2015–16 Top League

2015–16 Top League

Panasonic win the Lixil Cup for season 2015–16.
Countries Japan Japan
Date 13 November 2015 – 24 January 2016
Champions

Panasonic Wild Knights

(4th title)
Runners-up Toshiba Brave Lupus
Matches played 115
Top point scorer

Japan Ayumu Goromaru

(83 pts)


 Yamaha Júbilo

Top try scorer

Japan Taiyo Ando

(6 tries)


 Toyota Verblitz
Japan Shota Emi

(6 tries)


 Suntory Sungoliath

2016–17 →

The 2015–16 Top League was the 13th season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. It kicked off on 13 November 2015 and was completed on 24 January 2016.[1] The final was won by Panasonic Wild Knights defeating Toshiba Brave Lupus by 27–26.

A short pre-season competition was also played from 3 September to 10 October 2015 to provide each Top League team with five official matches before the regular season.[2][3]

Teams

The only change to the make-up of the league was the Challenge One winner Honda Heat replacing Kyuden Voltex.[4]

Team Region Coach Captain
Canon Eagles Machida, Tokyo, Kantō Japan Yoji Nagatomo
Coca-Cola Red Sparks Fukuoka, Kyushu Japan Tomohiro Yamaguchi Japan Kouta Yamashita
Honda Heat Suzuka, Mie Japan Tomoaki Fujimoto
Kintetsu Liners Higashiosaka, Osaka, Kansai Japan Ryusuke Maeda Japan Daiki Toyota
Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers Kobe, Kansai South Africa Allister Coetzee Japan Daiki Hashimoto
Kubota Spears Abiko, Chiba, Kantō Australia Toutai Kefu Japan Naomichi Tatekawa
NEC Green Rockets Abiko, Chiba, Kantō Japan Masao Amino Japan Sunao Takizawa
NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes Osaka, Kansai Japan Masahiro Shimoki
NTT Shining Arcs Chiba, Chiba, Kantō New Zealand Rob Penney Japan Yuya Mizoguchi
Panasonic Wild Knights Ota, Gunma, Kantō New Zealand Robbie Deans Japan Shota Horie
Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo, Kantō Australia Damien Hill Japan Masahiro Noguchi
Suntory Sungoliath Fuchū, Tokyo, Kantō Australia Andy Friend
Toshiba Brave Lupus Fuchū, Tokyo, Kantō South Africa Jimmy Stonehouse Japan Yoshikazu Morita
Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi, Mizuho Japan Masaya Niu Japan Tsuyoshi Matsuoka
Toyota Verblitz Toyota, Aichi, Tokai Japan Hiroshi Sugawara Japan Kojiro Yoshida
Yamaha Júbilo Iwata, Shizuoka, Tokai Japan Takanobu Horikawa

Format

Owing to the 2015 Rugby World Cup and Japan's entry into the 2016 Super Rugby tournament, the 2015–16 Top League format was altered from the previous year.

Pre-season league

A pre-season competition was staged to provide each Top League team with five matches before the regular season. In the first stage, played from 3–19 September, the 16 teams were placed into 4 pools of 4 teams each and a round-robin was played within each pool.[2][3]

For the second stage, played from 3–10 October, the top teams in each pool were bracketed together to determine the pre-season competition winner. Semifinals and a consolation final and final were played to decide positions 1 to 4. The second-ranked teams in each pool played off for positions 5 to 8, the third-ranked teams played off for positions 9 to 12, and the bottom teams from each pool played off for positions 13 to 16.[2][3]

Regular season

For the Pool stage, the 16 teams were placed into 2 pools of 8 teams each and a round-robin was played within each of the pools. At the conclusion of the pool stage, the top 4 sides in each pool advanced to the title play-offs to determine the Top League champion and the final classification positions 1 to 8. Similarly, the bottom 4 sides in each pool went on to the lower bracket play-offs to determine the final classification positions 9 to 16.

Pre-season

Standings

Pre-season play-offs

Fourth bracket

  13th–16th semifinal            
  B4  Coca-Cola Red Sparks 24  
  D4  Toyota Shokki Shuttles 35   Thirteenth play-off
      W1  Toyota Shokki Shuttles 21
  13th–16th semifinal   W2  Kubota Spears 17
  A4  Honda Heat 10
  C4  Kubota Spears 40   Fifteenth play-off
    L1  Coca-Cola Red Sparks 24
    L2  Honda Heat 21

Third bracket

  9th–12th semifinal            
  A3  NEC Green Rockets 20  
  C3  NTT Shining Arcs 28   Ninth play-off
      W3  NTT Shining Arcs 48
  9th–12th semifinal   W4  Canon Eagles 25
  B3  Yamaha Jubilo 24
  D3  Canon Eagles 27   Eleventh play-off
    L3  NEC Green Rockets 18
    L4  Yamaha Jubilo 26

Second bracket

  5th–8th semifinal            
  B2  Kintetsu Liners 22  
  D2  Ricoh Black Rams 32   Fifth play-off
      W5  Ricoh Black Rams 17
  5th–8th semifinal   W6  NTTDocomoRedHurricanes 26
  A2  Panasonic Wild Knights*
  C2  NTTDocomoRedHurricanes w/o   Seventh play-off
    L5  Kintetsu Liners w/o
    L6  Panasonic Wild Knights
Notes:

^* Panasonic forfeited their semifinal. NTT Docomo gained the walk over.
^† Panasonic forfeited the 7th place final. Kintetsu gained the walk over.

First bracket

  1st–4th semifinal            
  B1  Suntory Sungoliath 23  
  D1  Toshiba Brave Lupus 21   Final
      W7  Suntory Sungoliath 24
  1st–4th semifinal   W8  Kobelco Steelers 27
  A1  Toyota Verblitz 14
  C1  Kobelco Steelers 30   Third play-off
    L7  Toshiba Brave Lupus 13
    L8  Toyota Verblitz 20

Regular season

Standings

Top League - Pool Stage
Pool A
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points
1 Yamaha Júbilo 7 6 0 1 226 140 +86 5 0 29
2 Kobelco Steelers 7 5 0 2 235 137 +98 5 2 27
3 Toyota Verblitz 7 5 0 2 203 125 +78 5 1 26
4 Canon Eagles 7 5 0 2 196 142 +54 4 1 25
5 Toyota Industries Shuttles 7 3 0 4 175 212 -37 1 0 13
6 NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes 7 2 1 4 141 197 -56 1 1 12
7 NEC Green Rockets 7 1 1 5 100 202 -102 0 1 7
8 Coca-Cola Red Sparks 7 0 0 7 143 264 -121 1 2 3
Updated: 27 December 2015

Source: rugbyarchive.net
  Teams 1 to 4 (Green background) advance to the title play-offs.
  Teams 5 to 8 (Blue background) go on to the lower bracket play-offs.

Pool B
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points
1 Panasonic Wild Knights 7 6 1 0 290 137 +153 5 0 31
2 Toshiba Brave Lupus 7 5 1 1 253 100 +153 4 0 26
3 Kintetsu Liners 7 5 0 2 189 193 -4 3 0 23
4 NTT Shining Arcs 7 4 0 3 190 142 +48 4 2 22
5 Suntory Sungoliath 7 4 0 3 227 148 +79 4 1 21
6 Kubota Spears 7 2 0 5 118 240 -122 1 1 10
7 Honda Heat 7 1 0 6 99 253 -154 0 1 5
8 Ricoh Black Rams 7 0 0 7 129 282 -153 1 1 2
Updated: 27 December 2015

Source: rugbyarchive.net
  Teams 1 to 4 (Green background) advance to the title play-offs.
  Teams 5 to 8 (Blue background) go on to the lower bracket play-offs.

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

    Round 1










    Round 2










    Round 3










    Round 4










    Round 5










    Round 6










    Round 7










    Lower bracket play-offs

    Lower quarterfinals 9th to 12th bracket Ninth place
                       
    9 January 2016 – 14:00 – Match 4        
     NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes   
    16 January 2016 – 14:05 – Match 8
     Honda Heat     
     Winner Match 4   
    9 January 2016 – 11:40 – Match 1
       Winner Match 1     
     Coca-Cola Red Sparks   
    23 January 2016 – 14:00
     Suntory Sungoliath     
     Winner Match 8   
    9 January 2016 – 14:00 – Match 2
       Winner Match 7   
     Toyota Industries Shuttles   
    16 January 2016 – 14:00 – Match 7
     Ricoh Black Rams     
     Winner Match 2    Eleventh place
    9 January 2016 – 11:40 – Match 3
       Winner Match 3     
     NEC Green Rockets     Loser Match 8   
     Kubota Spears       Loser Match 7   
    23 January 2016 – 12:00
    13th to 16th bracket Thirteenth place
    16 January 2016 – 11:40 – Match 5
     Loser Match 2    
     Loser Match 3    
     
    23 January 2016 – 14:00
         Winner Match 5  
       Winner Match 6  
    Fifteenth place
    16 January 2016 – 12:00 – Match 6 23 January 2016 – 11:40
     Loser Match 4    Loser Match 5  
     Loser Match 1      Loser Match 6   

    Lower quarterfinals






    Play-offs 9th–12th and 13th–16th






    Classification finals






    Title play-offs

    Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                       
    9 January 2016 – 13:00 – Match 4        
     Yamaha Júbilo   
    16 January 2016 – 14:00 – Match 7
     NTT Shining Arcs     
     Winner of Match 4   
    9 January 2016 – 14:00 – Match 1
       Winner of Match 1     
     Toyota Verblitz   
    24 January 2016 – 14:00 – Chichibunomiya
     Toshiba Brave Lupus     
     Winner of Match 7   
    9 January 2016 – 11:40 – Match 2
       Winner of Match 8   
     Kobelco Steelers   
    16 January 2016 – 14:05 – Match 8
     Kintetsu Liners     
     Winner of Match 2    Third place
    9 January 2016 – 13:00 – Match 3
       Winner of Match 3     
     Canon Eagles     Loser of Match 7   
     Panasonic Wild Knights       Loser of Match 8   
    24 January 2016 – 11:40 – Chichibunomiya
    5th to 8th bracket Fifth place
    16 January 2016 – 11:40 – Match 5
     Loser of Match 4    
     Loser of Match 1    
     
    23 January 2016 – 14:00
         Winner of Match 5  
       Winner of Match 6  
    Seventh place
    16 January 2016 – 12:00 – Match 6 23 January 2016 – 11:40
     Loser of Match 2    Loser of Match 5  
     Loser of Match 3      Loser of Match 6  

    Quarterfinals






    Semifinals and play-offs 5th–8th






    Classification finals





    Final

    24 January 2015 Winner Match 7 Winner Match 8 Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo  
    14:00

    All-Japan qualification

    The 2016 All-Japan Rugby Football Championship took place as a one-off final match played between the respective winners of the Japanese Top League competition and the All-Japan University Rugby Championship. The match will be played at the Chichibunomiya Stadium in Tokyo on 31 January 2016.[5]

    The abbreviated format was chosen due to the busy schedule for Japanese Rugby which included the 2015 Rugby World Cup as well as Asian qualification for the 2016 Olympics and the introduction of a Japanese Super Rugby team.[5]

    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.

    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.

    End of season awards

    Team of the season

    # Winner Team
    1. Japan Keita Inagaki Panasonic Wild Knights
    2. Japan Shota Horie Panasonic Wild Knights
    3. Japan Takuma Asahara Toshiba Brave Lupus
    4. South Africa Andries Bekker Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers
    5. Australia Daniel Heenan Panasonic Wild Knights
    6. Japan Michael Leitch Canon Eagles
    7. Japan Shokei Kin NTT Shining Arcs
    8. Japan Amanaki Lelei Mafi NTT Shining Arcs
    9. Japan Fumiaki Tanaka Panasonic Wild Knights
    10. Australia Berrick Barnes Panasonic Wild Knights
    11. Japan Shota Emi Suntory Sungoliath
    12. New Zealand Richard Kahui Toshiba Brave Lupus
    13. South Africa JP Pietersen Panasonic Wild Knights
    14. Japan Tomoki Kitagawa Panasonic Wild Knights
    15. Japan Ayumu Goromaru Yamaha Júbilo

    References

    1. "Top League Schedule 2015-16 Season". Rugby News Japan. 29 May 2015. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
    2. 1 2 3 "Japan - Pre Season League 2015/16". Rugby Archive. 2015. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
    3. 1 2 3 "Japan Rugby Top League pre-season league". Suntory. 2015. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
    4. "Top League trio retain status". jrfu.org. 14 February 2015. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
    5. 1 2 Hinato (21 May 2015). "The final of the All Japan Championship 31 January". Japon Rugby (in French). Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
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