2011–12 Top League

Japanese rugby union competition Yatomi and Goromaru 20141129 cropped.jpg 315px 2011–12 top scorer, Yamaha's Ayumu Goromaru (right). Japan Japan 29 October 2011 – 26 February 2012 Suntory Sungoliath (2nd title) Sanyo Wild Knights JPN Ayumu Goromaru (182 points) FIJ Nemani Nadolo (19 tries) 2010–11 2012–13 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. 3 Teams TeamRegionCoca-Cola West Red SparksFukuoka, KyushuFukuoka Sanix BluesFukuoka, KyushuKintetsu LinersOsaka, KansaiKobelco SteelersHyogo, KansaiNTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes, OsakaNEC Green RocketsChiba, KantoNTT Com Shining ArcsChiba, ChibaRicoh Black RamsTokyo, KantoSanyo Wild KnightsGunma, KantoSuntory SungoliathTokyo, KantoToshiba Brave LupusTokyo, KantoToyota VerblitzAichi, TokaiHonda HeatSuzuka, MieYamaha JubiloShizuoka, Tokai Regular season Table Top League TableClubPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints ForPoints AgainstPoints DifferenceTry BonusLosing BonusPoints1Suntory Sungoliath131201512278+234 8 1 572Toshiba Brave Lupus131102475173+302 9 2 553Sanyo Wild Knights131102480324+156 8 1 534NEC Green Rockets13805349314+35 8 1 415Kintetsu Liners13805341311+30 5 2 396Kobelco Steelers13616349288+61 7 5 387Ricoh Black Rams13715386333+53 7 1 388Yamaha Jubilo13616407274+133 6 3 359NTT Com Shining Arcs13517322414−92 6 2 3010Toyota Verblitz13508341323+18 5 4 2911Fukuoka Sanix Blues13409254458−204 7 2 2512NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes132110291555−264 5 0 1513Honda Heat132110226479−253 2 1 1314Coca-Cola West Red Sparks131012285494−209 3 5 12 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 Archivehttp://www.rugbyarchive.net/Pagine/StagioneCompetizioni.aspx?ID=96&Stagione=2011/12 2011/12 Top League 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: 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 Results Rd 2-13 (source rugbyarchive.net) November 2013 Round 1 29 October 2011 12:00 Ricoh Black Rams 36–26 Fukuoka Sanix Blues Chichibu, Tokyo 29 October 2011 13:00 Yamaha Júbilo 55–18 NTT Communications Shining Arcs Yamaha Stadium, Shizuoka 29 October 2011 14:00 Kobelco Steelers 38–17 NEC Green Rockets Kincho Stadium, Osaka 29 October 2011 14:00 Sanyo Wild Knights 26–31 Suntory Sungoliath Chichibu, Tokyo 30 October 2011 14:00 Honda Heat 19–19 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Hanazono, Osaka 30 October 2011 14:00 Toyota Verblitz 15–36 Toshiba Brave Lupus Mizuho Stadium, Aichi 30 October 2011 14:00 Kintetsu Liners 32–16 Coca-Cola West Red Sparks Hanazono, Osaka 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 19 February 2012 12:00 Suntory Sungoliath 56–8 NEC Green Rockets Chichibu, Tokyo 19 February 2012 14:00 Sanyo Wild Knights 37–25 Toshiba Brave Lupus Chichibu, Tokyo Final 26 February 2012 14:00 Suntory Sungoliath 47–28 Sanyo Wild Knights Chichibu, Tokyo 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. 18 February 2012 12:00 Kobelco Steelers 32–19 Ricoh Black Rams Hanazono, Osaka 18 February 2012 14:00 Kintetsu Liners 15–17 Yamaha Jubilo Hanazono, Osaka So Kobe and Yamaha progressed to the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship. Top League Challenge Series 2011–12 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. 3 March 2012 14:00 Fukuoka Sanix Blues 39–17 Toyota Industries Shuttles 3 March 2012 14:00 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes 29–27 Kubota Spears So Sanix and NTT Docomo remained in the Top League for the following season. End-of-season awards AwardWinner Tournament winner: Suntory Sungoliath Fair Play award: Toshiba Brave Lupus Best player of the season: AUS George Smith (Suntory Sungoliath) Revelation of the season: JPN Michael Leitch (Toshiba Brave Lupus) Most tries: FJI Nemani Nadolo (NEC Green Rockets) Most kicks: JPN Ayumu Goromaru (Yamaha Jubilo) Best referee of the season: JPN Taizo Hirabayashi Special prize: JPN Tomoaki Nakai (Toshiba Brave Lupus)First player to 100 Top League appearances 2012/2013 Team of the Season Pos Player TeamFB 15 JPN Ayumu Goromaru Yamaha JubiloRW 14 JPN Tomoki Kitagawa Sanyo Wild KnightsOC 13 RSA Jaque Fourie Sanyo Wild KnightsIC 12 JPN Kosei Ono Fukuoka Sanix BluesLW 11 FJI Nemani Nadolo Sanyo Wild KnightsFH 10 JPN Yasumasa Shigemitsu Kintetsu LinersSH 9 JPN Atsushi Hiwasa Suntory SungoliathN8 8 JPN Masato Toyoda Toshiba Brave LupusOF 7 JPN Michael Leitch Toshiba Brave LupusBF 6 AUS George Smith Suntory SungoliathRL 5 JPN Hitoshi Ono Toshiba Brave LupusLL 4 AUS Daniel Heenan Sanyo Wild KnightsTP 3 JPN Kensuke Hatakeyama Suntory SungoliathHK 2 JPN Shota Horie Sanyo Wild KnightsLP 1 JPN Hisateru Hirashima Kobelco Steelers References External links 2011–12 Top League Fixtures Japan top league TOp 2011-12