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2012–13 Top League

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2012–13 Top League
Captain Shinya Makabe of Suntory, winner
of the Top League and All Japan double.
CountriesJapan Japan
Date31 August 2012 – 27 January 2013
ChampionsSuntory Sungoliath (3rd title)
Runners-upToshiba Brave Lupus
Top point scorerJapan Ayumu Goromaru (149 pts)
 Yamaha Júbilo
Top try scorerJapan Akihito Yamada (18 tries)
 Panasonic Wild Knights

The 2012–13 Top League was the tenth season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. It kicked off on 31 August 2012. The final was held on 27 January 2013 and won by Suntory Sungoliath to claim their third Top League title.

Teams

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Team Region Coach Captain
Canon Eagles Machida, Tokyo, Kantō Japan Yoji Nagatomo Japan Taku Wada
Fukuoka Sanix Blues Munakata, Fukuoka, Kyūshū Japan Yuichiro Fujii Japan Yasutake Nagashita
Kintetsu Liners Higashiosaka, Osaka, Kansai Japan Ryusuke Maeda Japan Tadanobu Ko
Kobelco Steelers Kobe, Kansai Japan Seiji Hirao Japan Daiki Hashimoto
Kyuden Voltex Fukuoka, Kyūshū Japan Koji Hirata Japan Makoto Matsumoto
NEC Green Rockets Abiko, Chiba, Kantō New Zealand Greg Cooper Japan Ryota Asano
NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Osaka, Kansai Japan Kazunari Takano Japan Takeshi Hirase
NTT Com Shining Arcs Chiba, Chiba, Kantō Japan Masato Hayashi Japan Hiraku Tomoigawa
Panasonic Wild Knights Ota, Gunma, Kantō Japan Norifumi Nakajima Japan Seiichi Shimomura
Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo, Kantō New Zealand Leon Holden Japan Daisuke Komatsu
Suntory Sungoliath Fuchū, Tokyo, Kantō Japan Naoya Okubo Japan Shinya Makabe
Toshiba Brave Lupus Fuchū, Tokyo, Kantō Japan Kenichi Wada Japan Masato Toyoda
Toyota Verblitz Toyota, Aichi, Tokai Japan Keiji Hirose Japan Ryuta Ueno
Yamaha Júbilo Iwata, Shizuoka, Tokai Japan Katsuyuki Kiyomiya Japan Yuta Kasahara

Regular season

[edit]

The 14 teams played a round-robin tournament for the 2012–13 Top League regular season.

The top 4 qualified for the title play-offs to fight for the Microsoft Cup and the Top League title. The top 4 also qualified directly into the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.

Teams ranked 5th to 10th went through to the wildcard play-offs for qualification into the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship. Teams ranked 13th and 14th went to the promotion and relegation play-offs against regional challengers to fight to remain in the Top League.

Table

[edit]
Top League Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points
1 Suntory Sungoliath 13 13 0 0 481 258 +223 11 0 63
2 Toshiba Brave Lupus 13 10 0 3 478 266 +212 8 2 50
3 Panasonic Wild Knights 13 10 0 3 509 275 +234 8 1 49
4 Kobelco Steelers 13 9 1 3 468 255 +213 9 2 49
5 Toyota Verblitz 13 9 1 3 343 291 +52 4 1 43
6 Yamaha Júbilo 13 8 0 5 430 311 +119 7 3 42
7 Kintetsu Liners 13 6 0 7 356 308 +48 6 3 33
8 NEC Green Rockets 13 6 0 7 399 375 +24 7 1 32
9 NTT Com Shining Arcs 13 7 0 6 240 313 –73 1 2 31
10 Ricoh Black Rams 13 5 0 8 322 360 –38 5 3 28
11 Canon Eagles 13 3 0 10 287 382 –95 5 2 19
12 Kyuden Voltex 13 2 0 11 238 593 –355 5 3 16
13 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes 13 1 0 12 217 524 –307 2 2 8
14 Fukuoka Sanix Blues 13 1 0 12 256 513 –257 2 1 7

 • 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 10 qualified to the wildcard play-offs for entry into the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.
 • Teams 11 and 12 remain in the Top League for 2013–14.
 • Teams 13 and 14 went through to the promotion and relegation play-offs against regional challengers.

Source:The Rugby Archive[1] Updated: 6 Jan 2013

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

[edit]

Round 1

[edit]
31 Aug 2012 Suntory Sungoliath 39–15 NEC Green Rockets Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
19:30 Try: Shinya Makabe rugby ball 5'
Go Aruga rugby ball 44'
Hirotoki Onozawa rugby ball 53'
Kosei Ono rugby ball 61'
Tusi Pisi rugby ball 77'
Con: Ryan Nicholas (4/5)
Pen: Ryan Nicholas (2/3) 29', 38' 		Report Try: Nemani Nadolo rugby ball 16', 80'
Con: Yuu Tamura (1/2)
Pen: Yuu Tamura 34' (1/1) 		Attendance: 8,447
Referee: Japan Taku Otsuki


1 Sep 2012 Ricoh Black Rams 13–44 Panasonic Wild Knights Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
17:00 Report


1 Sep 2012 Kobelco Steelers 19–6 Kintetsu Liners Kobe U, Hyogo  
18:00 Report


1 Sep 2012 Fukuoka Sanix Blues 31–13 Kyuden Voltex Level-5 Stadium, Fukuoka  
18:00 Report


1 Sep 2012 Toshiba Brave Lupus 26–16 NTT Com Shining Arcs Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
19:00 Report


1 Sep 2012 Toyota Verblitz 12–26 Yamaha Júbilo Mizuho Stadium, Aichi  
19:00 Report


1 Sep 2012 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes 14–38 Canon Eagles Nagai 2nd, Osaka  
19:00 Report

Round 2

[edit]
7 Sep 2012 Canon Eagles 15–21 Toshiba Brave Lupus Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
19:30 Report


8 Sep 2012 NEC Green Rockets 26–27 Toyota Verblitz Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
17:00 Report


8 Sep 2012 Ricoh Black Rams 15–26 Kobelco Steelers  
18:00 Report


8 Sep 2012 Kintetsu Liners 34–13 Fukuoka Sanix Blues Nagai 2nd, Osaka  
18:00 Report


8 Sep 2012 Suntory Sungoliath 34–29 Kyuden Voltex Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
19:00 Report


8 Sep 2012 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes 9–41 Yamaha Júbilo  
19:00 Report


9 Sep 2012 Panasonic Wild Knights 22–25 NTT Com Shining Arcs  
13:00 Report

Round 3

[edit]
14 Sep 2012 Ricoh Black Rams 19–37 Suntory Sungoliath Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
19:30 Report


15 Sep 2012 Canon Eagles 22–32 Kobelco Steelers Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
17:00 Report


15 Sep 2012 Yamaha Júbilo 25–19 NTT Com Shining Arcs Yamaha, Shizuoka  
17:00 Report


15 Sep 2012 Toshiba Brave Lupus 64–12 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
19:00 Report


16 Sep 2012 Panasonic Wild Knights 55–15 Fukuoka Sanix Blues  
15:00 Report


16 Sep 2012 Kintetsu Liners 17–21 NEC Green Rockets Mizuho Stadium, Aichi  
17:00 Report


16 Sep 2012 Toyota Verblitz 19–15 Kyuden Voltex Mizuho Stadium, Aichi  
19:00 Report

Round 4

[edit]
21 Sep 2012 NTT Com Shining Arcs 14–9 Ricoh Black Rams Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
19:30 Report


22 Sep 2012 Suntory Sungoliath 42–17 Canon Eagles Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
17:00 Report


22 Sep 2012 Kintetsu Liners 48–11 Kyuden Voltex Toyota Stadium, Aichi  
17:00 Report


22 Sep 2012 Toshiba Brave Lupus 32–22 Panasonic Wild Knights Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
19:00 Report Try: Sonny Bill Williams rugby ball 25'


22 Sep 2012 Toyota Verblitz 23–23 Kobelco Steelers Toyota Stadium, Aichi  
19:00 Report


23 Sep 2012 NEC Green Rockets 42–13 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes ND Stadium, Tendō, Yamagata  
15:00 Report


23 Sep 2012 Yamaha Júbilo 53–27 Fukuoka Sanix Blues  
15:00 Report

Round 5

[edit]
5 Oct 2012 NEC Green Rockets 21–38 Panasonic Wild Knights Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
19:30


6 Oct 2012 Canon Eagles 34–5 Kyuden Voltex Morioka, Iwate  
12:00


6 Oct 2012 Ricoh Black Rams 50–17 Fukuoka Sanix Blues Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
12:00


6 Oct 2012 Yamaha Júbilo 13–33 Kobelco Steelers Hanazono, Osaka  
12:00


6 Oct 2012 Toshiba Brave Lupus 21–29 Toyota Verblitz Morioka, Iwate  
14:00


6 Oct 2012 NTT Com Shining Arcs 23–15 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
14:00


6 Oct 2012 Kintetsu Liners 24–49 Suntory Sungoliath Hanazono, Osaka  
14:00

Round 6

[edit]
13 Oct 2012 Panasonic Wild Knights 35–18 Yamaha Júbilo Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
12:00


13 Oct 2012 Kobelco Steelers 70–24 Kyuden Voltex Hanazono, Osaka  
12:00


13 Oct 2012 Ricoh Black Rams 36–19 NEC Green Rockets Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
14:00


13 Oct 2012 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes 7–59 Kintetsu Liners Hanazono, Osaka  
14:00


13 Oct 2012 Toyota Verblitz 22–25 Suntory Sungoliath Mizuho Stadium, Aichi  
14:00


14 Oct 2012 Canon Eagles 17–31 NTT Com Shining Arcs Yurtec Stadium, Miyagi  
13:00


14 Oct 2012 Fukuoka Sanix Blues 20–29 Toshiba Brave Lupus Global Arena, Fukuoka  
13:00

Round 7

[edit]
20 Oct 2012 NEC Green Rockets 33–48 Toshiba Brave Lupus Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
12:00 report


20 Oct 2012 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes 29–37 Kobelco Steelers Hanazono, Osaka  
12:00 report


20 Oct 2012 NTT Com Shining Arcs 30–23 Fukuoka Sanix Blues Niigata Stadium, Niigata  
13:00 report


20 Oct 2012 Yamaha Júbilo 52–8 Kyuden Voltex Yamaha, Shizuoka  
13:00 report


20 Oct 2012 Suntory Sungoliath 34–20 Panasonic Wild Knights Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
14:00 report


20 Oct 2012 Kintetsu Liners 10–18 Toyota Verblitz Hanazono, Osaka  
14:00 report


21 Oct 2012 Canon Eagles 17–35 Ricoh Black Rams Nippatsu, Kanagawa  
13:00 report

Round 8

[edit]
27 Oct 2012 Canon Eagles 25–36 Yamaha Júbilo Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
12:00 report


27 Oct 2012 Kyuden Voltex 19–17 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Level-5 Stadium, Fukuoka  
12:00 report


27 Oct 2012 Toshiba Brave Lupus 26–28 Ricoh Black Rams K's denki Stadium, Ibaraki  
13:00 report


27 Oct 2012 Panasonic Wild Knights 23–20 Kintetsu Liners Ota city Stadiam, Gunma  
13:00 Try: Sonny Bill Williams rugby ball 1' report


27 Oct 2012 Kobelco Steelers 48–14 NEC Green Rockets Kochi Athletic Stadium, Kochi  
13:00 report


27 Oct 2012 NTT Com Shining Arcs 23–24 Toyota Verblitz Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
14:00 report


27 Oct 2012 Fukuoka Sanix Blues 19–42 Suntory Sungoliath Level-5 Stadium, Fukuoka  
14:00 report

Round 9

[edit]
1 Dec 2012 Toshiba Brave Lupus 17–14 Yamaha Júbilo  
13:00


1 Dec 2012 Suntory Sungoliath 48–14 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Chuo Bank Stadium, Yamanashi  
13:00


2 Dec 2012 NTT Com Shining Arcs 5–48 Kobelco Steelers Hanazono, Osaka  
12:00


2 Dec 2012 Panasonic Wild Knights 40–17 Toyota Verblitz Ota city Stadiam, Gunma  
13:00


2 Dec 2012 Fukuoka Sanix Blues 10–23 Canon Eagles Global Arena, Fukuoka  
13:00


2 Dec 2012 Kintetsu Liners 19–17 Ricoh Black Rams Hanazono, Osaka  
14:00


2 Dec 2012 Kyuden Voltex 18–55 NEC Green Rockets KKWing Stadium, Kumamoto  
14:00

Round 10

[edit]
8 Dec 2012 NEC Green Rockets 29–6 NTT Com Shining Arcs Fukuda Denshi Arena, Chiba  
13:00


8 Dec 2012 Suntory Sungoliath 15–14 Toshiba Brave Lupus Ajinomoto Stadium, Tokyo  
13:00


8 Dec 2012 Yamaha Júbilo 28–35 Kintetsu Liners Yamaha, Shizuoka  
13:00


9 Dec 2012 Panasonic Wild Knights 65–7 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Ota city Stadiam, Gunma  
13:00


9 Dec 2012 Kobelco Steelers 52–7 Fukuoka Sanix Blues Kanko Stadium, Okayama  
13:00


9 Dec 2012 Canon Eagles 26–34 Toyota Verblitz Pocarisweat Stadium, Tokushima  
13:00


9 Dec 2012 Kyuden Voltex 29–28 Ricoh Black Rams Best Amenity Stadium, Saga  
13:00

Round 11

[edit]
15 Dec 2012 Kyuden Voltex 35–76 Panasonic Wild Knights Hanazono, Osaka  
12:00


15 Dec 2012 Suntory Sungoliath 38–7 NTT Com Shining Arcs Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
13:00


15 Dec 2012 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes 14–44 Ricoh Black Rams Ojiyama Stadium, Shiga  
13:00


15 Dec 2012 Kintetsu Liners 44–39 Canon Eagles Hanazono, Osaka  
14:00


16 Dec 2012 NEC Green Rockets 35–49 Yamaha Júbilo Nagaragawa Stadium, Gifu  
13:00


16 Dec 2012 Kobelco Steelers 27–29 Toshiba Brave Lupus Home's Stadium, Hyogo  
13:00


16 Dec 2012 Fukuoka Sanix Blues 25–35 Toyota Verblitz Okinawa Athletic Stadium, Okinawa  
13:00

Round 12

[edit]
22 Dec 2012 NTT Com Shining Arcs 13–10 Kintetsu Liners Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
12:00


22 Dec 2012 NEC Green Rockets 34–0 Canon Eagles Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
14:00


23 Dec 2012 Toyota Verblitz 52–7 Ricoh Black Rams Home's Stadium, Hyogo  
12:00


23 Dec 2012 Fukuoka Sanix Blues 13–42 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Kamoike Stadium, Kagoshima  
12:00


23 Dec 2012 Yamaha Júbilo 29–35 Suntory Sungoliath Yamaha, Shizuoka  
13:00


23 Dec 2012 Kobelco Steelers 24–25 Panasonic Wild Knights Home's Stadium, Hyogo  
14:00


23 Dec 2012 Kyuden Voltex 5–101 Toshiba Brave Lupus Kamoike Stadium, Kagoshima  
14:00 Try: Masami 32' m
Con: Saito (0/1) 		Report Try: Tachikawa 1' c
Ito 6' c
Senba 18' c
Nakai 23' c
Hirose 29' m
Fujiya (2) 38' c, 46' c
Leitch (2) 42' c, 52' c
Kubo 57' c
Kajikawa (2) 60' c, 76' c
Mikami 66' m
Bates 70' c
Asahama 74' c
Con: Hill (10/11)
Yoshida (3/4)

Round 13

[edit]
6 Jan 2013 Ricoh Black Rams 21–46 Yamaha Júbilo Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
12:00


6 Jan 2013 Panasonic Wild Knights 44–14 Canon Eagles Nishikyogoku Athletic Stadium, Kyoto  
12:00


6 Jan 2013 Fukuoka Sanix Blues 36–55 NEC Green Rockets Level-5 Stadium, Fukuoka  
12:00


6 Jan 2013 Kobelco Steelers 29–43 Suntory Sungoliath Home's Stadium, Hyogo  
13:00


6 Jan 2013 Toshiba Brave Lupus 50–30 Kintetsu Liners Prince Chichibu, Tokyo  
14:00


6 Jan 2013 Toyota Verblitz 31–24 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Nishikyogoku Athletic Stadium, Kyoto  
14:00


6 Jan 2013 Kyuden Voltex 27–28 NTT Com Shining Arcs Level-5 Stadium, Fukuoka  
14:00

Title play-offs

[edit]

Top 4 sides of the regular season competed in the Microsoft Cup (2013) knock out tournament to fight for the Top League title. The top 4 teams of 2012–13 were Suntory Sungoliath, Toshiba Brave Lupus, Panasonic Wild Knights, and Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers.

Semi-finals

[edit]
19 January 2013
Suntory Sungoliath38–19Kobelco Steelers
Try: Hatakeyama 49'
Pisi (2) 57', 78'
Murata 60'
Con: Nicholas (3) 49', 57', 78'
Pen: Nicholas (3) 12', 25', 39'
Drop: Pisi 70'		Try: Yasui 18'
Maekawa 27'
Ohashi 32'
Con: Morita (2) 18', 27'
20 January 2013
Panasonic Wild Knights8–20Toshiba Brave Lupus
Try: Sasakura 51'
Pen: Delany 24'		Try: T Yoshida 69'
Shin Ito 79'
Con: Hill 69'
R Yoshida 79'
Pen: Hill 14, 55'

Final

[edit]
27 January 2013
14:00
Suntory Sungoliath19–3Toshiba Brave Lupus
Try: Murata (2) 8', 34'
Pisi 75'
Con: Nicholas (2) 34', 75'		Pen: Hill 18'
Prince Chichibu, Tokyo
Attendance: 13,858
Referee: Japan Taizo Hirabayashi
FB 15 Japan Go Aruga downward-facing red arrow 76'
RW 14 Japan Daichi Murata yellow card 42' to 52'
OC 13 Japan Koji Taira
IC 12 Japan Ryan Nicholas
LW 11 Japan Hirotoki Onozawa
FH 10 Japan Kosei Ono downward-facing red arrow 72'
SH 9 South Africa Fourie du Preez yellow card 61' to 71' downward-facing red arrow 72'
N8 8 Japan Masakatsu Nishikawa downward-facing red arrow 76'
OF 7 Japan Takamichi Sasaki downward-facing red arrow 52'
BF 6 Australia George Smith
RL 5 Japan Shinya Makabe (c)
LL 4 Japan Koji Shinozuka
TP 3 Japan Kensuke Hatakeyama downward-facing red arrow 31'
HK 2 Japan Yusuke Aoki downward-facing red arrow 54'
LP 1 Japan Akira Ozaki downward-facing red arrow 76'
Replacements:
PR 16 Japan Tateo Kanai upward-facing green arrow 76'
PR 17 Japan Yosuke Ikegaya upward-facing green arrow 31'
LK 18
FL 19 China Shinji Gen upward-facing green arrow 76'
SH 20 Japan Atsushi Hiwasa upward-facing green arrow 72'
FH 21 Samoa Tusi Pisi upward-facing green arrow 72'
FB 22 Japan Hiroki Miyamoto upward-facing green arrow 76'
Coach: Japan Naoya Okubo
FB 15 Japan Gochi Tachikawa downward-facing red arrow 76'
RW 14 Japan Toshiaki Hirose
OC 13 Japan Hiroki Yoshida
IC 12 Japan Tomohiro Senba
LW 11 Japan Shin Ito
FH 10 New Zealand David Hill downward-facing red arrow 40'
SH 9 Japan Jun Fujii downward-facing red arrow 47'
N8 8 Japan Masato Toyoda (c)
OF 7 Japan Tomoaki Nakai
BF 6 New Zealand Steven Bates downward-facing red arrow 53'
RL 5 Japan Hitoshi Ono
LL 4 Japan Yota Mochizuki downward-facing red arrow 72'
TP 3 Japan Takuma Asahara
HK 2 Japan Hiroki Yuhara downward-facing red arrow 72'
LP 1 Japan Tomohiro Kubo downward-facing red arrow 58'
Replacements:
HK 16 Japan Taku Inokuchi upward-facing green arrow 72'
PR 17 Japan Masataka Mikami upward-facing green arrow 58'
LK 18 Japan Kyosuke Kajikawa upward-facing green arrow 72'
FL 19 Japan Michael Leitch upward-facing green arrow 53'
SH 20 Japan Tomoki Yoshida upward-facing green arrow 47'
CE 21 New Zealand Neil Brew upward-facing green arrow 40'
WG 22 Japan Takehisa Usuzuki upward-facing green arrow 76'
Coach: Japan Kenichi Wada

Wildcard play-offs

[edit]

The two second round winners qualified for the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.

First round

[edit]

The Top League teams ranked 7th and 10th played-off for the right to meet the Top League team ranked 5th in the second round. The Top League teams ranked 8th and 9th played-off for the right to meet the Top League team ranked 6th in the second round.

20 January 2013 Kintetsu Liners 43–21 Ricoh Black Rams Hanazono Stadium, Osaka  
Attendance: 3,807
Referee: Kyosuke Toda
20 January 2013 NEC Green Rockets 38–14 NTT Com Shining Arcs Hanazono Stadium, Osaka  
Attendance: 3,161
Referee: Takashi Harada

So Kintetsu and NEC progressed to the second round.

Second round

[edit]

The Top League team ranked 5th played-off against the winner of the teams ranked 7th and 10th, and the Top League team ranked 6th played-off against the winner of the teams ranked 8th and 9th. The two winning second round teams advanced to the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.

26 January 2013 Toyota Verblitz 41–23 NEC Green Rockets Hanazono Stadium, Osaka  
Attendance: 3,958
Referee: Shuhei Kubo
26 January 2013 Yamaha Júbilo 70–12 Kintetsu Liners Hanazono Stadium, Osaka  
Attendance: 3,464
Referee: Tatsuya Matsuoka

So Toyota and Yamaha advanced to the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.

Top League Challenge Series

[edit]
Main article: 2012–13 Top League Challenge Series

Coca-Cola West Red Sparks and Kubota Spears won promotion to the 2013–14 Top League via the 2012–13 Top League Challenge Series, while Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars and Toyota Industries Shuttles progressed to the promotion play-offs.

Promotion and relegation play-offs

[edit]

The Top League teams ranked 14th and 13th 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 February 2013 Fukuoka Sanix Blues 28–34 Toyota Industries Shuttles Level-5 Stadium, Fukuoka  
Attendance: 1,385
Referee: Kazuhito Taniguchi
9 February 2013 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes 24–21 Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars Hanazono Stadium, Osaka  
Attendance: 4,958
Referee: Kyosuke Toda

So Toyota Industries was promoted, Sanix was relegated, and NTT remained in the Top League for the next season.

End-of-season awards

[edit]

Awards for the Top League season, including the Best XV, were chosen by a panel of members of the media, coaches and captains. The Best XV for the 2012-13 season was spread across six different clubs.[2]

Team awards

[edit]
Award Winner
Top League winners: Suntory Sungoliath
Fair Play award: Fukuoka Sanix Blues
Best fans: Kobelco Steelers

Individual awards

[edit]
Award Winner
Top League MVP: Australia George Smith (Suntory Sungoliath)
Rookie award: Japan Kohei Yoshida (Toyota Verblitz)
Most tries: Japan Akihito Yamada (Panasonic Wild Knights)
Top scorer: Japan Ayumu Goromaru (Yamaha Jubilo)
Best kicker: Japan Ayumu Goromaru (Yamaha Jubilo)
Best referee: Japan Taizo Hirabayashi
Playoffs MVP: Samoa Tusi Pisi (Suntory Sungoliath)
Special prize: Japan Hirotoki Onozawa (Suntory Sungoliath)
First player to score 100 Top League tries

Team of the season

[edit]
# Winner
1. Japan Yoshimitsu Yasue (Kobelco Steelers)
2. Japan Yusuke Aoki (Suntory Sungoliath)
3. Japan Kensuke Hatakeyama (Suntory Sungoliath)
4. Japan Hitoshi Ono (Toshiba Brave Lupus)
5. Japan Shinya Makabe (Suntory Sungoliath)
6. Australia George Smith (Suntory Sungoliath)
7. Japan Michael Leitch (Toshiba Brave Lupus)
8. Japan Takashi Kikutani (Toyota Verblitz)
9. Japan Atsushi Hiwasa (Suntory Sungoliath)
10. Japan Kosei Ono (Suntory Sungoliath)
11. Japan Akihito Yamada (Panasonic Wild Knights)
12. Samoa Male Sa'u (Yamaha Jubilo)
13. South Africa Jaque Fourie (Kobelco Steelers)
14. Japan Hirotoki Onozawa (Suntory Sungoliath)
15. Japan Ayumu Goromaru (Yamaha Jubilo)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2012/13 Top League". The Rugby Archive.
  2. ^ "Rugby in Japan Newsletter Volume 10, No.5". Rugby International. 6 February 2013. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
[edit]
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