RiJ Vol.7 No.1
January 4, 2010
Contact Ian McDonnell at ianmcdo@apost.plala.or.jp
Contents:
¡
Japan
s New Year’s Wish List
¡
46th
s Semi-finals
¡
89th
s Quarterfinals
¡
The Grubber Kick:
s IRB Ranking: 13 (70.59, 7 December 2009)
s
Backchat:
2009-10
New Year’s Wish List
Yes, you guessed it: another bye! At this time of the
year, university and high school rugby pushes senior level rugby
epitomised by Top League well and truly into the background. Grounds are all
but full for the quarterfinals, semi-finals and final of the University
Championship while all 50 High School Championship games are screened live on
J-Sports and Top League has a bye!
That’s all well and good and with all respect to the
universities and high schools it still does beg the question as to who is the
top dog. At this time of the year, these three levels of rugby are competing
with one another with senior rugby finishing a distant last. Sad.
So, to RiJ’s Top League wish
list to start off 2010:
Cut the number of teams from 14 to 12. There are not enough
quality teams going around to justify fourteen teams.
Do away with promotion and relegation. All the
12 teams to consolidate a premier division of rugby without fear of relegation.
Lesser teams need time and resources to develop in order to compete with the
stronger sides.
Introduce a second round. Do away with all the byes
with 13 rounds stretched out over five long months. Two rounds in a 12 team
competition means there are 22 rounds which is a much better arrangement.
Home and Away. Teams to create a ‘home
ground’ in a ‘home area’ that then lends itself to complementing the two rounds
arrangement
Get at least the Top League match-of-the-round on free-to-air
TV and get ALL games shown on pay TV (i.e.: J-Sports).
Some form of a draft system needs to be
introduced to spread the talent coming out of universities in order to balance
the strength of the respective Top League sides.
A ‘loan’ system needs to be considered so that
once the universities are finished their competitions talented players can be
loaned out to the Top League sides for the second round.
Ditch the National Championship as it is a
waste of space.
Round 13
(final)
|
Date |
K/0 |
Teams |
Score |
Teams |
Venue |
|
Sat, 9 Jan 2010 |
12:00 |
NEC |
- |
Yamaha |
Chichibu, |
|
|
14:00 |
Suntory |
- |
Sanyo |
Chichibu, |
|
|
12:00 |
|
- |
Ricoh |
Hanazono, |
|
|
14:00 |
Kintetsu |
- |
Sanix |
Hanazono, |
|
|
14:00 |
|
- |
Toshiba |
Homes Stadium, |
|
|
12:00 |
Coca-Cola |
- |
Honda |
Level 5, |
|
|
14:00 |
Kyuden |
- |
Kubota |
Level 5, |
Round
Thirteen Preview (final)
All games are being played on
Saturday, 9 January 2010 in the final Round 13. NEC Green Rockets play Yamaha
Jubilo in the first game of a double header at
the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in
In the second game at
Chichibu, Suntory Sungoliath go head-to-head with Sanyo Wild Knights. The winner
of this clash will take the top spot on the final table as Sanyo have won all
twelve of their games and sit on top of the table on 57 points, one point clear
of Suntory on 56 points. Although Suntory have had the one draw they are still
as yet to taste defeat after twelve rounds of the 2009-10 Top League season and
they will be looking for their twelfth win of the year against Sanyo. This
should be one of the games of the year and a possible precursor to the
Microsoft Cup and National Championship to follow.
In the first game of a double
header at the Kintetsu Hanazono
Rugby Ground in
In the second game at Hanazono, Kintetsu
Liners are at home to play Fukuoka Sanix
Blues. Going into the final round Kintetsu are in
tenth position on 23 points but they cannot rest on their laurels as both NEC
and Ricoh have a chance of leapfrogging the Liners should they lose against Sanix. A win will ensure a tenth place finish thereby
avoiding the promotion and relegation play-offs. Sanix
are one of three teams on 26 points and they will be pushing for a win in order
to finish as high as possible on the table as they look forward to the
play-offs for the National Championship for Top League teams that finish fifth
to tenth on the table.
At the Homes Stadium in
In the first game of another
double header at the Level 5 Stadium in
In the second game in
The 46th
At the completion
of the respective regional leagues, the top 16 universities qualify for the
annual National University Championship held over December into the early New
Year.
In brief, the top
finishers in the stronger Kanto Taiko, Kanto League and Kansai League
competitions are joined by the top
The two schools that
reach the final then qualify for the 10-team 47th All-Japan
National Championship to be played in February 2010. The two university
sides will join the top six finishers in Top League, the top club
side and the top challenger. The National Championship was expanded from
8 to 10 teams for 2009 with the addition of two more Top League sides. For
2010, the top four Top League sides automatically qualify for the National
Championship, while the six sides that finish fifth to tenth play off to
determine the last two Top League sides.
Final
Sunday, 10
January 2010.
The National
Stadium,
Kick-off: 14:00.
Tokai (1st in
Kanto League) v Teikyo (4th in
Kanto Taiko).
Semi-finals
Saturday, 2
January 2010
National Stadium in
Tokai to meet Teikyo in the
University Championship Final.
In the first
semi-final, Tokai University had to dig deep to overcome a determined Keio Gijuku University 19-12 while Teikyo
University had an easier time of it in beating Meiji University 43-5 in the
second semi-final. It is only the second appearance in a final for Teikyo after losing 20-10 to Waseda
twelve months ago, however, it will be the first time
for Tokai to play in a final. All-in-all, the 46th edition of the
National University Championship will see one of these two schools crowned
champion for the first time.
Tokai (1st in Kanto League) 19 d Keio (2nd
in Kanto League) 12
Kick-off: 12:15.
In fine winter
conditions at the National Stadium in
Tokai kicked off
proceedings and in a slow start to the match dominated possession and
territory. Both sides were guilty of a high rate of unforced errors which
contributed to the failure of the game to reach any great heights over the
opening half hour. However, the first try of the semi finally came in the 30th
minute when Tokai hooker Takeshi Kizu broke
from a loose maul 8 metres out from the Keio line to force his way over. The
conversion was successful and that took Tokai out to a 7-0 lead. This seemed to
spark Tokai with fullback Shohei Toyoshima
going over in the right hand corner several minutes later. Toyoshima failed to convert his own try but his side now enjoyed a handy
12-0 lead. Tokai continued to dominate the remainder of the half but could not
add to their score as the two sides went to the halftime break with Tokai
leading 12-0.
Keio kicked off
the second stanza and immediately went on the offensive. However, Tokai met the
attack head-on despite the loss of their captain and No8 Joshua Mau at
halftime with an injured right knee. As the second half settled into its rhythm
Tokai tried to use their bigger forwards to out-muscle their opponents with the
first score coming against the run of play around the hour mark from a Tokai
turnover with left wing Takuya Miyata chipping the defence and getting a
lucky bounce to run the ball in for his team’s third try. Keio finally got on
the scoreboard with lock Shinya Tateishi
running through some flimsy defence in the 25th minute to score near
the posts. The try was converted and this kept Keio in touch with a 19-7 score
line. Keio went into the final ten minutes with renewed energy with No8 Naoki
Ozawa giving his side a chance with a try off the back of a 5m scrum.
Fullback Toshio Kobayashi then kicked the conversion to narrow the
difference to 19-14. As the game went into three minutes of injury time Tokai
held onto their five point lead with Keio fighting tooth and nail for the try
they needed. The points never came and Tokai won 19-14 to move into their first
ever University Championship final.
Teikyo (4th in
Kanto Taiko) 43 d Meiji (5th in Kanto Taiko) 12
Kick-off: 14:00.
In the second
semi-final,
Meiji showed
their intent to run the ball early in the second semi-final with lock Yutaro Kamada
running in the first try of the game in the fifth
minute. Although five-eighth Yu Tamura could not convert the try Meiji
were out to a 5-0 lead before Teikyo knew what had
hit them. Soon thereafter, Teikyo got on the
scoreboard with a penalty to fullback Hikaru
Funatsu in the eighth minute to close the gap to
5-3. Funatsu repeated the feat in the 23rd
minute with his second successful penalty kick to give Teikyo
the lead for the first time at 6-5. Teikyo extended
their lead on the half hour mark with their first try scored through big lock Tim
Bond after a free-flowing backline movement. Funatsu
secured the extras to 13-5 with the conversion. Teikyo
further extended their lead in the 36th minute with a try to flanker
Hendrik Tui peeling off the back of
maul close to the Meiji line. The successful conversion pushed the score out to
20-5. Teikyo closed out the first half with another
penalty to Funatsu taking the score to 23-3, leaving
a lot of work for Meiji to do in the second half.
In something of a
bad omen, Meiji kicked off the second half with a kick that did not find the
10m line. Teikyo then went on to make the task even
that much more difficult for the opposition with a try to left wing So Noda
in the seventh minute following an offensive 5m scrum. The conversion was
unsuccessful but Teikyo now enjoyed a sizeable 28-5
lead. The slope became that much steeper with a third Funatsu
penalty in the 11th minute stretching the lead to 31-5. Funatsu then joined the try scorers list when he bamboozled
the Meiji defence on the hour mark going on to convert his own try to widen the
lead to 38-5. Tui put the final nail in the Meiji coffin when he scored his
second try of the semi-final after breaking away from a maul in the 30th
minute to help set up a 43-5 lead. Meiji finished with a consolation try at the
death for a final score of 43-12.
Second Round/Quarterfinals
Sunday, 27
December 2009
Keio (2nd in
Kanto League) 33 d Hosei (3rd in
Kanto League) 24, at Chichibu,
In a gripping
second round match-up Keio scored five tries to three to defeat Hosei 33-24. In a fast and furious first half Keio opened
the scoring with a try to fullback Toshio Kobayashi in the sixth minute.
Hosei responded with a try to fullback Takuma
Watanabe to even up the scores at 7-all. Keio put on two more tries to pull
away 21-7 late in the half before Watanabe scored his second five-pointer to
close out the half 21-14. Keio centre Yosuke Ochiai
crossed for his second try early in the second half to open up a 26-14 lead but
Hosei again bounced back with a try to halfback Atsushi
Hiwasa and a conversion and a penalty to
five-eighth Takaya Monji to narrow the gap to
26-24. However, Keio left wing Takafumi
Miki put the result beyond doubt when he scored his second try late in the
game.
Tokai (1st in
Kanto League) 53 d Tenri (2nd
in Kansai) 12, at Mizuho,
Tokai progressed
to the semi-finals when they dispatched of Tenri
53-12. Tokai scored nine tries to two and were never really troubled by their
Kansai opposition. Tokai scored four first half tries, including one to captain
and No8 Joshua Mau to stretch out a 24-0 lead at the break. Although Tenri were first to score in the second half Tokai picked
up where they left off in the first half with a further five tries. Fullback Shohei Toyoshima helped out his team with a
try and four conversions.
Meiji (5th in
Kanto Taiko) 62 d Kwansei Gakuin (1st in Kansai) 29, at Mizuho,
Meiji produced a
very confident performance to put away Kwansei Gakuin 62-29. A total of 13 tries were scored in a game
that flowed from end to end, however, Kwansei never
really had the answers to the Meiji onslaught. Five-eighth Yu Tamura was
the maestro for Meiji with a fine display of skills that included deft kicks, a
strong running game and fine passing. He put the icing on the cake by scoring
the final try and landing all ten conversions and adding two penalties. Meiji
now go on to meet Taiko rivals Teikyo
in the semi-finals.
Teikyo (4th in Kanto Taiko) 31 d Waseda (1st in Kanto Taiko) 20, at
Chichibu,
In front of a
full house at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo Teikyo knocked out favourites Waseda
31-20. In a repeat of last year’s final, Waseda were
gunning for their third university title in a row but were thwarted by a dogged
effort from the men in red jerseys. Teikyo started
the game in fine form etching out a 12-3 lead by the half hour mark but Waseda stormed back to take a 13-12 lead into the halftime
break. When prop Ryutaro Ueda grounded the ball for the second Waseda try early in the second half and fullback Takuya
Iida added the extras to extend the lead to 20-13 it looked like the
reigning champions were on their way to another semi-final berth. However, Teikyo kept their composure and scored three tries of their
own, including a double to flanker Hendrik
Tui to deny Waseda.
First Round
Sunday, 20
December 2009
The eight first
round games involving the top 16 universities were played at five locations
across
A Block
Keio 41 (2nd in Kanto League) d
Keio move on to
the second round after being knocked out by Teikyo in
the corresponding game last year.
Hosei (3rd
in Kanto League) 51 d Ryutsu Keizai 22 (4th in Kanto League), at Mizuho,
Hosei remain alive with a good win over Ryutsu Keizai.
Tenri (2nd
in Kansai) 50 d Setsunan (3rd in
Kansai) 19, at Hanazono,
Tenri went down to Setsunan at the same stage last
year, but there was no mistake this year.
Tokai (1st in Kanto League) 29 d Tsukuba (3rd in
Kanto Taiko) 22, at Chichibu,
As the top team
in the Kanto League, Tokai did it tough against a determined Tsukuba.
B Block
Kwansei Gakuin (1st in Kansai) 38 d Doshisha (4th in Kansai) 24, at Hanazono,
Kwansei continue their good form from last season with a solid win over fellow
Kansai school Doshisha.
Meiji (5th
in Kanto Taiko) 19 d Takushoku (qualified for 5th
in Kanto) 12, at Kumagaya, Saitama, 14:00.
After missing out
on the championship last year Meiji redeemed themselves with victory over a
plucky Takushoku side.
Teikyo (4th in
Kanto Taiko) 17 d Kanto Gakuin 17 (2nd
in Kanto League), at Chichibu,
Although the
score was locked at 17-all at fulltime Teikyo
progressed to the second round as they had scored more tries.
Waseda (1st in Kanto Taiko) 38 d Ritsumeikan 0 (qualified for 5th in
Kansai), at Mizuho,
Waseda progressed to the next round with a comfortable win over Ritsumeikan.
89th
The 2009-10 tournament is the 89th running of the annual National
High School Championship.
The Holy Grail of
Japanese high school rugby is being held from 27 December 2009 to 7 January
2010 at the Kintetsu Hanazono
Rugby facilities in
Final
Thursday, 7
January 2010.
The semi-finals
Tuesday, 5
January 2010.
At the completion
of the quarterfinals, the 4 remaining schools were redrawn to determine the
semi-final play-offs.
Higashi Fukuoka (
Kick-off: 13:00.
Report here.
Toin Gakuen (Kanagawa) A seed, xx d
At 14:25.
Report here.
The quarterfinals
Sunday, 3 January
2010.
At the completion
of the first three rounds, the 8 remaining schools were redrawn to determine
the quarterfinal play-offs. All A seeds in Josho
Gakuen (
Although Ryukeidai Kashiwa scored an early try to take a 5-0 lead it
was Osaka Chosen that went on to score the rest of the points in this match
with a converted try just before the break and another try late in the second
half.
Higashi Fukuoka (
Higashi Fukuoka
confirmed their run away favourites status in this
year’s tournament with an impressive 23-7 win over B-seeded Tokaidai
Gyosei. Higashi Fukuoka won the Championship two
years ago and Tokaidai Gyosei
took the title the year before that but on this occasion the
Toin Gakuen (Kanagawa) A
seed, 31 d Josho Gakuen
(
In a battle
between two of the three A seeds, Toin
Gakuen came out on top in defeating Josho Gakuen 31-10. Toin’s second round opponents had to forfeit after a team
member came down with a virus and so the Kanagawa school did not play their
first game until the third round. In that third round clash Toin
had a scratchy 15-14 win over unseeded Hotoku Gakuen from Hyogo but in
this quarterfinal match they scored five tries to two to beat Josho Gakuen in an impressive
display of team rugby.
Unseeded Kyoto Seisho won their
fourth match of the tournament to move into the semis when they beat Gose 17-5. It was sweet revenge for Kyoto Seisho as last year they also made the semi-finals as an unseeded school only to be denied a place in the final when
they lost 3-0 to the same opponents in Gose. Thus, Seisho will join two A seeds and
one B seed in the semi-finals as the Championship comes down to the last three
games for 2009-10.
Third Round
Friday, 1 January
2010.
This third round
pitted the remaining 16 schools against each other. Takanabe
(
Josho Gakuen (
Gose (
Higashi Fukuoka (
Tokaidai Gyosei (
Ryukeidai Kashiwa (
Toin Gakuen (Kanagawa) A
seed, 15 d Hotoku Gakuen
(Hyogo) unseeded, 14
Second Round
Wednesday, 30
December 2009.
In the second
round, the 13 seeded schools entered the fray. There are 3 A seeded
schools and 10 B seeded schools. The A seeds, that is, Josho Gakuen (Osaka
1), Higashi Fukuoka (Fukuoka) and Toin
Gakuen (Kanagawa), had a bye in the first round
and have the added benefit of not having to face a B seed school until the
quarterfinals, should they make it that far.
The B seeds also
have a bye in the first round, but should they win their second round match
they will in all likelihood meet another B seed in the third round. The 10 B
seeds are: Osaka Chosen (Osaka 3), Kokugakuin
Kugayama (Tokyo 1), Oita Maizuru
(Oita), Sendai Ikuei (Miyagi), Gose (Nara), Meikei
Gakuen (Ibaraki), Tokyo (Tokyo 2), Tokaidai Gyosei
(Osaka 2), Ryukeidai Kashiwa (Chiba)
and Nagasaki Nanzan (Nagasaki).
First Round
Sunday 27 and
Monday 28 December 2009.
In the first
round, the 38 unseeded schools played each other
over 19 games across the opening two days.
The Grubber Kick
The Grubber Kick brings
the reader weekly news shorts, gossip and general happenings from the world of Rugby
in Japan.
IRB ranking on 7 December 2009 -
Backchat:
The Draw
The Draw gives the
reader future dates for the diary and other great things to look forward to in
Rugby in
The Microsoft Cup
Semi-finals
Sunday, 24 January 2010
Top League
1 v Top League 4, at Chichibu or Hanazono. Kick-off at 14:00.
Top League
2 v Top League 3, at Chichibu or Hanazono. Kick-off at 14:00.
Final
Sunday, 31 January 2010
The winners
of the two semi-finals, at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in
The 47th
National Championship 2010:
Prior to 2009, the NC had an
8-team format for three years, but for 2009 the number of teams was increased
to ten with the inclusion of two extra Top League sides. The NC involves 6 Top
League sides, the two top university teams, the winner of Top Challenge and the
top club team. The first round of the NC kicks off on Sunday, 7 February 2010.
Top League Qualification to
the NC for Teams Fifth to Tenth
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Top League
8 v Top League 9.
Top League
7 v Top League 10.
Saturday, 23 January 2010
Top League
5 v winner of Top League 8 v Top League 9.
Top League
6 v winner of Top League 7 v Top League 10.
First Round
Sunday, 7 February 2010.
Second Round
Sunday, 14 February 2010.
Semi-finals
Saturday, 20 February 2010.
Final
Sunday, 28 February 2010.