2005–06 Top League

2005–06 Top League
CountriesJapan Japan
DateOctober 2005 – February 2006
ChampionsToshiba Brave Lupus
Runners-upSanyo 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.
 • The top 4 teams also qualified for entry into the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.
 • The bottom 4 teams went through to the promotion and relegation play-offs against regional challengers.

[2]

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

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

Main article: 2006 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

  1. ^ "The Japanese Top League". Japan Experience. 19 April 2018.
  2. ^ "2005/06 Top League". The Rugby Archive. Archived from the original on January 17, 2015.