2011–12 Top League

2011–12 Top League
2011–12 top scorer, Yamaha's Ayumu Goromaru (right).
Countries Japan Japan
Date 29 October 2011 – 26 February 2012
Champions Suntory Sungoliath (2nd title)
Runners-up Sanyo Wild Knights
Top point scorer Japan Ayumu Goromaru (182 points)
Top try scorer Fiji Nemani Nadolo (19 tries)

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.

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

    Fixtures and results

    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

    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:Australia George Smith (Suntory Sungoliath)
    Revelation of the season:Japan Michael Leitch (Toshiba Brave Lupus)
    Most tries:Fiji Nemani Nadolo (NEC Green Rockets)
    Most kicks:Japan Ayumu Goromaru (Yamaha Jubilo)
    Best referee of the season:Japan Taizo Hirabayashi
    Special prize:Japan Tomoaki Nakai (Toshiba Brave Lupus)
    First player to 100 Top League appearances

    2012/2013 Team of the Season

    Pos Player Team
    FB15Japan Ayumu GoromaruYamaha Jubilo
    RW14Japan Tomoki KitagawaSanyo Wild Knights
    OC13South Africa Jaque FourieSanyo Wild Knights
    IC12Japan Kosei OnoFukuoka Sanix Blues
    LW11Fiji Nemani NadoloSanyo Wild Knights
    FH10Japan Yasumasa ShigemitsuKintetsu Liners
    SH9Japan Atsushi HiwasaSuntory Sungoliath
    N88Japan Masato ToyodaToshiba Brave Lupus
    OF7Japan Michael LeitchToshiba Brave Lupus
    BF6Australia George SmithSuntory Sungoliath
    RL5Japan Hitoshi OnoToshiba Brave Lupus
    LL4Australia Daniel HeenanSanyo Wild Knights
    TP3Japan Kensuke HatakeyamaSuntory Sungoliath
    HK2Japan Shota HorieSanyo Wild Knights
    LP1Japan Hisateru HirashimaKobelco Steelers

    References

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