2014–15 Top League

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.

2014–15 Top League
Panasonic win the Lixil Cup for season 2014–15.
Countries Japan
Date22 August 2014 – 1 February 2015
ChampionsPanasonic Wild Knights (3rd title)
Runners-upYamaha Júbilo
Matches played115
Top point scorer Berrick Barnes (156 pts)
 Panasonic Wild Knights
Top try scorer Nemani Nadolo (11 tries)
 NEC Green Rockets
Rakuhei Yamashita (11 tries)
 Kobelco Steelers
Kyosuke Horie (11 tries)
 Yamaha Júbilo

Teams

The only change to the make-up of the league was the Top Kyushu champion team Fukuoka Sanix replacing Kyuden Voltex.[1][2]

Team Region Coach Captain
Canon Eagles Machida, Tokyo, Kantō Zane Hilton Taku Wada
Coca-Cola Red Sparks Fukuoka, Kyūshū Akihiro Usui Masakazu Toyota
Fukuoka Sanix Blues Fukuoka, Kyūshū Yuichiro Fujii Eito Tamura
Kintetsu Liners Higashiosaka, Osaka, Kansai Ryusuke Maeda Daiki Toyota
Kobelco Steelers Kobe, Kansai Gary Gold Daiki Hashimoto
Kubota Spears Funabashi, Chiba, Kantō Toutai Kefu Naomichi Tatekawa
NEC Green Rockets Abiko, Chiba, Kantō Masao Amino Sunao Takizawa
NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Osaka, Kansai Masahiro Shimoki Hiroki Yoshioka
NTT Com Shining Arcs Chiba, Chiba, Kantō Rob Penney Yuya Mizoguchi
Panasonic Wild Knights Ota, Gunma, Kantō Robbie Deans Shota Horie
Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo, Kantō Damien Hill Daisuke Komatsu
Suntory Sungoliath Fuchū, Tokyo, Kantō Andy Friend Shinya Makabe
Toshiba Brave Lupus Fuchū, Tokyo, Kantō Teppei Tomioka Yoshikazu Morita
Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi, Mizuho Tai McIsaac Koichi Umeda
Toyota Verblitz Toyota, Aichi, Tokai Filo Tiatia Kojiro Yoshida
Yamaha Júbilo Iwata, 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.

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
1Kobelco Steelers7502242113+12941429
2Panasonic Wild Knights7502218131+8750429
3Toshiba Brave Lupus7502213147+6641328
4Yamaha Júbilo7502165134+3141227
5Suntory Sungoliath7502171157+1430326
6Toyota Verblitz7205126198-7220111
7Canon Eagles7106116224-1081128
8NTT Com Shining Arcs700799246-1470112
Updated: 11 January 2015

Source: rugbyarchive.net[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
    1Ricoh Black Rams7601199102+9741332
    2NEC Green Rockets7502148114+3431327
    3NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes7502235166+6941126
    4Kintetsu Liners7403167168-141425
    5Kubota Spears7403151127+2422424
    6Coca-Cola Red Sparks7205143194-5141215
    7Toyota Industries Shuttles7106110193-831128
    8Fukuoka Sanix Blues7106147236-892118
    Updated: 11 January 2015

    Source: rugbyarchive.net[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 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[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

        Round 1










        Round 2










        Round 3










        Round 4










        Round 5










        Round 6










        Round 7










        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

        1 February 2015 Yamaha Júbilo 12–30 Panasonic Wild Knights Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo  
        14:00 Try: Horie 8' c
        Nakazono 11'
        Con: Goromaru (1/2) 9'
        Try: Kitagawa 11', 76' c
        Barnes 22'
        Yamada 28' c
        Con: Barnes (1/3) 29'
        Miwa (1/1) 77'
        Pen: Barnes (2/2) 3', 39'

        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

        Award Winner
        Top League winners:Panasonic Wild Knights
        Fair Play award:Panasonic Wild Knights
        Best fans:Kobelco Steelers
        Toshiba Brave Lupus
        Panasonic Wild Knights

        Individual awards

        Award Winner
        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
        Rakuhei Yamashita (Kobelco Steelers) 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

        # Winner Team
        1. Keita InagakiPanasonic Wild Knights
        2. Shota HoriePanasonic Wild Knights
        3. Hiroshi YamashitaKobelco Steelers
        4. Andries BekkerKobelco Steelers
        5. Shoji ItoKobelco Steelers
        6. Adam ThomsonCanon Eagles
        7. Michael LeitchToshiba Brave Lupus
        8. Kyosuke HorieYamaha Júbilo
        9. Fumiaki TanakaPanasonic Wild Knights
        10. Berrick BarnesPanasonic Wild Knights
        11. Rakuhei YamashitaKobelco Steelers
        12. Kotaro MatsushimaSuntory Sungoliath
        13. Jaque FourieKobelco Steelers
        14. Akihito YamadaPanasonic Wild Knights
        15. Ayumu GoromaruYamaha Júbilo

        References

        1. "Draw made for 2014-15 opening stage after NTT Comms remain in Top League". jrfu.org. 22 February 2014. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
        2. Hinato (21 April 2014). "Robbie Deans new manager of Panasonic Wild Knights!". Japon Rugby (in French). Archived from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
        3. "2014/15 Top League". The Rugby Archive. Archived from the original on 13 January 2015.
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