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2011–12 Top League
Japanese rugby union competition
Japanese rugby union competition
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | Yatomi and Goromaru 20141129 cropped.jpg |
| imagesize | 315px |
| caption | 2011–12 top scorer, Yamaha's Ayumu Goromaru (right). |
| countries | Japan Japan |
| date | 29 October 2011 – 26 February 2012 |
| champions | Suntory Sungoliath (2nd title) |
| runnersup | Sanyo Wild Knights |
| top point scorer | JPN Ayumu Goromaru (182 points) |
| top try scorer | FIJ Nemani Nadolo (19 tries) |
| prevseason | [2010–11](2010-11-top-league) |
| nextseason | [2012–13](2012-13-top-league) |
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.
Teams
| Team | Region |
|---|---|
| Coca-Cola West Red Sparks | Fukuoka, Kyushu |
| Fukuoka Sanix Blues | Fukuoka, Kyushu |
| Kintetsu Liners | Osaka, Kansai |
| Kobelco Steelers | Hyogo, Kansai |
| NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes | , Osaka |
| NEC Green Rockets | Chiba, Kanto |
| NTT Com Shining Arcs | Chiba, Chiba |
| Ricoh Black Rams | Tokyo, Kanto |
| Sanyo Wild Knights | Gunma, Kanto |
| Suntory Sungoliath | Tokyo, Kanto |
| Toshiba Brave Lupus | Tokyo, Kanto |
| Toyota Verblitz | Aichi, Tokai |
| Honda Heat | Suzuka, Mie |
| Yamaha Jubilo | Shizuoka, Tokai |
Regular season
Table
| Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suntory Sungoliath | 13 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 512 | 278 | +234 | 8 | 1 |
| 2 | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 13 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 475 | 173 | +302 | 9 | 2 |
| 3 | Sanyo Wild Knights | 13 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 480 | 324 | +156 | 8 | 1 |
| 4 | NEC Green Rockets | 13 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 349 | 314 | +35 | 8 | 1 |
| 5 | Kintetsu Liners | 13 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 341 | 311 | +30 | 5 | 2 |
| 6 | Kobelco Steelers | 13 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 349 | 288 | +61 | 7 | 5 |
| 7 | Ricoh Black Rams | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 386 | 333 | +53 | 7 | 1 |
| 8 | Yamaha Jubilo | 13 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 407 | 274 | +133 | 6 | 3 |
| 9 | NTT Com Shining Arcs | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 322 | 414 | −92 | 6 | 2 |
| 10 | Toyota Verblitz | 13 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 341 | 323 | +18 | 5 | 4 |
| 11 | Fukuoka Sanix Blues | 13 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 254 | 458 | −204 | 7 | 2 |
| 12 | NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes | 13 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 291 | 555 | −264 | 5 | 0 |
| 13 | Honda Heat | 13 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 226 | 479 | −253 | 2 | 1 |
| 14 | Coca-Cola West Red Sparks | 13 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 285 | 494 | −209 | 3 | 5 |
Fixtures and results
Round 1
{{anchor|Cup}} 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
Final
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.
So Kobe and Yamaha progressed to the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.
Top League Challenge Series
Main article: 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.
So Sanix and NTT Docomo remained in the Top League for the following season.
End-of-season awards
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| **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 | Team |
|---|---|---|
| FB | **15** | JPN Ayumu Goromaru |
| RW | **14** | JPN Tomoki Kitagawa |
| OC | **13** | RSA Jaque Fourie |
| IC | **12** | JPN Kosei Ono |
| LW | **11** | FJI Nemani Nadolo |
| FH | **10** | JPN Yasumasa Shigemitsu |
| SH | **9** | JPN Atsushi Hiwasa |
| N8 | **8** | JPN Masato Toyoda |
| OF | **7** | JPN Michael Leitch |
| BF | **6** | AUS George Smith |
| RL | **5** | JPN Hitoshi Ono |
| LL | **4** | AUS Daniel Heenan |
| TP | **3** | JPN Kensuke Hatakeyama |
| HK | **2** | JPN Shota Horie |
| LP | **1** | JPN Hisateru Hirashima |
References
References
- "2011/12 Top League". The Rugby Archive.
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