2021 Top League
The 2021 Top League was the 18th season of Japan's top tier domestic rugby union competition. The original schedule was for a three stage competition that included all 16 Top League teams plus the top four sides from the Top Challenge League, in preparation for the three-tier professional league planned for 2022.[1] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan the season was postponed and re-formatted.[2]
| 2021 Top League | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Kubota halfback Daisuke Inoue in February 2021 | |
| Countries | Japan |
| Date | 20 February 2021 – 23 May 2021 |
| Champions | Panasonic Wild Knights (5th title) |
| Runners-up | Suntory Sungoliath |
| Matches played | 73 |
| Attendance | 250,022 (average 3,425 per match) |
| Highest attendance | 8,747 (Suntory Sungoliath v Kubota Spears, 3 April 2021) |
| Top point scorer | Beauden Barrett (168) |
| Top try scorer | Malo Tuitama (14) |
| Official website | |
| www | |
Under the revised format, the two leagues were played separately. The Top League sides were split into two conferences of eight teams for the first stage, followed by a 16-team knockout stage to decide the champion team.
Teams
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Stage One
The 16 Top League sides will be split between a red conference and a white conference. They will only play against teams from their conference.[3]
Ladder
| Red Conference Standings | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Suntory Sungoliath | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 420 | 129 | 291 | 6 | 34 |
| 2 | Toyota Verblitz | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 288 | 186 | 102 | 4 | 28 |
| 3 | Kubota Spears | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 236 | 130 | 106 | 5 | 25 |
| 4 | NTT Communications Shining Arcs | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 236 | 254 | -18 | 3 | 17 |
| 5 | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 224 | 229 | -5 | 4 | 16 |
| 6 | Honda Heat | 7 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 133 | 240 | -107 | 2 | 6 |
| 7 | Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 123 | 309 | -186 | 0 | 6 |
| 8 | Munakata Sanix Blues | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 139 | 322 | -183 | 1 | 5 |
Fixtures & Results
Round 1
20 February 2021 14:00 |
| Kubota Spears | 43 - 17 | Munakata Sanix Blues |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Nakadai Sports Park Athletic Stadium Attendance: 1488 |
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Ladder
| White Conference Standings | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Panasonic Wild Knights | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 318 | 76 | 242 | 5 | 31 |
| 2 | Kobelco Steelers | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 289 | 138 | 151 | 3 | 29 |
| 3 | NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 175 | 175 | 0 | 1 | 17 |
| 4 | Ricoh Black Rams | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 179 | 184 | -5 | 5 | 17 |
| 5 | Canon Eagles | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 176 | 230 | -54 | 2 | 16 |
| 6 | Yamaha Júbilo | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 239 | 240 | -1 | 3 | 15 |
| 7 | Hino Red Dolphins | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 90 | 238 | -148 | 1 | 7 |
| 8 | NEC Green Rockets | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 139 | 324 | -185 | 1 | 1 |
Fixtures & Results
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Playoff Stage
All sixteen Top League sides plus the top four finishing sides from the 2021 Top Challenge League will be included in the playoff stage. All matches of the playoff stage are knockouts with lower ranked Top League conference teams and the top four Top Challenge League teams playing in the first round to qualify to the round of sixteen.[4]
First Round
Bracket
| Round of 16 | Quarter Finals | Semi Finals | Final | ||||||||||||
| Sungoliath | 76 | ||||||||||||||
| Green Rockets | 31 | ||||||||||||||
| Sungoliath | Bye | ||||||||||||||
| Brave Lupus | 24 | ||||||||||||||
| Black Rams | 27 | ||||||||||||||
| Sungoliath | 26 | ||||||||||||||
| Spears | 9 | ||||||||||||||
| Spears | 46 | ||||||||||||||
| Jubilo | 12 | ||||||||||||||
| Spears | 23 | ||||||||||||||
| Steelers | 21 | ||||||||||||||
| Steelers | 50 | ||||||||||||||
| Dynaboars | 17 | ||||||||||||||
| Sungoliath | 26 | ||||||||||||||
| Wild Knights | 31 | ||||||||||||||
| Verblitz | 49 | ||||||||||||||
| Red Dolphins | 29 | ||||||||||||||
| Verblitz | 33 | ||||||||||||||
| Red Hurricanes | 29 | ||||||||||||||
| Red Hurricanes | 21 | ||||||||||||||
| Heat | 13 | ||||||||||||||
| Verblitz | 21 | ||||||||||||||
| Wild Knights | 48 | ||||||||||||||
| Eagles | 43 | ||||||||||||||
| Shining Arcs | 13 | ||||||||||||||
| Eagles | 17 | ||||||||||||||
| Wild Knights | 32 | ||||||||||||||
| Wild Knights | 54 | ||||||||||||||
| Liners | 7 | ||||||||||||||
Round of 16
24 April 2021 12:00 |
| Toshiba Brave Lupus | 24 - 27 | Ricoh Black Rams |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Jone Naikabula (2) 3' m 64' c Daigo Hashimoto 61' m Takahiro Ogawa 80+2' c Con: Jack Stratton (0/2) Takahiro Ogawa (2/2) 65' 80+3' |
Report | Try: Takei Hinata 15' c Toshiya Takahashi 24' c Shota Yamamoto 78' c Con: Matt McGahan (3/3) 16' 25' 79' Pen: Matt McGahan (2/2) 9' 39' |
24 April 2021 12:00 |
| Kubota Spears | 46 - 12 | Yamaha Júbilo |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Bernard Foley 12' c Finau Tupa 25' c Penalty Try 29' Lappies Labuschagné (3) 53' m 74' c 77' c Con: Bernard Foley (2/3) 14' 26' Gerhard van den Heever (2/2) 75' 78' Pen: Bernard Foley (2/2) 22' 60' |
Report | Try: Chikara Ito 3' c Kakeru Okumura 72' Con: Kakeru Okumura (1/2) 4' Pen: Kakeru Okumura (0/1) |
24 April 2021 14:30 |
| Suntory Sungoliath | 76 - 31 | NEC Green Rockets |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Beauden Barrett (2) 2' c 74' c Shota Emi 6' m Sean McMahon 12' m Takaaki Nakazuru (2) 28' m 33' m Yukio Morikawa 38' c Penalty Try 42' Yutaka Nagare 43' c Seiya Ozaki 56' c Samu Kerevi 64' c Con: Beauden Barrett (4/8) 3' 34' 40' 44' Hikaru Tamura (3/3) 57' 65' 75' |
Report | Try: Daiki Nakajima (3) 22' m 53' c 80' c Pat Tafa 62' c Keisuke Yamada 78' m Con: Alex Goode (2/4) 53' 63' Benhard Janse van Rensburg (1/1) 80+1' |
24 April 2021 14:30 |
| Kobelco Steelers | 50 - 17 | Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Richard Buckman 9' c Ryohei Yamanaka 14' m Lui Naeata 21' m Ataata Moeakiola 41' c Hikaru Hashimoto (2) 50' c 68' m Brodie Retallick 60' c Hirotaka Hirabara 72' c Con: Timothy Lafaele (0/1) Aaron Cruden (4/6) 11' 42' 51' 61' Lee Seung-sin (1/1) 73' Pen: Aaron Cruden (0/1) |
Report | Try: Ippei Yamamoto 26' c Michael Little 57' c Con: James Wilson (2/2) 27' 58' Pen: James Wilson (1/1) 17' |
25 April 2021 12:00 |
| NTT Communications Shining Arcs | 13 - 43 | Canon Eagles |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Doga Maeda 51' c Con: Greig Laidlaw (1/1) 52' Pen: Greig Laidlaw (2/2) 9' 17' |
Report | Try: Kobus van Dyk 5' c SP Marais (2) 23' c 73' c Jesse Kriel 40+1' m Ed Quirk 55' c Amanaki Saumaki 78' c Con: Yu Tamura (4/5) 6' 57' 74' 80' Jumpei Ogura (1/1) 24' Pen: Yu Tamura (1/1) 44' |
25 April 2021 12:00 |
| Honda Heat | 13 - 21 | NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Nobutaka Ubukata 61' m Franco Mostert 67' m Con: Gwangtee Oh (0/2) Pen: Gwangtee Oh (1/1) 17' Matt Duffie (0/1) |
Report | Try: Makazole Mapimpi 26' c Lourens Erasmus 39' c TJ Perenara 57' c Con: Ei Kawamuko (3/3) 27' 40' 58' |
25 April 2021 14:30 |
| Panasonic Wild Knights | 54 - 7 | Kintetsu Liners |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Jack Cornelsen (2) 28' c 44' m Itsuki Onishi 52' c Dylan Riley 68' c Ryuji Noguchi 71' c Kenki Fukuoka 75' m 78' c Con: Rikiya Matsuda (3/4) 29' 53' 68' Takuya Yamasawa (2/3) 72' 79' Pen: Rikiya Matsuda (3/3) 50' 56' 60' |
Report | Try: Joshua Nohra 16' c Con: Patrick Stehlin (1/1) 17' |
25 April 2021 14:30 |
| Toyota Verblitz | 49 - 29 | Hino Red Dolphins |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Jamie Henry 15' c Taichi Takahashi (2) 20' c 78' c Male Sa'u 27' c Fetuani Lautaimi 48' c Rob Thompson 67' c Takehito Namekawa 75' c Con: Lionel Cronjé (7/7) 16' 21' 27' 48' 68' 76' 79' |
Report | Try: Chance Peni (2) 4' c 59'c Taiki Kawai 63' c Yuki Go 80+2' m Con: Taro Togo (3/3) 6' 60' 64' Toshizumi Kitagawa (0/1) Pen: Taro Togo (1/1) 23' |
Quarter Finals
8 May 2021 13:00 |
| Toyota Verblitz | 33 - 29 | NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Kieran Read 41' c Jamie Henry (2) 62' c 71' m Con: Lionel Cronjé (2/3) 42' 63' Pen: Lionel Cronjé (3/3) 9' 22' 48' |
Report | Try: Tom Marshall 15' m Mifiposeti Paea 27' c Wimpie van der Walt 43' c Kouk Shigeno 52' c Con: Marty Banks (3/4) 28' 45' 54' Pen: Marty Banks (1/2) 1' |
8 May 2021 15:00 |
| Panasonic Wild Knights | 32 - 17 | Canon Eagles |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Dylan Riley 2' c Keisuke Uchida 14' c Kenki Fukuoka 61' m Shota Fukui 66' c Con: Rikiya Matsuda (2/3) 3' 15' Takuya Yamasawa (1/1) 67' Pen: Rikiya Matsuda (2/2) 29' 32' |
Report | Try: Yu Tamura 47' c Naoya Minamihashi 68' c Con: Yu Tamura (2/2) 48' 69' Pen: Yu Tamura (1/1) 8' |
9 May 2021 12:45 |
| Kobelco Steelers | 21 - 23 | Kubota Spears |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Hayden Parker 39' c Atsushi Hiwasa 63' c Rakuhei Yamashita 70' c Con: Hayden Parker (1/1) 40' Aaron Cruden (2/2) 64' 71' Pen: Hayden Parker (0/1) |
Report | Try: Sione Vatuvei 3' c Honeti Taumohaapai 9' c Con: Bernard Foley (2/2) 4' 10' Pen: Bernard Foley (1/2) 24' Gerhard van den Heever (2/3) 61' 76' |
Semi Finals
15 May 2021 14:00 |
| Panasonic Wild Knights | 48 - 21 | Toyota Verblitz |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Kenki Fukuoka (3) 1' m 69' c 77' c Takuya Yamasawa 60' c Dylan Riley 75' c Con: Rikiya Matsuda (3/4) 62' 70' 76' Takuya Yamasawa (1/1) 78' Pen: Rikiya Matsuda (4/6) 21' 27' 33' 46' Drop: Rikiya Matsuda 24' |
Report | Try: Masato Furukawa 5' m Taichi Takahashi (2) 9' m 16' m Con: Lionel Cronjé (0/3) Pen: Lionel Cronjé (2/3) 35' 47' |
16 May 2021 13:10 |
| Suntory Sungoliath | 26 - 9 | Kubota Spears |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Shota Emi 33' m Con: Beauden Barrett (0/1) Pen: Beauden Barrett (6/7) 25' 30' 42' 49' 55' 59' Drop: Beauden Barrett 20' |
Report | Pen: Gerhard van den Heever (3/3) 8' 23' 47' |
Final
23 May 2021 13:10 JST |
| Suntory Sungoliath | 26 - 31 | Panasonic Wild Knights |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Ryoto Nakamura 35' c Takaaki Nakazuru 42' m Naoto Saito 70' c Seiya Ozaki 78' c Con: Beauden Barrett (3/4) 37' 71' 79' Pen: Beauden Barrett (0/1) |
Report | Try: Dylan Riley 5' c Kenki Fukuoka 30' c Asaeli Ai Valu 55' m Con: Rikiya Matsuda (2/3) 6' 31' Pen: Rikiya Matsuda (3/3) 14' 25' 39' Takuya Yamasawa (1/2) 73' |
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Notes
- Matches cancelled due to Covid-19 result in a 0-0 draw.
References
- "Top League revises format, schedule for 2021 campaign". The Japan Times. 23 January 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- "Top League delays start of season due to COVID-19 outbreak". The Japan Times. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- "Top League 2021 Stage One". Top League. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
- "Japan Rugby Top League 2021 Announces New Tournament Format and Season Calendar". Japan Rugby Football Union. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- "Beauden Barrett's Suntory Sungoliath progress to Top League semi-finals after match cancelled due to COVID". RugbyPass. 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
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