The 2011–12 Top League was the ninth season of
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
's domestic
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
competition, the
Top League
Japan Rugby League One (), formerly known as the Top League (), is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by ...
. 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
Regular season
Table
Fixtures and results
Round 1
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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
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Final
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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.
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So Kobe and Yamaha progressed to the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.
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 may refer to:
Marketing
* Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
.
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.
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So Sanix and NTT Docomo remained in the Top League for the following season.
End-of-season awards
2012/2013 Team of the Season
References
External links
2011–12 Top League Fixtures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Top League
Japan top league
TOp
Top most commonly refers to:
* Top, a basic term of orientation, distinguished from bottom, front, back, and sides
* Spinning top, a ubiquitous traditional toy
* Top (clothing), clothing designed to be worn over the torso
* Mountain top, a moun ...
2011-12