Japan's Top League heads into final round

Oh, and Larkham's team Ricoh earnt a place in the National Championships with a 54-20 victory over Honda. The promotion/relegation thing confuses me, but Mazda will play Kyuden and Toyota Jido Shokki will play Sanix. Toyota Jido Shokki beat NTT Communications 41-33 to win that spot.

As predicted, Toshiba ran out winners against Kobe 26-7 and Sanyo beat Suntory 32-22 in a much closer game. New Zealand rugby fans might be amused to know that the two Waikato men David Hill and Steven Bates played a huge role in Toshiba's win. In fact, much of Toshiba's past success has been built around former Waikato players like Scott McLeod and Nick Holten. Sanyo/Suntory was tied through to the 75th minute when Sanyo were awarded a penalty. They sealed it with a try from the replacement hooker. He would've loved that. The final is this weekend. Should be a cracker.

The Microsoft Cup semi-finals will be played on Sunday, February 1st. For some reason, they kick off at the same time, so you have to flip over between the two games, but here's a preview: Toshiba Brave Lupus (1) vs. Kobe Kobelco Steelers (4) Toshiba are the closest thing Japan has to the Crusaders. They've won the competition three times in its six year history, won the All Japan Championships six times. They even managed a treble of sorts when they won the Top League, Microsoft Cup and All Japan Championships in 2006, though the latter was a 6-all draw with NEC Green Rockets. Last season, they finished a disappointing fourth after being Top League and All Japan champions in 2007, but this year they were led by former Waikato player David Hill, who left Bristol to play for Toshiba at the beginning of the season. He led the league in scoring with 226 points, becoming the first player to top 200 points in the league's history. And he scored 11 tries to boot, third on the try scoring table. The leading try scorer was Toshiba's Tongan born Japan winger, Christian Loamanu, who scored 13. Toshiba finished top of the table with two thumping wins over Suntory and Sanyo, despite their coach being suspended as punishment for one of his players falling foul of the law (Japan works like that.) Their opposition, however, is the only team that beat them all season -- 42-16, back in week 9 (I think.) Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers were the original champions back in the 2003-04 season, but have struggled to reach those heights again. They were in a dogfight all season for four place, a fight that came down to the final day of the regular season. Sanyo Wild Knights (2) vs. Suntory Sungoliath (3) This is a rematch of last year's Microsoft Cup final and All Japan Championship final. Ever since the season opener, Sanyo have been to team to beat. They seemed hellbent on revenge for last season, where they went undefeated in league play and lost the Microsoft Cup final to Sungoliath. After Toshiba lost to Kobe in the 9th round, Sanyo were clear leaders with only four rounds to play, but a spate of injuries left them without six first choice players. After the mauling Toshiba gave them, Tony Brown said "It’s better off losing today than in two week’s time," but whether they'll be healthy is a big question mark. Suntory, last year's champions, have been behind the leading pack all year. They're the team that Eddie Jones sometimes advises and they have a bit of a Jones-era feel to their play. They're also the team that Gregan occasionally plays a half of football for. They'll be feeling better off than Sanyo, since they finished their season with a win over Toyota, who've been one of the top teams in recent years, still my instinct is that Sanyo will rally. That's my prediction -- Toshiba vs. Sanyo in the final.

I got my wires crossed. Ricoh Black Rams and Honda Heat will be promoted to the Top League. NTT Communications and Toyota Jido Shokki play next week with the winner facing Kyuden and the loser Sanix. The Black Rams and Honda Heat will play for a spot in the All Japan championships. There are rumours that IBM might close down its rugby club.

Looks like NTT Communications Shinings Arcs from Top East comp may make it back to Top Comp if they win their game against Sanix or Kyuden. NTT are coached by Shannon Fraser ( ex tahs Academy and skills coach) and Ben Darwin, with Charlie Higgins ( ex tahs conditioning coach) also on board. Team has Damon Murphy, Brad Mika, Tim L Nevez and JP Nel.

Sam, the teams are owned by the companies. Larkham's team annihilated Mazda 81-0 in the first of their Top League Challenge games. The Rams were undefeated in the Top East 11 this season, and are almost guaranteed a playoff game against Sanix or Voltex. Larkham plays fullback for the Rams.

All seven games were played this afternoon. THE BIG WINNERS: -- Toshiba thrashed Sanyo 62-13 to finish top of the table. They finished a point ahead of Sanyo, but that's back-to-back routs over the second and third strongest teams in the competition. -- Kobe beat Yamaha 23-10 to claim the fourth spot in the Microsoft Cup. -- NEC and Kubota both won their games to book spots in the National championships. THE BIG LOSERS: -- IBM and Yokogawa will be relegated next season. IBM won promotion last year, but will be back in the Top East 11 next season, the same fate they suffered in the 2004-05 season. This was Yokogawa's first season in the top flight. They were kicked out of the Top League with a severe 78-21 thrashing at the hands of Kyuden Voltex. -- Yamaha not only lost a place in the Microsoft Cup, but dropped to 7th on the table, which leaves them out of the running for the National Championships. Toyota will also miss the All Japan Championships after finishing 3rd last season. -- Fukuoka Sanix Blues and Kyuden Voltex will have to win playoff games to stay in the Top League, although Kyuden was a BIG WINNER this week by avoiding automatic relegation.

For a minute there I wasn't sure if that was a rugby article or a share market report. I know nothing of Japanese rubgy, other than that the competition is rolling in cash and our retirees are quite happy to go and dominate there once they are discarded here. Are all teams affiliated with a company, rather than province/state based? How does a supporter pick their allegiances?

I wonder if Channel 10 could be pursauded to add the Top league to their new HD channel line up.

The Micosoft Cup used to be a separate knock-out tournament played amongst the top eight teams, but the Cup was integrated into the Top League as the "Top League Play-off Tournament Microsoft Cup" and the winner of the Cup is now the league champion. It's the same playoff system as the Super 14. After the Top League, they play the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship, a much older competition that dates back to the 60s and now includes Top League teams, the top two universities and the champion club team. At present, Stephen Larkham's team, Ricoh Black Rams, have qualified for the Top League Challenge series and will either directly qualify for promotion or earn a promotion and relegation playoff with the 12th ranked team.

OJ, thanks for a greatly informative article. Dont stop there. Seeing all of those brand names sponsoring/owning the teams prompts and reminds us all of the potential still untapped in Australia. Together, it would be great to see an expanded Super rugby comp that includes a Japanese team. It would also be great to see an international knockout comp including these teams, like the FA or Asian cup in Soccer or the HC in rugby. I was particularly interested in seeing the Microsoft sponsorship. What sort of comp is the Microsoft Cup??