2013–14 Top League

2013–14 Top League
Countries Japan Japan
Date 30 August 2013 – 9 February 2014
Champions Panasonic Wild Knights (2nd title)
Runners-up Suntory Sungoliath
Matches played 115
Top point scorer Japan Ryan Nicholas
 Suntory Sungoliath
Top try scorer South Africa Jaque Fourie (17 tries)
 Kobe Kobelco Steelers

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.[1]

Teams

The Top League expanded from 14 to 16 teams for the 2013–14 season.[2] The Sanix Blues team was relegated, and Coca-Cola Red Sparks, Kubota Spears, Toyota Industries were promoted to the Top League for 2013–14.

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

Regular season

For the Pool stage, the 16 teams were placed into 2 pools of 8 teams each and a round-robin tournament was played within 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 stage tables

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:The Rugby Archive[3]
 • The top 4 teams (Green background) qualify for the title play-offs, and also play in 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:The Rugby Archive[3]
     • 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:The Rugby Archive[3]
      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 stage tables

        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:The Rugby Archive[3]
         • Teams 1 to 4 (Blue background) go through to Group 1 in the group stage.
         • Teams 5 to 8 (Yellow 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:The Rugby Archive[3]
         • Teams 1 to 4 (Blue background) go through to Group 1 in the group stage.
         • Teams 5 to 8 (Yellow background) go through to Group 2 in the group stage.

        Source:The Rugby Archive[3]
        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

          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

          Final

          09/02/2014 Panasonic Wild Knights 45 – 22 Suntory Sungoliath Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo  
          14:00 Try: Yamada 5', 49' Miyake 77'
          Con: Barnes (2/3) 50', 78'
          Pen: Barnes (8/9) 21', 24', 31',
          46', 53', 69', 72', 80'
          		 Report[1]
          Summary[8]          		 Try: Shinya 9', Du Preez 14', Aruga 36'
          Con: Tsukamoto (1/1) 15'
          Nicholas (1/2) 38'
          Pen: Nicholas (1/2) 60'
          		 Attendance: 10,217[1]
          Team details
          Panasonic Wild Knights
          FB 15Yasutaka Sasakura  76'
          RW 14Tomoki Kitagawa
          OC 13Seichi Shimomura
          IC 12Yasuki Hayashi  48'
          LW 11Akihito Yamada
          FH 10Berrick Barnes
          SH 9 Fumiaki Tanaka  77'
          N8 8 Ryu Koliniasi Holani  77'
          OF 7 Tadasuke Nishihara
          BF 6 Sione Vatuvei  77'
          RL 5 Daniel Heenan  48'
          LL 4 Yu Young-nam
          TP 3 Tomokazu Soma  53'
          HK 2 Shota Horie (c)
          LP 1 Keita Inagaki
          Replacements:
          HK 16Tetsuya Shitara  77'
          PR 17Naoki Kawamata  55'
          PR 18Ryusioapelatu Holani  53'  55'
          LK 19Yoichi Ijima  48'
          FL 20Daichi Wakamatsu  77'
          SH 21Nicholas Ealey  77'
          CE 22JP Pietersen  48'
          FB 23Takashi Miyake  76'
          Coach:
          Japan Norifumi Nakajima
          Suntory Sungoliath
          FB 15Go Aruga  62'
          RW 14Murata Daishi
          OC 13Koji Taira
          IC 12Ryan Nicholas
          LW 11Kenta Tsukamoto
          FH 10Kosei Ono  69'
          SH 9 Fourie Du Preez  69'
          N8 8 Ozawa Naoki  77'
          OF 7 Takamichi Sasaki
          BF 6 George Smith  73'
          RL 5 Makabe Shinya (c)
          LL 4 Shinozuka Koji
          TP 3 Hatakeyama Kensuke
          HK 2 Aoki Yusuke
          LP 1 Kanei Tateo  73'
          Replacements:
          HK 16Shintaro Ishihara  73'
          PR 17Ozaki Akira
          PR 18Ikegaya Yosuke
          FL 19Takemoto Juntaro  77'
          FL 20Hendrik Tui  73'
          SH 21Hiwasa Atsushi  69'
          CE 22Tusi Pisi  69'
          FB 23Nagatomo Yasunori  62'
          Coach:
          Japan Naoya Okubo

          Wildcard play-offs

          The Top League Group 1 teams ranked 5–8 and Group 2 teams ranked 1–4 played off over two rounds, with the second round winners qualifying for the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.

          First round

          Second round

          So Yamaha and Toyota advanced to the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.

          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.

          So Coca Cola, NTT Docomo, and NTT remained in the Top League for the next season.

          End of season awards

          At the end of season awards, Panasonic Wild Knights flyhalf Berrick Barnes was named Top League MVP, a day after helping his side to the league title. He was handed his trophy by Japan coach Eddie Jones.[9]

          Team Awards

          Award Winner
          Top League winners: Panasonic Wild Knights
          Fair Play award:
          Best fans:

          Individual awards

          Award Winner
          Top League MVP: Australia Berrick Barnes (Panasonic)
          Rookie award: Japan Keita Inagaki (Panasonic) and Japan Kyosuke Horie (Yamaha)
          Most tries: South Africa Jaque Fourie (Kobe Steel) 17 tries
          Top scorer: Japan Ryan Nicholas (Suntory)
          Best kicker: Japan Ryan Nicholas (Suntory)
          Best referee:
          Playoffs MVP:

          Team of the season

          # Winner
          1. Japan Keita Inagaki (Panasonic)
          2. Japan Shota Horie (Panasonic)
          3. Japan Kensuke Hatakeyama (Suntory)
          4. Japan Hitoshi Ono (Toshiba)
          5. Australia Daniel Heenan (Panasonic)
          6. Australia George Smith (Suntory)
          7. Japan Tadasuke Nishihara (Panasonic)
          8. Japan Kyosuke Horie (Yamaha)
          9. Japan Atsushi Hiwasa (Suntory)
          10. Australia Berrick Barnes (Panasonic)
          11. Japan Akihito Yamada (Panasonic)
          12. Japan Male Sa'u (Yamaha)
          13. South Africa Jaque Fourie (Kobe Steel)
          14. Japan Tomoki Kitagawa (Panasonic)
          15. Japan Ayumu Goromaru (Yamaha)

          References

          1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Panasonic crowned Top League champions". Japan Rugby. 9 February 2014. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
          2. ↑ "Japan Rugby Top League 16 Team Captains". Japan Rugby. 2013. Archived from the original on 21 November 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
          3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "2013/14 Top League". The Rugby Archive. Archived from the original on 13 January 2015.
          4. ↑ "Panasonic to play Toshiba in season finale". Japan Rugby. 2 February 2014. Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
          5. ↑ "Suntory Sungoliath vs. Kobelco Steelers". Ultimate Rugby. 2 February 2014. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
          6. ↑ "Toshiba win in front of Emperor". Japan Rugby. 2 February 2014. Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
          7. ↑ "Suntory Sungoliath vs. Kobelco Steelers". Ultimate Rugby. 2 February 2014. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
          8. ↑ "Panasonic Wild Knights vs. Suntory Sungoliath". Ultimate Rugby. 9 February 2014. Archived from the original on 16 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
          9. ↑ "Barnes named Top League MVP". Japan Rugby. 12 February 2014. Archived from the original on 16 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.

          External links