 and 12 were automatically relegated. |
|
Source:The Rugby Archive
Four points for a win, two for a draw, one bonus point for four tries or more (BP1) and one bonus point for losing by seven or less (BP2).
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
• Difference between points for and against
• Total number of points for
• Number of matches won
• Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
• Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
|
|
Fixtures and results
Microsoft Cup play-offs
The top eight teams in the league played off for the Microsoft Cup (2005) knock out tournament, which was won by Toshiba Brave Lupus.
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
The number of tries and goals being equal, the result was decided in favour of Yamaha by a lottery held at Hanazono after the game.
Final
In the season Toshiba Brave Lupus were top of the Top League, and Yamaha were second.
Challenge series
Challenge 1
The top-placed regional teams from East Japan, West Japan and Kyushu played each other in Challenge 1. The top two were automatically promoted, replacing the 11th and 12th teams which were automatically relegated. The third-placed team played the 10th placed Top League team, with the winner of that game taking a Top League place.[1]
Final order: 1st-Sanix, 2nd-Secom, 3rd-Toyota Industries.
So Sanix and Secom were promoted to the Top League for 2005-06.
Challenge 2
The second-placed regional teams played each other in Challenge 2 for the right to play the 9th placed Top League team, with the winner taking a Top League place.
Final order: 1st-Honda, 2nd-Coca-Cola, 3rd-Mitsubishi.
So Honda Heat won the right to play World Fighting Bull for a place in the Top League 2005-06 (Honda came top in Challenge 2 because they gained a bonus point for the number of tries scored against Mitsubishi).
Promotion and relegation play-offs
Two promotion/relegation matches (Irekaesen) were played with the winners qualifying for the 2005–06 Top League. The 10th-placed team from the Top League against the 3rd-placed team from Challenge 1. The 9th-placed team from the Top League against the 1st-placed team from Challenge 2.
So Ricoh and World stayed in the Top League for the 2005–06 season.
References
External links
Japan