2005–06 Top League
| 2005–06 Top League | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  Japan |
| Date | October 2005 – February 2006 |
| Champions | Toshiba Brave Lupus |
| Runners-up | Sanyo Wild Knights |
The 2005–06 Top League was the third season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League.[1]
Toshiba Brave Lupus won both the league round-robin and the Microsoft Cup knockout competitions.
Teams
| Team | Region |
|---|---|
| Fukuoka Sanix Blues | Fukuoka, Kyushu |
| 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 |
| Toyota Verblitz | Aichi, Tokai |
| 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 | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 406 | 193 | 213 | 10 | 0 | 46 | |||
| 2 | Sanyo Wild Knights | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 416 | 276 | 140 | 6 | 0 | 42 | |||
| 3 | NEC Green Rockets | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 270 | 136 | 134 | 4 | 1 | 41 | |||
| 4 | Toyota Verblitz | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 431 | 263 | 168 | 6 | 3 | 37 | |||
| 5 | Kobelco Steelers | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 284 | 225 | 59 | 4 | 1 | 33 | |||
| 6 | Suntory Sungoliath | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 308 | 241 | 67 | 6 | 2 | 32 | |||
| 7 | Yamaha Jubilo | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 328 | 211 | 117 | 4 | 4 | 28 | |||
| 8 | Kubota Spears | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 324 | 297 | 27 | 5 | 0 | 23 | |||
| 9 | World Fighting Bull | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 166 | 200 | -34 | 0 | 1 | 23 | |||
| 10 | Secom Rugguts | 11 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 260 | 481 | -221 | 6 | 1 | 15 | |||
| 11 | Ricoh Black Rams | 11 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 137 | 398 | -261 | 2 | 0 | 10 | |||
| 12 | Fukuoka Sanix Blues | 11 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 134 | 543 | -409 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
|
• The top 8 teams qualified for the Microsoft Cup play-offs. | ||||||||||||||
|
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). | ||||||||||||||
Fixtures and results
Microsoft Cup play-offs
The top eight teams in the league played off for the Microsoft Cup (2006) knock out tournament, which was won by Toshiba Brave Lupus.
Quarter-finals
| 22 January 2006 | Suntory Sungoliath | 35 - 17 | Yamaha Jubilo | |||
| 14:00 |
| 22 January 2006 | Kubota Spears | 40 - 24 | Sanyo Wild Knights | |||
| 14:00 |
| 22 January 2006 | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 38 - 7 | Kobe Kobelco Steelers | |||
| 14:00 |
| 22 January 2006 | Toyota Verblitz | 12 - 17 | NEC Green Rockets | |||
| 14:00 |
Semi-finals
| 29 January 2006 | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 23 - 10 | NEC Green Rockets | |||
| 14:00 |
| 29 January 2006 | Suntory Sungoliath | 44 - 25 | Kubota Spears | |||
| 14:00 |
Final
| 5 February 2006 | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 33 - 18 | Suntory Sungoliath | |||
| 14:00 |
Top League Challenge Series
Coca-Cola West Red Sparks and IBM Big Blue won promotion to the 2006–07 Top League via the 2006 Top League Challenge Series, while Honda Heat, Kintetsu Liners, Kyuden Voltex and NTT Communications Shining Arcs progressed to the promotion play-offs.
Promotion and relegation play-offs
Four promotion/relegation matches (Irekaesen) were played, with the winner of each qualifying for the 2006–07 Top League. The 9th, 10th, and 11th placed team from the Top League played against the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st placed teams, respectively, from Challenge 2. The 12th placed team from the Top League played against the 3rd placed team from Challenge 1.
| 11 February 2006 | Fukuoka Sanix Blues | 46 - 29 | Kintetsu Liners | |||
| 14:00 |
| 11 February 2006 | Ricoh Black Rams | 34 - 20 | Honda Heat | |||
| 14:00 |
| 11 February 2006 | Secom Rugguts | 31 - 20 | Kyuden Voltex | |||
| 14:00 |
| 11 February 2006 | World Fighting Bull | 50 - 8 | NTT Communications Shining Arcs | |||
| 14:00 |
So Fukuoka, Ricoh, Secom, and World all remained in the Top League for 2006–07.
References
- ^ "The Japanese Top League". Japan Experience. 19 April 2018.
- ^ "2005/06 Top League". The Rugby Archive. Archived from the original on January 17, 2015.