2011–12 Top League

The 2011–12 Top League was the ninth season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. The Suntory Sungoliath team defeated Sanyo Wild Knights by 47–28 in the final of the Microsoft Cup to claim their second Top League championship.

2011–12 Top League
2011–12 top scorer, Yamaha's Ayumu Goromaru (right).
Countries Japan
Date29 October 2011 – 26 February 2012
ChampionsSuntory Sungoliath (2nd title)
Runners-upSanyo Wild Knights
Top point scorer Ayumu Goromaru (182 points)
Top try scorer Nemani Nadolo (19 tries)

The Top League is a semi-professional competition which is at the top of the national league system in Japan, with promotion and relegation between the next level down.

Teams
Team Region
Coca-Cola West Red Sparks Fukuoka, Kyushu
Fukuoka Sanix Blues Fukuoka, Kyushu
Kintetsu Liners Osaka, Kansai
Kobelco Steelers Hyogo, Kansai
NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes , Osaka
NEC Green Rockets Chiba, Kanto
NTT Com Shining Arcs Chiba, Chiba
Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo, Kanto
Sanyo Wild Knights Gunma, Kanto
Suntory Sungoliath Tokyo, Kanto
Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo, Kanto
Toyota Verblitz Aichi, Tokai
Honda Heat Suzuka, Mie
Yamaha Jubilo Shizuoka, Tokai

Regular season

Table
Top League Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points
1Suntory Sungoliath 131201512278+2348157
2Toshiba Brave Lupus 131102475173+3029255
3Sanyo Wild Knights 131102480324+1568153
4NEC Green Rockets 13805349314+358141
5Kintetsu Liners 13805341311+305239
6Kobelco Steelers 13616349288+617538
7Ricoh Black Rams 13715386333+537138
8Yamaha Jubilo 13616407274+1336335
9NTT Com Shining Arcs 13517322414−926230
10Toyota Verblitz 13508341323+185429
11Fukuoka Sanix Blues 13409254458−2047225
12NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes 132110291555−2645015
13Honda Heat 132110226479−2532113
14Coca-Cola West Red Sparks 131012285494−2093512

 • The top 4 teams qualified to the title play-offs.
 • The top 4 teams also qualified for entry into the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.
 • Teams 5 to 8 qualified for the wildcard play-offs for entry into the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.
 • Teams 11 and 12 went through to the promotion and relegation play-offs against regional challengers.
 • Teams 13 and 14 were automatically relegated to regional leagues for 2012–13.

Source:The Rugby Archive[1]

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

    Round 1

    Title play-offs

    Top 4 sides of the regular season competed in the Microsoft Cup (2012) knock-out tournament to fight for the Top League title. The top 4 teams of 2011–12 were Suntory Sungoliath, Toshiba Brave Lupus, Sanyo Wild Knights, and NEC Green Rockets.

    Semi-finals

    Final

    Wildcard play-offs

    The Top League teams ranked 5th and 8th played-off, and the teams ranked 6th and 7th played-off, with the winners qualifying for the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.

    So Kobe and Yamaha progressed to the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.

    Top League Challenge Series
    Main article: 2011–12 Top League Challenge Series

    Canon Eagles and Kyuden Voltex won promotion to the 2012–13 Top League via the 2011–12 Top League Challenge Series, while Kubota Spears and Toyota Industries Shuttles progressed to the promotion play-offs.

    Promotion and relegation play-offs

    Two promotion/relegation matches (Irekaesen) were played. The Top League teams ranked 12th and 11th played-off against the Challenge 1 teams ranked 3rd and 4th respectively, for the right to be included in the Top League for the following season.

    So Sanix and NTT Docomo remained in the Top League for the following season.

    End-of-season awards
    Award Winner
    Tournament winner:Suntory Sungoliath
    Fair Play award:Toshiba Brave Lupus
    Best player of the season: George Smith (Suntory Sungoliath)
    Revelation of the season: Michael Leitch (Toshiba Brave Lupus)
    Most tries: Nemani Nadolo (NEC Green Rockets)
    Most kicks: Ayumu Goromaru (Yamaha Jubilo)
    Best referee of the season: Taizo Hirabayashi
    Special prize: Tomoaki Nakai (Toshiba Brave Lupus)
    First player to 100 Top League appearances

    2012/2013 Team of the Season

    Pos Player Team
    FB15 Ayumu GoromaruYamaha Jubilo
    RW14 Tomoki KitagawaSanyo Wild Knights
    OC13 Jaque FourieSanyo Wild Knights
    IC12 Kosei OnoFukuoka Sanix Blues
    LW11 Nemani NadoloSanyo Wild Knights
    FH10 Yasumasa ShigemitsuKintetsu Liners
    SH9 Atsushi HiwasaSuntory Sungoliath
    N88 Masato ToyodaToshiba Brave Lupus
    OF7 Michael LeitchToshiba Brave Lupus
    BF6 George SmithSuntory Sungoliath
    RL5 Hitoshi OnoToshiba Brave Lupus
    LL4 Daniel HeenanSanyo Wild Knights
    TP3 Kensuke HatakeyamaSuntory Sungoliath
    HK2 Shota HorieSanyo Wild Knights
    LP1 Hisateru HirashimaKobelco Steelers

    References
    1. "2011/12 Top League". The Rugby Archive.
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