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2009–10 Top League

{{Infobox rugby union season

| image = Topleague09-10final.JPG

| imagesize = 300px

| caption = Season finale for 2009–10: Toshiba versus Sanyo.

| countries = {{flagicon|Japan}} Japan

| date = {{nowrap|4 September 2009 - 9 January 2010}}

| champions = Toshiba Brave Lupus (5th title)

| runnersup = Sanyo Wild Knights

| relegated =

| matches =

| attendance =

| top point scorer =

| top try scorer =

| prevseason = 2008–09

| nextseason = 2010–11

}}

The 2009–10 Top League was the seventh season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. The Toshiba Brave Lupus defeated Sanyo Wild Knights by 6–0 in the final of the Microsoft Cup to claim their fifth 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.

{{TOC limit|3}}

Changes

  • Honda Heat and Ricoh Black Rams were promoted to the Top League, replacing IBM Big Blue and Yokogawa Atlastars who were relegated.
  • Last season's rule change of allowing three overseas players on the field at any one time was altered for the 2009–10 season; one of the three overseas players must have already represented Japan, be currently eligible to represent Japan or eligible to represent Japan in the future.
  • Teams are allowed to field one player from the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) outside the above restrictions on overseas players. That Asian player may have represented another country at Test, A or Sevens levels as long as that country is a Union member of the ARFU.
  • Last season the top six finishers automatically qualified for the national championship; however, this season the top four qualify, with the teams that finish 5th to 10th playing off for the remaining two Top League qualifiers.

Teams

class = "wikitable"
Team

!Region

!Season

Coca-Cola West Red Sparks

|Fukuoka, Kyushu

| align=center|4

Fukuoka Sanix Blues

|Fukuoka, Kyushu

| align=center|6

Honda Heat

|Suzuka, Mie

| align=center|1

Kintetsu Liners

|Osaka, Kansai

| align=center|4

Kobelco Steelers

|Hyogo, Kansai

| align=center|7

Kubota Spears

|Chiba, Kanto

| align=center|7

Kyuden Voltex

|Fukuoka, Kyushu

| align=center|3

NEC Green Rockets

|Chiba, Kanto

| align=center|7

Ricoh Black Rams

|Tokyo, Kanto

| align=center|6

Sanyo Wild Knights

|Gunma, Kanto

| align=center|7

Suntory Sungoliath

|Tokyo, Kanto

| align=center|7

Toshiba Brave Lupus

|Tokyo, Kanto

| align=center|7

Toyota Verblitz

|Aichi, Tokai

| align=center|6

Yamaha Jubilo

|Shizuoka, Tokai

| align=center|7

Regular season

=Final standings=

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
colspan="15" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"|Top League Table
bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|

!bgcolor="#efefef" width="225"|Club

!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Played

!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Won

!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Drawn

!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Lost

!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Points For

!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Points Against

!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Points Difference

!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Try Bonus

!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Losing Bonus

!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Points

bgcolor=#d8ffeb

|1

style="text-align:left;"|18px Sanyo Wild Knights

|13

1210534175+35959
bgcolor=#d8ffeb

|2

style="text-align:left;"|18px Suntory Sungoliath

|13

1120570195+37558
bgcolor=#d8ffeb

|3

style="text-align:left;"|18px Toshiba Brave Lupus

|13

1003436276+16052
bgcolor=#d8ffeb

|4

style="text-align:left;"|18px Toyota Verblitz

|13

1012394219+17548
5style="text-align:left;"|18px Kobelco Steelers

|13

715343303+4038
6style="text-align:left;"|18px Kubota Spears

|13

607313339−2631
7style="text-align:left;"|18px Fukuoka Sanix Blues

|13

607311371−6031
8style="text-align:left;"|18px Coca-Cola West Red Sparks

|13

706299448−14931
9style="text-align:left;"|18px Yamaha Jubilo

|13

526311327−1430
10style="text-align:left;"|18px NEC Green Rockets

|13

409224280−5625
bgcolor=#fffccc

|11

style="text-align:left;"|18px Kintetsu Liners

|13

418218348−13023
bgcolor=#fffccc

|12

style="text-align:left;"|18px Ricoh Black Rams

|13

409262422−16019
bgcolor=#ffcccc

|13

style="text-align:left;"|18px Honda Heat

|13

1012255464−20910
bgcolor=#ffcccc

|14

style="text-align:left;"|18px Kyuden Voltex

|13

0013199502−3034
align=center

|colspan="15" style="border:0px"|

{{bull}} The top 4 teams qualified to the title play-offs.

{{bull}}The top 4 teams also qualified for entry into the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.

{{bull}} Teams 5 to 10 qualified to the wildcard play-offs for entry into the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.

{{bull}} Teams 11 and 12 went through to the promotion and relegation play-offs against regional challengers.

{{bull}} Teams 13 and 14 were automatically relegated to the regional leagues for 2010–11.

bgcolor=#ffffff align=center

|colspan="15"|

{{cite web|url=http://www.rugbyarchive.net/Pagine/StagioneCompetizioni.aspx?ID=96&Stagione=2009/10 |title=2009/10 Top League |publisher= The Rugby Archive}}

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:

{{bull}} Difference between points for and against

{{bull}} Total number of points for

{{bull}} Number of matches won

{{bull}} Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams

{{bull}} Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled

align=left|

=Fixtures and results=

{{Expand section|1=Results Rd 3 - 13 (source [http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fweb.archive.org%2Fweb%2F20120925214545%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.top-league.jp%2Fgame%2F2009%2Fschedule1281.html top-league.jp]) | date=November 2013}}

==Round 1==

----

{{rugbybox collapsible | date = 4 September 2009 | time = 19:30

|home = Sanyo Wild Knights

|score = 24–11

|away = Toshiba Brave Lupus

| stadium = Prince Chichibu, Tokyo | report = | try1 = | con1 = | pen1 = | drop1 = | try2 = | con2 = | pen2 = | drop2 = | attendance = | referee = }}

----

{{rugbybox collapsible | date = 5 September 2009 | time = 17:00

|home = Ricoh Black Rams

|score = 23–15

|away = Honda Heat

| stadium = Prince Chichibu, Tokyo | report = | try1 = | con1 = | pen1 = | drop1 = | try2 = | con2 = | pen2 = | drop2 = | attendance = | referee = }}

----

{{rugbybox collapsible | date = 5 September 2009 | time = 17:00

|home = Coca-Cola West Red Sparks

|score = 19–12

|away = Kintetsu Liners

| stadium = Level-5 Stadium, Fukuoka | report = | try1 = | con1 = | pen1 = | drop1 = | try2 = | con2 = | pen2 = | drop2 = | attendance = | referee = }}

----

{{rugbybox collapsible | date = 5 September 2009 | time = 18:00

|home = Toyota Verblitz

|score = 18–18

|away = Yamaha Jubilo

| stadium = Mizuho Stadium, Aichi | report = | try1 = | con1 = | pen1 = | drop1 = | try2 = | con2 = | pen2 = | drop2 = | attendance = | referee = }}

----

{{rugbybox collapsible | date = 5 September 2009 | time = 18:00

|home = Kobelco Steelers

|score = 24–24

|away = Suntory Sungoliath

| stadium = Nagai 2nd, Osaka | report = | try1 = | con1 = | pen1 = | drop1 = | try2 = | con2 = | pen2 = | drop2 = | attendance = | referee = }}

----

{{rugbybox collapsible | date = 5 September 2009 | time = 19:00

|home = NEC Green Rockets

|score = 11–29

|away = Kubota Spears

| stadium = Prince Chichibu, Tokyo | report = | try1 = | con1 = | pen1 = | drop1 = | try2 = | con2 = | pen2 = | drop2 = | attendance = | referee = }}

----

{{rugbybox collapsible | date = 5 September 2009 | time = 19:00

|home = Fukuoka Sanix Blues

|score = 25–15

|away = Kyuden Voltex

| stadium = Level-5 Stadium, Fukuoka | report = | try1 = | con1 = | pen1 = | drop1 = | try2 = | con2 = | pen2 = | drop2 = | attendance = | referee = }}

----

==Round 2==

----

{{rugbybox collapsible | date = 12 September 2009 | time = 17:00

|home = NEC Green Rockets

|score = 6–29

|away = Toshiba Brave Lupus

| stadium = Fukuda Denshi Arena, Chiba | report = | try1 = | con1 = | pen1 = | drop1 = | try2 = | con2 = | pen2 = | drop2 = | attendance = | referee = }}

----

{{rugbybox collapsible | date = 12 September 2009 | time = 17:00

|home = Kintetsu Liners

|score = 31–3

|away = Kyuden Voltex

|stadium = Nagai 2nd, Osaka | report = | try1 = | con1 = | pen1 = | drop1 = | try2 = | con2 = | pen2 = | drop2 = | attendance = | referee = }}

----

{{rugbybox collapsible | date = 12 September 2009 | time = 18:00

|home = Kubota Spears

|score = 18–11

|away = Honda Heat

| stadium = Prince Chichibu, Tokyo | report = | try1 = | con1 = | pen1 = | drop1 = | try2 = | con2 = | pen2 = | drop2 = | attendance = | referee = }}

----

{{rugbybox collapsible | date = 12 September 2009 | time = 18:00

|home = Honda Heat

|score = 19–45

|away = Toyota Verblitz

| stadium = Suzuka Sports, Mie | report = | try1 = | con1 = | pen1 = | drop1 = | try2 = | con2 = | pen2 = | drop2 = | attendance = | referee = }}

----

{{rugbybox collapsible | date = 12 September 2009 | time = 18:00

|home = Coca-Cola West Red Sparks

|score = 13–46

|away = Suntory Sungoliath

| stadium = Kakidomari, Nagasaki }}

----

{{rugbybox collapsible | date = 12 September 2009 | time = 19:00

|home = Kobelco Steelers

|score = 12–9

|away = Fukuoka Sanix Blues

| stadium = Nagai 2nd, Osaka | report = | try1 = | con1 = | pen1 = | drop1 = | try2 = | con2 = | pen2 = | drop2 = | attendance = | referee = }}

----

{{rugbybox collapsible | date = 13 September 2009 | time = 15:00

|home = Ricoh Black Rams

|score = 22–44

|away = Sanyo Wild Knights

|stadium = Yamagata }}

----

{{anchor|Cup}} Title play-offs

Top four sides of the regular season competed for the Top League Championship (the play-offs were not sponsored for the 2009–10 season). The teams competing were Toshiba Brave Lupus, Sanyo Wild Knights, Toyota Verblitz and Suntory Sungoliath.

=Semi-finals=

----

{{rugbybox collapsible | time= 14:00

| date = 24 January 2010

| home = Toshiba Brave Lupus | score = 35–24 | away = Suntory Sungoliath

| stadium = }}

----

{{rugbybox collapsible | time= 14:00

| date = 24 January 2010

| home = Sanyo Wild Knights | score = 25–21 | away = Toyota Verblitz

| stadium = }}

----

=Final=

----

{{rugbybox collapsible | time= 14:00

| date = 31 January 2010

| home = Toshiba Brave Lupus | score = 6–0 | away = Sanyo Wild Knights

| stadium = }}

----

Wildcard play-offs

The two second round winners qualified for the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.

{{Expand section|1=Results (source [http://www.rugbyarchive.net/Pagine/PaginaCompetizioni.aspx?ID=96&Stagione=2010/11# rugbyarchive.net]) |date=November 2013}}

=First round=

The Top League teams ranked 7th and 10th played-off for the right to meet the Top League team ranked 5th in the second round. The Top League teams ranked 8th and 9th played-off for the right to meet the Top League team ranked 6th in the second round.

----

So Coca-Cola West Red Sparks and NEC progressed to the second round.

=Second round=

The Top League team ranked 5th played-off against the winner of the teams ranked 7th and 10th, and the Top League team ranked 6th played-off against the winner of the teams ranked 8th and 9th. The two winning second round teams advanced to the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.

----

So Kobe and NEC advanced to the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.

Top League Challenge Series

{{main|2010 Top League Challenge Series}}

NTT Communications Shining Arcs and Toyota Industries Shuttles won promotion to the 2010–11 Top League via the 2010 Top League Challenge Series, while Mazda Blue Zoomers and Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars progressed to the promotion play-offs.

Promotion and relegation play-offs

Two promotion/relegation matches (Irekaesen) were played. The Top League team ranked 12th played-off against the Challenge 1 team ranked 3rd, and the Top League team ranked 11th played-off against the Challenge 2 team ranked 1st. The winners were included in the Top League for the following season.

----

{{rugbybox collapsible

| date = 13 February 2010

| time = 14:00

| home = Kintetsu Liners

| score = 28–8

| report =

| away = Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars

| stadium =

| attendance =

| referee =

}}

----

{{rugbybox collapsible

| date = 13 February 2010

| time = 14:00

| home = Ricoh Black Rams

| score = 59–12

| report =

| away = Mazda Blue Zoomers

| stadium =

| attendance =

| referee =

}}

----

So Kintetsu and Ricoh remained in the Top League for the following season.

Top Ten Points Scorers

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
style="width:20px;" abbr="Position"|

!width=125 |Player

!width=220 |Team

!width=20 |Pts

!width=20 |T

!width=20 |C

!width=20 |PG

!width=20 |DG

1style="text-align:left;"|Atsushi Tanabestyle="text-align:left;"|18px Sanyo Wild Knights191448250
2style="text-align:left;"|Ryan Nicholasstyle="text-align:left;"|18px Suntory Sungoliath173646170
3style="text-align:left;"|Shaun Webbstyle="text-align:left;"|18px Coca-Cola West Red Sparks150228167
4style="text-align:left;"|Shane Drahmstyle="text-align:left;"|18px Kubota Spears135228167
5style="text-align:left;"|David Hillstyle="text-align:left;"|18px Toshiba Brave Lupus12243980
6style="text-align:left;"|Ayumu Goromarustyle="text-align:left;"|18px Yamaha Jubilo111027190
7style="text-align:left;"|Yoshimitsu Kawanostyle="text-align:left;"|18px Ricoh Black Rams102123152
8style="text-align:left;"|Orene Ai'istyle="text-align:left;"|18px Toyota Verblitz8042151
9style="text-align:left;"|Hirotoki Onozawastyle="text-align:left;"|18px Suntory Sungoliath7014000
10style="text-align:left;"|Tomoki Kitagawastyle="text-align:left;"|18px Sanyo Wild Knights8042151

Table notes

  • Pts = Points scored
  • T = Tries
  • C = Conversions
  • PG = Penalty Goals
  • DG = Drop Goals

End-of-season awards

{{Expand section|1=Results|date=November 2013}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20090909055115/http://www.top-league.jp/game/2009/schedule1281.html 2009-10 draw]
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20100607100644/http://www.top-league.jp/team/index.jsp Team Profiles] (Japanese)
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20071031053455/http://www.top-league.jp/index.html Top League official site] (Japanese)
  • [http://www.jrfu-members.com/open/movie/index.html Top League video digest]
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20100617064359/http://www.top-league.jp/ranking/index1281.html Final Table] (Japanese)

{{Japan Rugby Top League}}

{{Rugby union in Japan}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:2009-10 Top League}}

Category:Japan Rugby League One

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