2013–14 Top League

The 2013–14 Top League was the 11th season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. It kicked off on 30 August 2013. The final was held on 9 February 2014 and won by Panasonic Wild Knights.[1]

2013–14 Top League
The 2013–14 Top League champions, Panasonic.
Countries Japan
Date30 August 2013 – 9 February 2014
ChampionsPanasonic Wild Knights (2nd title)
Runners-upSuntory Sungoliath
Matches played115
Top point scorer Ryan Nicholas (188 pts)
 Suntory Sungoliath
Top try scorer Jaque Fourie (17 tries)
 Kobe Kobelco Steelers

Teams

The Top League expanded from 14 to 16 teams for the 2013–14 season.[2] The Sanix Blues team was relegated, and Coca-Cola West Red Sparks, Kubota Spears, Toyota Industries were promoted to the Top League for 2013–14.

Team Region Coach Captain
Canon Eagles Machida, Tokyo, Kantō Yoji Nagatomo Taku Wada
Coca-Cola West Red Sparks Fukuoka, Kyushu Shogo Mukai Masakazu Toyota
Kintetsu Liners Higashiosaka, Osaka, Kansai Ryusuke Maeda Haruki Ota
Kobelco Steelers Kobe, Kansai Seiji Hirao Daiki Hashimoto
Kubota Spears Abiko, Chiba, Kantō Takashi Yamagami Tatsurou Konno
Kyuden Voltex Fukuoka, Kyūshū Koji Hirata Makoto Matsumoto
NEC Green Rockets Abiko, Chiba, Kantō Greg Cooper Ryota Asano
NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Osaka, Kansai Kazunari Takano Hiroki Yoshioka
NTT Com Shining Arcs Chiba, Chiba, Kantō Masato Hayashi Hiraku Tomoigawa
Panasonic Wild Knights Ota, Gunma, Kantō Norifumi Nakajima Shota Horie
Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo, Kantō Leon Holden Daisuke Komatsu
Suntory Sungoliath Fuchū, Tokyo, Kantō Naoya Okubo Shinya Makabe
Toshiba Brave Lupus Fuchū, Tokyo, Kantō Kenichi Wada Michael Leitch
Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi, Mizuho Tai McIsaac Takayuki Kamitani
Toyota Verblitz Toyota, Aichi, Tokai Keiji Hirose Ryuta Ueno
Yamaha Júbilo Iwata, Shizuoka, Tokai Katsuyuki Kiyomiya Yuta Kasahara

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 2014–15.

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
1Panasonic Wild Knights770022410511940436
2Suntory Sungoliath76012611699240432
3Kobelco Steelers74032231942951224
4Toshiba Brave Lupus74031811513023223
5Yamaha Júbilo7304168177-922319
6Toyota Verblitz7304127188-6110114
7Canon Eagles7106131251-1200318
8NEC Green Rockets7007130210-801337

Updated: 19 Jan 2014
Source:The Rugby Archive[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
    1Kubota Spears75021661036321427
    2Kintetsu Liners75021871582931327
    3Ricoh Black Rams74032171506752225
    4Toyota Industries Shuttles7403190195-540323
    5NTT Com Shining Arcs7304158210-5231420
    6Coca-Cola West Red Sparks7304157175-1833119
    7NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes7205152160-822214
    8Kyuden Voltex7205157233-7630112

    Updated: 19 Jan 2014
    Source:The Rugby Archive[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 2014–15.
     • 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:The Rugby Archive[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

        Title play-offs

        Top 4 sides of the regular season competed in the Microsoft Cup (2014) knock out tournament to fight for the Top League title. The top 4 teams of 2013–14 were Panasonic Wild Knights, Suntory Sungoliath, Kobelco Steelers, and Toshiba Brave Lupus.

        Semi-finals

        Final
        09/02/2014 Panasonic Wild Knights 45–22 Suntory Sungoliath Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo  
        14:00 Try: Yamada 5', 49' Miyake 77'
        Con: Barnes (2/3) 50', 78'
        Pen: Barnes (8/9) 21', 24', 31',
        46', 53', 69', 72', 80'
        		 Report[1]
        Summary[8]        		 Try: Shinya 9', Du Preez 14', Aruga 36'
        Con: Tsukamoto (1/1) 15'
        Nicholas (1/2) 38'
        Pen: Nicholas (1/2) 60'
        		 Attendance: 10,217[1]
        Team details
        Panasonic Wild Knights
        FB15Yasutaka Sasakura 76'
        RW14Tomoki Kitagawa
        OC13Seichi Shimomura
        IC12Yasuki Hayashi 48'
        LW11Akihito Yamada
        FH10Berrick Barnes
        SH9Fumiaki Tanaka 77'
        N88Ryu Koliniasi Holani 77'
        OF7Tadasuke Nishihara
        BF6Sione Vatuvei 77'
        RL5Daniel Heenan 48'
        LL4Yu Young-nam
        TP3Tomokazu Soma 53'
        HK2Shota Horie (c)
        LP1Keita Inagaki
        Replacements:
        HK16Tetsuya Shitara 77'
        PR17Naoki Kawamata 55'
        PR18Ryusioapelatu Holani 53' 55'
        LK19Yoichi Ijima 48'
        FL20Daichi Wakamatsu 77'
        SH21Nicholas Ealey 77'
        CE22JP Pietersen 48'
        FB23Takashi Miyake 76'
        Coach:
        Norifumi Nakajima
        Suntory Sungoliath
        FB15Go Aruga 62'
        RW14Murata Daishi
        OC13Koji Taira
        IC12Ryan Nicholas
        LW11Kenta Tsukamoto
        FH10Kosei Ono 69'
        SH9Fourie Du Preez 69'
        N88Ozawa Naoki 77'
        OF7Takamichi Sasaki
        BF6George Smith 73'
        RL5Makabe Shinya (c)
        LL4Shinozuka Koji
        TP3Hatakeyama Kensuke
        HK2Aoki Yusuke
        LP1Kanei Tateo 73'
        Replacements:
        HK16Shintaro Ishihara 73'
        PR17Ozaki Akira
        PR18Ikegaya Yosuke
        FL19Takemoto Juntaro 77'
        FL20Hendrik Tui 73'
        SH21Hiwasa Atsushi 69'
        CE22Tusi Pisi 69'
        FB23Nagatomo Yasunori 62'
        Coach:
        Naoya Okubo

        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 Yamaha and Toyota advanced to the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.

        Top League Challenge Series
        Main article: 2013–14 Top League Challenge Series

        Fukuoka Sanix Blues won promotion to the 2014–15 Top League via the 2013–14 Top League Challenge Series, while Honda Heat, Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars and Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars 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 Coca-Cola West Red Sparks, NTT Docomo, and NTT remained in the Top League for the next season.

        End-of-season awards

        At the end of season awards, Panasonic Wild Knights flyhalf Berrick Barnes was named Top League MVP, a day after helping his side to the league title. He was handed his trophy by Japan coach Eddie Jones.[9]

        Team awards
        Award Winner
        Top League winners:Panasonic Wild Knights
        Fair Play award:
        Best fans:

        Individual awards
        Award Winner
        Top League MVP: Berrick Barnes (Panasonic)
        Rookie award: Keita Inagaki (Panasonic) and Kyosuke Horie (Yamaha)
        Most tries: Jaque Fourie (Kobe Steel) 17 tries
        Top scorer: Ryan Nicholas (Suntory)
        Best kicker: Ryan Nicholas (Suntory)
        Best referee:
        Playoffs MVP:

        Team of the season
        # Winner
        1. Keita Inagaki (Panasonic)
        2. Shota Horie (Panasonic)
        3. Kensuke Hatakeyama (Suntory)
        4. Hitoshi Ono (Toshiba)
        5. Daniel Heenan (Panasonic)
        6. George Smith (Suntory)
        7. Tadasuke Nishihara (Panasonic)
        8. Kyosuke Horie (Yamaha)
        9. Atsushi Hiwasa (Suntory)
        10. Berrick Barnes (Panasonic)
        11. Akihito Yamada (Panasonic)
        12. Male Sa'u (Yamaha)
        13. Jaque Fourie (Kobe Steel)
        14. Tomoki Kitagawa (Panasonic)
        15. Ayumu Goromaru (Yamaha)

        References
        1. "Panasonic crowned Top League champions". Japan Rugby. 9 February 2014. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
        2. "Japan Rugby Top League 16 Team Captains". Japan Rugby. 2013. Archived from the original on 21 November 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
        3. "2013/14 Top League". The Rugby Archive. Archived from the original on 13 January 2015.
        4. "Panasonic to play Toshiba in season finale". Japan Rugby. 2 February 2014. Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
        5. "Suntory Sungoliath vs. Kobelco Steelers". Ultimate Rugby. 2 February 2014. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
        6. "Toshiba win in front of Emperor". Japan Rugby. 2 February 2014. Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
        7. "Suntory Sungoliath vs. Kobelco Steelers". Ultimate Rugby. 2 February 2014. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
        8. "Panasonic Wild Knights vs. Suntory Sungoliath". Ultimate Rugby. 9 February 2014. Archived from the original on 16 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
        9. "Barnes named Top League MVP". Japan Rugby. 12 February 2014. Archived from the original on 16 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
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