The 2013–14 Top League was the 11th season of
Japan's domestic
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...
competition, the
Top League
Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...
. It kicked off on 30 August 2013. The final was held on 9 February 2014 and won by
Panasonic Wild Knights
Saitama Wild Knights (formerly Panasonic Wild Knights) is a Japanese rugby union team formerly based in Ōta city, Gunma prefecture which plays in the Top League. Inspired by Tony Brown at fly half (though he was not captain), it dominated the l ...
.
[
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Teams
The Top League expanded from 14 to 16 teams for the 2013–14 season.
Regular season
For the Pool stage
Pool may refer to:
Water pool
* Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming
* Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings
* Tide pool, a rocky po ...
, the 16 teams were placed into 2 pools of 8 teams each and a round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn.''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1971, G. & C. Me ...
was played within each of the pools.
Then, for the Group stage
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
, 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
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
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.
Table
Group stage tables
Pool stage tables
Pool stage
Group stage
Round 1
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Round 2
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Round 3
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Round 4
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Round 5
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Round 6
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Round 7
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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
Saitama Wild Knights (formerly Panasonic Wild Knights) is a Japanese rugby union team formerly based in Ōta city, Gunma prefecture which plays in the Top League. Inspired by Tony Brown at fly half (though he was not captain), it dominated the l ...
, Suntory Sungoliath, Kobelco Steelers
The Kobelco Kobe Steelers are a Japanese rugby union team owned by Kobe Steel, and based in Kobe. They were the first ever Top League champions when the League started in the 2003-2004 season. The team rebranded as Kobelco Kobe Steelers ahead of ...
, and Toshiba Brave Lupus
Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo is a Japanese rugby union team in the Top League. They are based in Fuchu, Tokyo, as is their local rival Suntory Sungoliath. They won the second ever Top League championship in the 2004-5 season and the Microsoft Cup ...
.
Semi-finals
Final
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
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Second round
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So Yamaha and Toyota advanced to the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.
Top League Challenge Series
Fukuoka Sanix Blues
, formerly ''Fukuoka Sanix Blues'' and ''Fukuoka Sanix Bombs'', was a Japanese rugby union team based in Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Founded in April 1994 (Heisei 6), the team rose rapidly through the Kyūshū leagues and was in the Top ...
won promotion to the 2014–15 Top League
The 2014–15 Top League was the 12th season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. It kicked off on 30 August 2014. The final was held on 8 February 2015 and won by Panasonic Wild Knights, 30–12 over Yamaha Júbilo.
Tea ...
via the 2013–14 Top League Challenge Series, while Honda Heat
Mie Honda Heat is a Japanese rugby union team based in Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan. The owner of the club is Honda Motor. (Suzuka is known for the Suzuka Circuit and the presence of car companies.)
They play in the Japan Rugby League One, ...
, Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars
also known as Mitsubishi Juko Sagamihara Rugby Club, are a Japanese rugby union team based in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The owner of this club is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
The club was founded in 1981. It came second in the ...
and Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars progressed to the promotion play-offs
Promotion may refer to:
Marketing
* Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
.
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.
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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
Berrick Steven Barnes (born 28 May 1986) is a former Australian professional rugby union footballer. His usual position is fly-half or inside centre. He is currently signed with Japanese Top League club Panasonic Wild Knights, but previously p ...
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 Edward, Eddie, or Ed Jones may refer to:
Architecture
* Edward Vason Jones (1909–1980), American neoclassical architect
* Edward Jones (English architect) (born 1939), English architect who designed the Saïd Business School
* Edward Jones (Wel ...
.
Team awards
Individual awards
Team of the season
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2013-14 Top League
Japan Rugby League One
2013–14 in Japanese rugby union
Japan top