The 2018–19 Top League was the 16th season of
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
's top-tier domestic
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
competition, the
Top League
Japan Rugby League One (), formerly known as 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 ...
.
Competition rules
The sixteen Top League teams were divided into two conferences for the
first stage First stage or First Stage may refer to:
* First Stage Children's Theater, a professional American children's theater based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
* First stage (rocketry), the first stage of a multistage rocket
* the first reading of a bill in t ...
of the competition; each team played the seven other teams in their conferences once.
All sixteen teams then progressed to a play-off stage; the top four teams in each conference advanced to the
title play-offs and the bottom four teams in each conference to the
9th-place play-offs, which determined the final positions for the season. The
title play-offs doubled up as the
All-Japan Rugby Football Championship, which would no longer include university teams.
The bottom four teams in the 9th-place play-off all played in relegation play-off matches.
Teams
The following teams took part in the 2018 Top League competition:
*
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. Conveniently, the team uses Suzuka to jog ...
won the
2017–18 Top Challenge League to win promotion back to the Top League after a one-season absence.
*
Hino Red Dolphins won their
promotion play-off match to win promotion to the Top League for the first time in their history.
First Stage : Red Conference
Standings
The current standings for the 2018 Top League First Stage Red Conference are:
Matches
The 2018 Top League First Stage Red Conference fixtures are:
Round 1
Round 2
* The match between
Kobelco Steelers and
Munakata Sanix Blues scheduled for Round 2 was postponed following the
Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake and was rescheduled for
29 September.
Round 3
Round 4
Round 2 (rescheduled)
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
First Stage : White Conference
Standings
The current standings for the 2018 Top League First Stage White Conference are:
Matches
The 2018 Top League First Stage White Conference fixtures are:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Second stage
Standings
The final standings for the 2018 Top League were:
Title play-offs
The four quarter final winners qualified for the semi-finals, while the losers qualified for the 5th-place semi-finals.
The two semi-final winners qualified for the final, while the losers qualified for the 3rd-place match. The two 5th-place semi-final winners qualified for the 5th-place match, while the losers qualified for the 7th-place match.
The final matches determined the final standings.
9th-place play-offs
The four 9th-place quarter final winners qualified for the 9th-place semi-finals, while the losers qualified for the 13th-place semi-finals and the
relegation play-offs
Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...
.
The two 9th-place semi-final winners qualified for the 9th-place final, while the losers qualified for the 11th-place match. The two 13th-place semi-final winners qualified for the 13th-place match, while the losers qualified for the 15th-place match.
The final matches will determine the final standings.
See also
*
2018–19 Top League Cup
*
2018 Top Challenge League
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Top League, 2018-19
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
2018–19 in Japanese rugby union
2018–19 rugby union tournaments for clubs