2020 Top League
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2021) |
| 2020 Top League | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  Japan |
| Date | 12 January 2020 – 23 February 2020 |
| Matches played | 48 |
| Attendance | 541,078 (average 11,272 per match) |
| Highest attendance | 37,050 Toyota Verblitz v Panasonic Wild Knights 18 January 2020 |
| Lowest attendance | 2,610 Kubota Spears v Hino Red Dolphins 16 February 2020 |
| Official website | |
| www | |
The 2020 Top League was the 17th season of Japan's top tier domestic rugby union competition. The season was initially suspended after round six and then further cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.[1]
Teams
| Club | Region | Previous season |
|---|---|---|
| Canon Eagles | Machida, Tokyo | 12th |
| Hino Red Dolphins | Hino, Tokyo | 14th |
| Honda Heat | Suzuka, Mie | 9th |
| Kobelco Steelers | Kobe | 1st |
| Kubota Spears | Abiko, Chiba | 7th |
| Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars | Sagamihara | Promoted from 2018 Top Challenge League |
| Munakata Sanix Blues | Munakata, Fukuoka | 13th |
| NEC Green Rockets | Abiko, Chiba | 10th |
| NTT Communications Shining Arcs | Chiba Prefecture | 5th |
| NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes | Osaka | Promoted from 2018 Top Challenge League |
| Panasonic Wild Knights | Ōta, Gunma | 6th |
| Ricoh Black Rams | Setagaya | 8th |
| Suntory Sungoliath | Fuchū, Tokyo | 2nd |
| Toshiba Brave Lupus | Fuchū, Tokyo | 11th |
| Toyota Verblitz | Toyota City | 4th |
| Yamaha Jubilo | Iwata, Shizuoka | 3rd |
Standings
| 2020 Top League Standings | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Panasonic Wild Knights | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 273 | 88 | +185 | 6 | 0 | 30 |
| 2 | Kobelco Steelers | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 318 | 75 | +243 | 4 | 0 | 28 |
| 3 | Yamaha Jubilo | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 292 | 98 | +194 | 4 | 0 | 26 |
| 4 | Suntory Sungoliath | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 239 | 113 | +126 | 3 | 2 | 19 |
| 5 | NTT Communications Shining Arcs | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 187 | 111 | +76 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| 6 | Kubota Spears | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 163 | 114 | +49 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| 7 | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 169 | 192 | −23 | 2 | 1 | 18 |
| 8 | Toyota Verblitz | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 202 | 209 | −7 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| 9 | Canon Eagles | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 140 | 177 | −37 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| 10 | Honda Heat | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 153 | 156 | −3 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| 11 | Munakata Sanix Blues | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 110 | 185 | −75 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 12 | Ricoh Black Rams | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 72 | 170 | −98 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 13 | Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 103 | 244 | −141 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 14 | Hino Red Dolphins | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 123 | 273 | −150 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 15 | NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 81 | 331 | −250 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 16 | NEC Green Rockets | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 87 | 176 | −89 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Legend: P = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, PD = Points Difference, TB = Try Bonus Points, LB = Losing Bonus Points, Pts = Log Points. The top eight teams qualified for the finals. |
Fixtures & Results
Round 1
| 12 January 2020 11:30 |
| Hino Red Dolphins | 20–29 | NTT Communications Shining Arcs |
| Report |
| Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium Attendance: 17,072 |
| 12 January 2020 13:00 |
| Panasonic Wild Knights | 34–11 | Kubota Spears |
| Report |
| Kumagaya Rugby Ground Attendance: 17,722 |
| 12 January 2020 13:00 |
| Kobelco Steelers | 50–16 | Canon Eagles |
| Report |
| Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium Attendance: 23,004 |
| 12 January 2020 14:00 |
| Toshiba Brave Lupus | 26–19 | Suntory Sungoliath |
| Report |
| Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium Attendance: 21,564 |
| 12 January 2020 14:00 |
| NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes | 31–24 | Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars |
| Report |
| Hanazono Rugby Stadium Attendance: 8,856 |
| 12 January 2020 14:00 |
| Munakata Sanix Blues | 24–18 | NEC Green Rockets |
| Report |
| Best Denki Stadium Attendance: 7,216 |
Round 2
| 18 January 2020 11:30 |
| Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars | 15–23 | Canon Eagles |
| Report |
| Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium Attendance: 12,913 |
| 18 January 2020 11:45 |
| NEC Green Rockets | 17–27 | Hino Red Dolphins |
| Report |
| Hanazono Rugby Stadium Attendance: 7,603 |
| 18 January 2020 13:00 |
| Toyota Verblitz | 20–40 | Panasonic Wild Knights |
| Report |
| Toyota Stadium Attendance: 37,050 |
| 18 January 2020 14:00 |
| Suntory Sungoliath | 22–10 | NTT Communications Shining Arcs |
| Report |
| Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium Attendance: 15,826 |
| 18 January 2020 14:00 |
| Toshiba Brave Lupus | 39–21 | NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes |
| Report |
| Hanazono Rugby Stadium Attendance: 10,280 |
| 19 January 2020 14:00 |
| Munakata Sanix Blues | 16–18 | Ricoh Black Rams |
| Report |
| Best Denki Stadium Attendance: 4,508 |
Round 3
| 25 January 2020 13:00 |
| Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars | 10–62 | Panasonic Wild Knights |
| Report |
| Sagamihara Gion Stadium Attendance: 7,724 |
| 25 January 2020 13:00 |
| Kubota Spears | 28–27 | NTT Communications Shining Arcs |
| Report |
| Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium Attendance: 4,794 |
| 25 January 2020 13:00 |
| Munakata Sanix Blues | 49–19 | NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes |
| Report |
| Best Denki Stadium Attendance: 4,231 |
| 25 January 2020 14:00 |
| Toyota Verblitz | 61–31 | Hino Red Dolphins |
| Report |
| Paloma Mizuho Stadium Attendance: 8,888 |
| 26 January 2020 13:00 |
| Canon Eagles | 38–12 | NEC Green Rockets |
| Report |
| NHK Spring Mitsuzawa Football Stadium Attendance: 10,617 |
| 26 January 2020 13:00 |
| Kobelco Steelers | 35–29 | Suntory Sungoliath |
| Report |
| Noevir Stadium Kobe Attendance: 26,312 |
Round 4
| 1 February 2020 13:00 |
| Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars | 26–45 | Toshiba Brave Lupus |
| Report |
| NHK Spring Mitsuzawa Football Stadium Attendance: 9,948 |
| 1 February 2020 13:00 |
| Suntory Sungoliath | 40–14 | NEC Green Rockets |
| Report |
| Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium Attendance: 6,243 |
| 2 February 2020 13:00 |
| Ricoh Black Rams | 17–33 | NTT Communications Shining Arcs |
| Report |
| NHK Spring Mitsuzawa Football Stadium Attendance: 7,027 |
| 2 February 2020 13:00 |
| Kobelco Steelers | 97–0 | NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes |
| Report |
| Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium Attendance: 9,446 |
| 2 February 2020 13:00 |
| Munakata Sanix Blues | 0–34 | Kubota Spears |
| Report |
| Ekimae Real Estate Stadium Attendance: 6,054 |
Round 5
| 15 February 2020 11:30 |
| NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes | 7–82 | Yamaha Jubilo |
| Report |
| Yanmar Stadium Nagai Attendance: 16,483 |
| 15 February 2020 13:00 |
| NTT Communications Shining Arcs | 74–11 | Munakata Sanix Blues |
| Report |
| Yumenoshima Stadium Attendance: 2,738 |
| 15 February 2020 13:00 |
| Kobelco Steelers | 43–6 | Ricoh Black Rams |
| Report |
| Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium Attendance: 4,910 |
| 15 February 2020 14:00 |
| Panasonic Wild Knights | 46–27 | Toshiba Brave Lupus |
| Report |
| Kumagaya Rugby Ground Attendance: 22,705 |
| 15 February 2020 14:00 |
| Suntory Sungoliath | 60–14 | Toyota Verblitz |
| Report |
| Yanmar Stadium Nagai Attendance: 19,584 |
| 16 February 2020 13:00 |
| Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars | 21–14 | NEC Green Rockets |
| Report |
| Sagamihara Gion Stadium Attendance: 3,536 |
Round 6
| 22 February 2020 11:30 |
| NEC Green Rockets | 12–26 | Ricoh Black Rams |
| Report |
| Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium Attendance: 10,687 |
| 22 February 2020 11:30 |
| Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars | 7–69 | Yamaha Jubilo |
| Report |
| Paloma Mizuho Stadium Attendance: 3,463 |
| 22 February 2020 11:45 |
| Canon Eagles | 22–10 | Munakata Sanix Blues |
| Report |
| Hanazono Rugby Stadium Attendance: 14,625 |
| 22 February 2020 13:00 |
| Honda Heat | 13–14 | NTT Communications Shining Arcs |
| Report |
| Mie Sports Garden Attendance: 3,111 |
| 22 February 2020 14:00 |
| Hino Red Dolphins | 14–69 | Suntory Sungoliath |
| Report |
| Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium Attendance: 13,856 |
| 22 February 2020 14:00 |
| NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes | 3–40 | Panasonic Wild Knights |
| Report |
| Hanazono Rugby Stadium Attendance: 18,056 |
| 23 February 2020 13:00 |
| Kobelco Steelers | 57–0 | Toshiba Brave Lupus |
| Report |
| Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium Attendance: 23,647 |
References
- ^ "Japan cancels entire Top League season due to COVID-19". Rugby Pass. 23 March 2020. Archived from the original on 24 March 2020.