2003–04 Top League
The 2003–04 Top League was the first season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. Toshiba Brave Lupus won the league by finishing on top of the round-robin competition.
Toshiba Brave Lupus lost the final of Microsoft Cup to NEC Green Rockets, but the cup was considered a separate competition to the Top League prior to 2007.
Teams
Team |
Region |
Fukuoka Sanix Blues |
Fukuoka, Kyushu |
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 |
Secom Rugguts |
Sayama, Saitama |
Suntory Sungoliath |
Tokyo, Kanto |
Toshiba Brave Lupus |
Tokyo, Kanto |
World Fighting Bull |
Kobe, Kansai |
Yamaha Jubilo |
Shizuoka, Tokai |
Top League season
Final standings
Top League Table |
|
Club |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Points For |
Points Against |
Points Difference |
Try Bonus |
Losing Bonus |
Points |
1 | Kobe Steelers |
11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 439 | 286 | 153 | 11 | 0 | 47 |
2 | Toshiba Brave Lupus |
11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 503 | 283 | 220 | 9 | 1 | 44 |
3 | Yamaha Jubilo |
11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 334 | 223 | 111 | 6 | 0 | 42 |
4 | Suntory Sungoliath |
11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 408 | 265 | 143 | 9 | 1 | 42 |
5 | World Fighting Bull |
11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 349 | 285 | 64 | 7 | 1 | 32 |
6 | NEC Green Rockets |
11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 411 | 274 | 137 | 6 | 0 | 30 |
7 | Sanyo Wild Knights |
11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 319 | 331 | -12 | 6 | 0 | 24 |
8 | Kubota Spears |
11 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 262 | 362 | -100 | 4 | 2 | 22 |
9 | Ricoh Black Rams |
11 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 273 | 402 | -129 | 5 | 2 | 19 |
10 | Kintetsu Liners |
11 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 292 | 510 | -218 | 6 | 0 | 18 |
11 | Secom Rugguts |
11 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 260 | 405 | -145 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
12 | Fukuoka Sanix Blues |
11 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 230 | 454 | -224 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
• 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[1]
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
|
Microsoft Cup play-offs
The top eight teams in the league played off for the Microsoft Cup (2004) knock out tournament, which was won by NEC Green Rockets.
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
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.[2]
Final order: 1st-Toyota, 2nd-IBM, 3rd-Kyuden.
So Toyota and IBM were promoted to the Top League for 2004-05.
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-Toyota Industries, 2nd-Kamaishi, 3rd-Coca-Cola.
So Toyota Industries Shuttles won the right to play Ricoh Black Rams for a place in the Top League 2004-05.
Promotion and relegation play-offs
Two promotion/relegation matches (Irekaesen) were played with the winners qualifying for the 2004–05 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 Kinetsu and Ricoh stayed in the Top League for the 2004–05 season.
References
External links