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.
Teams
The only change to the make-up of the league was the Top Kyushu champion team Fukuoka Sanix replacing Kyuden Voltex.
TeamRegionCoachCaptainCanon EaglesMachida, Tokyo, Kantō Zane Hilton Taku WadaCoca-Cola Red SparksFukuoka, Kyūshū Akihiro Usui Masakazu ToyotaFukuoka Sanix Blues Fukuoka, Kyūshū Yuichiro Fujii Eito TamuraKintetsu LinersHigashiosaka, Osaka, Kansai Ryusuke Maeda Daiki ToyotaKobelco SteelersKobe, Kansai Gary Gold Daiki HashimotoKubota Spears Funabashi, Chiba, Kantō Toutai Kefu Naomichi TatekawaNEC Green RocketsAbiko, Chiba, Kantō Masao Amino Sunao TakizawaNTT DoCoMo Red HurricanesOsaka, Kansai Masahiro Shimoki Hiroki YoshiokaNTT Com Shining ArcsChiba, Chiba, Kantō Rob Penney Yuya MizoguchiPanasonic Wild KnightsOta, Gunma, Kantō Robbie Deans Shota HorieRicoh Black RamsTokyo, Kantō Damien Hill Daisuke KomatsuSuntory SungoliathFuchū, Tokyo, Kantō Andy Friend Shinya MakabeToshiba Brave LupusFuchū, Tokyo, Kantō Teppei Tomioka Yoshikazu MoritaToyota Industries ShuttlesAichi, Mizuho Tai McIsaac Koichi UmedaToyota Verblitz Toyota, Aichi, Tokai Filo Tiatia Kojiro YoshidaYamaha JúbiloIwata, Shizuoka, Tokai Katsuyuki Kiyomiya Yuhimaru Mimura
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 2015–16.
Standings
Group stage tables Top League - Group StageGroup 1ClubPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints ForPoints AgainstPoints DifferenceTry BonusLosing BonusStart PointsPoints 1 Kobelco Steelers 7 5 0 2 242 113 +129 4 1 4 29 2 Panasonic Wild Knights 7 5 0 2 218 131 +87 5 0 4 29 3 Toshiba Brave Lupus 7 5 0 2 213 147 +66 4 1 3 28 4 Yamaha Júbilo 7 5 0 2 165 134 +31 4 1 2 27 5 Suntory Sungoliath 7 5 0 2 171 157 +14 3 0 3 26 6 Toyota Verblitz 7 2 0 5 126 198 -72 2 0 1 11 7 Canon Eagles 7 1 0 6 116 224 -108 1 1 2 8 8 NTT Com Shining Arcs 7 0 0 7 99 246 -147 0 1 1 2Updated: 11 January 2015 Source: rugbyarchive.net 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 2ClubPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints ForPoints AgainstPoints DifferenceTry BonusLosing BonusStart PointsPoints 1 Ricoh Black Rams 7 6 0 1 199 102 +97 4 1 3 32 2 NEC Green Rockets 7 5 0 2 148 114 +34 3 1 3 27 3 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes 7 5 0 2 235 166 +69 4 1 1 26 4 Kintetsu Liners 7 4 0 3 167 168 -1 4 1 4 25 5 Kubota Spears 7 4 0 3 151 127 +24 2 2 4 24 6 Coca-Cola Red Sparks 7 2 0 5 143 194 -51 4 1 2 15 7 Toyota Industries Shuttles 7 1 0 6 110 193 -83 1 1 2 8 8 Fukuoka Sanix Blues 7 1 0 6 147 236 -89 2 1 1 8Updated: 11 January 2015 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 2015–16. 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 stage tables Top League - Pool StagePool AClubPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints ForPoints AgainstPoints DifferenceTry BonusLosing BonusPoints 1 Panasonic Wild Knights 7 6 0 1 308 116 +192 5 0 29 2 Toshiba Brave Lupus 7 5 0 2 218 141 +77 4 2 26 3 Yamaha Júbilo 7 4 1 2 227 113 +114 5 2 25 4 NTT Com Shining Arcs 7 4 0 3 172 169 +3 3 2 21 5 Kubota Spears 7 3 1 3 171 201 -30 3 1 18 6 NEC Green Rockets 7 2 0 5 194 233 -39 3 3 14 7 Toyota Industries Shuttles 7 2 0 5 123 249 -126 1 0 9 8 Fukuoka Sanix Blues 7 1 0 6 129 320 -191 2 0 6Updated: 20 October 2014 Source: rugbyarchive.net 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 BClubPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints ForPoints AgainstPoints DifferenceTry BonusLosing BonusPoints 1 Kobelco Steelers 7 6 1 0 182 106 +76 3 0 29 2 Suntory Sungoliath 7 6 0 1 202 137 +65 3 1 28 3 Canon Eagles 7 4 0 3 184 142 +42 4 3 23 4 Toyota Verblitz 7 4 1 2 157 145 +12 2 2 22 5 Kintetsu Liners 7 4 0 3 182 175 +7 4 2 22 6 Ricoh Black Rams 7 2 0 5 183 160 +23 3 3 14 7 Coca-Cola Red Sparks 7 1 0 6 90 210 -120 0 2 6 8 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes 7 0 0 7 117 219 -102 2 3 5Updated: 20 October 2014 Source: rugbyarchive.net 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:
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
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
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 Lixil Cup knock out tournament to decide the Top League champion. The top 4 teams of 2014–15 were Kobelco Steelers, Panasonic Wild Knights, Toshiba Brave Lupus, and Yamaha Júbilo.
Semi-finals
Final
Team detailsTeam 1 FB 15 Ayumu Goromaru RW 14 Chikara Ito OC 13 Masatoshi Miyazawa IC 12 Male Sa'u LW 11 Shinji Nakazono FH 10 Tatsuhiko Otao SH 9 Yuki Yatomi N8 8 Kyosuke Horie OF 7 Yuhimaru Mimura (c) BF 6 Mose Tuiali'i RL 5 Duke Krishnan LL 4 Yuya Ohdo TP 3 Yoshikazu Tamura HK 2 Takeshi Hino LP 1 Koki Yamamoto Replacements:HK 16 Keita Kato PR 17 Naoya Kishi PR 18 Ryo Yamamura LK 19 Kohei Saita FL 20 Kazuki Yamaji SH 21 Yoshiyuki Koike CE 22 Katsunori Imoto WG 23 Siale Piutau Coach: Katsuyuki KiyomiyaTeam 2 FB 15 Yasutaka Sasakura RW 14 Tomoki Kitagawa OC 13 Seiichi Shimomura IC 12 Yasuki Hayashi LW 11 Akihito Yamada FH 10 Berrick Barnes SH 9 Fumiaki Tanaka N8 8 Koliniasi Holani OF 7 Tadasuke Nishihara BF 6 You Young-nam RL 5 Daniel Heenan LL 4 Kotaro Yatabe TP 3 Naoki Kawamata HK 2 Shota Horie (c) LP 1 Keita Inagaki Replacements:HK 16 Tetsuya Shitara PR 17 Jungo Kikawa PR 18 Yuuki Kawano FL 19 Youichi Iijima FL 20 Masaki Tani SH 21 Keisuke Uchida CE 22 JP Pietersen FB 23 Tadahiro Miwa Coach: Robbie Deans
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 NEC Green Rockets and Suntory Sungoliath advanced to the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.
Top League Challenge Series
Honda Heat won promotion to the 2015–16 Top League via the 2014–15 Top League Challenge Series, while Kamaishi Seawaves, Kyuden Voltex and Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars progressed to the promotion 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 Kubota Spears, Coca-Cola Red Sparks and Toyota Industries Shuttles remained in the Top League for the next season.
End-of-season awards
Team awards AwardWinner Top League winners: Panasonic Wild Knights Fair Play award: Panasonic Wild Knights Best fans: Kobelco Steelers Toshiba Brave Lupus Panasonic Wild Knights
Individual awards AwardWinner Top League MVP: Berrick Barnes (Panasonic Wild Knights) Rookie award: Rakuhei Yamashita (Kobelco Steelers) Most tries: Nemani Nadolo (NEC Green Rockets) 11 Kyosuke Horie (Yamaha Júbilo) 11 Top scorer: Berrick Barnes (Panasonic Wild Knights) 156 Best kicker: Berrick Barnes (Panasonic Wild Knights) 82.61% Best referee: Akihisa Aso Playoffs MVP: Akihito Yamada (Panasonic Wild Knights)
Team of the season #WinnerTeam 1. Keita Inagaki Panasonic Wild Knights 2. Shota Horie Panasonic Wild Knights 3. Hiroshi Yamashita Kobelco Steelers 4. Andries Bekker Kobelco Steelers 5. Shoji Ito Kobelco Steelers 6. Adam Thomson Canon Eagles 7. Michael Leitch Toshiba Brave Lupus 8. Kyosuke Horie Yamaha Júbilo 9. Fumiaki Tanaka Panasonic Wild Knights 10. Berrick Barnes Panasonic Wild Knights 11. Rakuhei Yamashita Kobelco Steelers 12. Kotaro Matsushima Suntory Sungoliath 13. Jaque Fourie Kobelco Steelers 14. Akihito Yamada Panasonic Wild Knights 15. Ayumu Goromaru Yamaha Júbilo
References