2013–14 Top League

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2013–14 Top League
Countries Japan Japan
Date 30 August 2013 –
2014–15 →

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.

Teams

The Top League expanded from 14 to 16 teams for the 2013–14 season.[1]

Team Region Coach Captain
Canon Eagles Machida, Tokyo, Kantō Japan Yoji Nagatomo Japan Taku Wada
Coca Cola West Red Sparks Fukuoka, Kyushu Japan Shogo Mukai Japan Masakazu Toyota
Kintetsu Liners Higashiosaka, Osaka, Kansai Japan Ryusuke Maeda Japan Haruki Ota
Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers Kobe, Kansai Japan Seiji Hirao Japan Daiki Hashimoto
Kubota Spears Abiko, Chiba, Kantō Japan Takashi Yamagami Japan Tatsurou Konno
Kyuden Voltex Fukuoka, Kyūshū Japan Koji Hirata Japan Makoto Matsumoto
NEC Green Rockets Abiko, Chiba, Kantō New Zealand Greg Cooper Japan Ryota Asano
NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes Osaka, Kansai Japan Kazunari Takano Japan Hiroki Yoshioka
NTT Shining Arcs Chiba, Chiba, Kantō Japan Masato Hayashi Japan Hiraku Tomoigawa
Panasonic Wild Knights Ota, Gunma, Kantō Japan Norifumi Nakajima Japan Shota Horie
Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo, Kantō New Zealand Leon Holden Japan Daisuke Komatsu
Suntory Sungoliath Fuchū, Tokyo, Kantō Japan Naoya Okubo Japan Shinya Makabe
Toshiba Brave Lupus Fuchū, Tokyo, Kantō Japan Kenichi Wada Japan Michael Leitch
Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi, Mizuho Australia Tai McIsaac Japan Takayuki Kamitani
Toyota Verblitz Toyota, Aichi, Tokai Japan Keiji Hirose Japan Ryuta Ueno
Yamaha Júbilo Iwata, Shizuoka, Tokai Japan Katsuyuki Kiyomiya Japan Yuta Kasahara

Format

Firstly, for the Pool stage, the 16 teams were placed into 2 pools of 8 teams each and a round-robin tournament was played for each of the pools.

Then, for the Group stage, the top 4 teams from each pool went through to Group 1, and the bottom 4 teams from each pool went through to Group 2. The teams were given starting points based on where they finished in their pool. - i.e. starting points of 4, 3, 2, and 1, for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively; and starting points of 4, 3, 2, and 1, for 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th respectively.

Another round-robin was played for each of the groups. The Top League teams in Group 1 ranked 1st to 4th qualified for the title play-offs to fight for the Microsoft Cup and the Top League title. The top 4 also qualified directly into the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.

The teams in Group 1 ranked 5th to 8th, and teams in Group 2 ranked 1st to 4th went through to the wildcard play-offs for qualification into the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.

The teams in Group 2 ranked 5th to 7th went through to the promotion and relegation play-offs against regional challengers to fight to remain in the Top League. The team in Group 2 ranked 8th was automatically relegated to the regional leagues for 2014–15.

Table

Group

Top League - Group Stage
Group 1
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Try Bonus Losing Bonus Start Points Points
1 Panasonic Wild Knights 7 7 0 0 224 105 119 4 0 4 36
2 Suntory Sungoliath 7 6 0 1 261 169 92 4 0 4 32
3 Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers 7 4 0 3 223 194 29 5 1 2 24
4 Toshiba Brave Lupus 7 4 0 3 181 151 30 2 3 2 23
5 Yamaha Júbilo 7 3 0 4 168 177 -9 2 2 3 19
6 Toyota Verblitz 7 3 0 4 127 188 -61 1 0 1 14
7 Canon Eagles 7 1 0 6 131 251 -120 0 3 1 8
8 NEC Green Rockets 7 0 0 7 130 210 -80 1 3 3 7
Updated: 19 Jan 2014

Source: rugbyarchive.net
 • The top 4 teams (Green background) qualify for the title play-offs.
 • The top 4 teams (Green background) also qualify for the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.
 • Teams 5 to 8 (Blue background) qualify for the wildcard play-offs for entry into the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.
 • Teams 1st in each pool have 4 starting points.
 • Teams 2nd in each pool have 3 starting points.
 • Teams 3rd in each pool have 2 starting points.
 • Teams 4th in each pool have 1 starting point.

    Group 2
    Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Try Bonus Losing Bonus Start Points Points
    1 Kubota Spears 7 5 0 2 166 103 63 2 1 4 27
    2 Kintetsu Liners 7 5 0 2 187 158 29 3 1 3 27
    3 Ricoh Black Rams 7 4 0 3 217 150 67 5 2 2 25
    4 Toyota Industries Shuttles 7 4 0 3 190 195 -5 4 0 3 23
    5 NTT Shining Arcs 7 3 0 4 158 210 -52 3 1 4 20
    6 Coca Cola West Red Sparks 7 3 0 4 157 175 -18 3 3 1 19
    7 NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes 7 2 0 5 152 160 -8 2 2 2 14
    8 Kyuden Voltex 7 2 0 5 157 233 -76 3 0 1 12
    Updated: 19 Jan 2014

    Source: rugbyarchive.net
     • Teams 1 to 4 (Blue background) qualify for the wildcard play-offs for entry into the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.
     • Teams 5 to 7 (Yellow background) go through to the promotion and relegation play-offs against regional challengers to retain their places in the Top League.
     • Team 8 (Red background) is automatically relegated to the regional leagues for 2014–15.
     • Teams 5th in each pool have 4 starting points.
     • Teams 6th in each pool have 3 starting points.
     • Teams 7th in each pool have 2 starting points.
     • Teams 8th in each pool have 1 starting point.

      Source:rugbyarchive.net
      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

        Pool

        Top League - Pool Stage
        Pool A
        Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points
        1 Suntory Sungoliath 7 6 0 1 245 110 135 5 1 30
        2 NEC Green Rockets 7 5 0 2 193 138 55 4 1 25
        3 Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers 7 5 0 2 213 147 66 4 0 24
        4 Toyota Verblitz 7 5 0 2 142 111 31 1 1 22
        5 NTT Shining Arcs 7 4 0 3 155 175 -20 3 0 19
        6 Toyota Industries Shuttles 7 1 0 6 172 185 -13 3 4 11
        7 NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes 7 2 0 5 116 208 -92 2 0 10
        8 Kyuden Voltex 7 0 0 7 87 259 -162 0 0 0
        Updated: 26 Nov 2013

        Source: rugbyarchive.net
         • Teams 1 to 4 Green background go through to Group 1 in the group stage.
         • Teams 5 to 8 (Blue background) go through to Group 2 in the group stage.

        Pool B
        Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points
        1 Panasonic Wild Knights 7 5 1 1 231 97 134 5 1 28
        2 Yamaha Júbilo 7 5 1 1 209 150 59 3 0 25
        3 Toshiba Brave Lupus 7 5 0 2 164 131 33 3 0 23
        4 Canon Eagles 7 4 0 3 187 161 26 2 2 20
        5 Kubota Spears 7 4 0 3 169 173 -4 3 1 20
        6 Kintetsu Liners 7 2 0 5 139 167 -28 2 3 13
        7 Ricoh Black Rams 7 1 1 5 142 196 -54 1 2 9
        8 Coca Cola West Red Sparks 7 0 1 6 125 291 -166 3 1 6
        Updated: 26 Nov 2013

        Source: rugbyarchive.net
         • Teams 1 to 4 Green background go through to Group 1 in the group stage.
         • Teams 5 to 8 (Blue background) go through to Group 2 in the group stage.

        Source: rugbyarchive.net

        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

          Pool stage

          Group stage

          Round 1

          Round 2

          Round 3

          Round 4

          Round 5

          Round 6

          Round 7

          Title play-offs

          Top 4 sides of the regular season competed in the Microsoft Cup (2014) knock out tournament to fight for the Top League title. The top 4 teams of 2013–14 were Panasonic Wild Knights, Suntory Sungoliath, Kobelco Steelers, and Toshiba Brave Lupus.

          Semi-finals

          01/02/2014
          Panasonic Wild Knights – Toshiba Brave Lupus

          02/02/2014
          Suntory Sungoliath – Kobelco Steelers

          Final

          09/02/2014
          –

          Wildcard play-offs

          First round

          Second round

          Challenge series

          Challenge 2

          The second-placed regional teams from East Japan, West Japan, and Kyushu played each other in a round-robin tournament for the right to join Challenge 1.

          Final order:

          Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars advanced to Challenge 1.

          Challenge 1

          The top-placed regional teams from East Japan, West Japan, and Kyushu were joined by the Challenge 2 winner to play each other in a round-robin tournament to gain promotion to the Top League for the following season. These teams were Honda Heat, Fukuoka Sanix Blues, Mitsubishi Dynaboars, and Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars.

          Final order:

          Fukuoka was promoted to the Top League for the following season. The other three teams went on to the promotion and relegation play-offs.

          Promotion and relegation play-offs

          The Top League teams in Group 2 ranked 5th, 6th, and 7th, played-off against the Challenge 1 teams ranked 4th, 3rd, and 2nd, respectively, for the right to be included in the Top League for the following season.

          End of season awards

          References

          1. ↑ "Japan Rugby Top League 16 Team Captains". jrfu.org. 2013. Archived from the original on 21 November 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013. 

          External links

          2013–14 Teams
          Former Teams
          Seasons
          Governing body
          National teams
          Mens
          Womens
          Competitions
          Major figures
          Related articles
          Top-level rugby union club competitions
          Major competitions
          Major competitions
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