2011–12 Top League Challenge Series

2011–12 Top League Challenge Series
CountriesJapan
Date25 December 2011 – 11 February 2012
ChampionsCanon Eagles (1st title)
Runners-upKyuden Voltex
PromotedCanon Eagles
Kyuden Voltex
Matches played9

The 2011–12 Top League Challenge Series was the 2011–12 edition of the Top League Challenge Series, a second-tier rugby union competition in Japan, in which teams from regionalised leagues competed for promotion to the Top League for the 2012–13 season. The competition was contested from 25 December 2011 to 11 February 2012.

Canon Eagles and Kyuden Voltex won promotion to the 2012–13 Top League, while Kubota Spears and Toyota Industries Shuttles progressed to the promotion play-offs.

Competition rules and information

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The top two teams from the regional Top East League, Top West League and Top Kyūshū League qualified to the Top League Challenge Series. The regional league winners participated in Challenge 1, while the runners-up participated in Challenge 2. The winner of Challenge 2 also progressed to a four-team Challenge 1.

The top two teams in Challenge 1 won automatic promotion to the 2012–13 Top League, while the third and fourth-placed teams qualified to the promotion play-offs.

Qualification

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The teams qualified to the Challenge 1 and Challenge 2 series through the 2011 regional leagues.

Top West League

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The final standings for the 2011 Top West League were:[1]

2011 Top West League standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Toyota Industries Shuttles (R) 6 6 0 0 385 27 +358 5 0 29
2 Chubu Electric Power 6 4 0 2 126 180 −54 2 0 18
3 Osaka Police 6 2 0 4 125 113 +12 2 1 11
4 JR West Railers (P) 6 0 0 6 10 326 −316 0 0 0
Legend:
P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points.
(R) indicates a team newly relegated from the Top League. (P) indicates a team newly promoted from lower leagues.

Top East League

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The final standings for the 2011 Top East League were:[2]

2011 Top East League standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Canon Eagles 9 8 1 0 510 108 +402 7 0 41
2 Kubota Spears (R) 9 8 0 1 368 94 +274 6 0 38
3 Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars 9 7 1 1 289 97 +192 5 0 35
4 Kamaishi Seawaves 9 6 0 3 243 202 +41 5 2 31
5 Tokyo Gas 9 5 0 4 208 219 −11 3 0 23
6 Kurita Water 9 4 0 5 151 226 −75 3 1 20
7 Akita Northern Bullets 9 3 0 6 119 371 −252 2 0 14
8 Hino Red Dolphins 9 1 1 7 117 353 −236 2 1 9
9 Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars 9 1 0 8 82 120 −38 0 1 5
10 IBM Big Blue 9 0 1 8 76 375 −299 0 0 2
Legend:
P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points.
(R) indicates a team newly relegated from the Top League.

Top Kyūshū League

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The final standings for the 2011 Top Kyūshū League were:[3]

2011 Top Kyūshū League First Phase standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Kyuden Voltex 6 6 0 0 469 26 +443 6 0 30
2 Mazda Blue Zoomers 6 5 0 1 361 97 +264 5 0 25
3 JR Kyūshū Thunders 6 4 0 2 220 125 +95 3 0 19
4 Chugoku Electric Power 6 3 0 3 200 147 +53 3 0 15
5 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 6 2 0 4 146 396 −250 2 0 10
6 Mitsubishi Mizushima (P) 6 1 0 5 63 376 −313 1 0 5
7 Fukuoka Bank (P) 6 0 0 6 34 416 −382 0 1 1
Legend:
P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points.
(P) indicates a team newly promoted from lower leagues.
2011 Top Kyūshū League Second Phase standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Kyuden Voltex 2 2 0 0 119 38 +81 2 0 10
2 JR Kyūshū Thunders 2 1 0 1 40 95 −55 1 0 5
3 Mazda Blue Zoomers 2 0 0 2 47 74 −26 2 1 3
Legend:
P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points.

Challenge 1

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Standings

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The final standings for the 2011–12 Top League Challenge 1 were:[4]

2011–12 Top League Challenge 1 standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Canon Eagles 3 2 0 1 100 116 −16 2 0 10
2 Kyuden Voltex 3 2 0 1 105 58 +47 1 0 9
3 Toyota Industries Shuttles 3 2 0 1 110 76 +34 1 0 9
4 Kubota Spears 3 0 0 3 61 126 −65 1 0 1
Legend:
P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points.

Matches

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The following matches were played in the 2011–12 Top League Challenge 1:[4]


29 January 2012 Kyuden Voltex 15–28 Kubota Spears  


29 January 2012 Toyota Industries Shuttles 24–46 Canon Eagles  


4 February 2012 Canon Eagles 37–24 Kubota Spears  


4 February 2012 Kyuden Voltex 22–13 Toyota Industries Shuttles  


11 February 2012 Canon Eagles 17–68 Kyuden Voltex  


11 February 2012 Toyota Industries Shuttles 24–58 Kubota Spears  

Challenge 2

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Standings

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The final standings for the 2011–12 Top League Challenge 2 were:[4]

2011–12 Top League Challenge 2 standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Kubota Spears 2 2 0 0 170 40 +130 2 0 10
2 Chubu Electric Power 2 1 0 1 38 76 −38 0 0 4
3 JR Kyūshū Thunders 2 0 0 2 26 118 −92 0 0 0
Legend:
P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points.

Matches

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The following matches were played in the 2011–12 Top League Challenge 2:[4]


25 December 2011 JR Kyūshū Thunders 5–19 Chubu Electric Power  


3 January 2012 Kubota Spears 99–21 JR Kyūshū Thunders  


14 January 2012 Chubu Electric Power 19–71 Kubota Spears  

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "West Regional Top League 2011/12". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  2. ^ "East Regional Top League 2011/12". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Kyushu Regional Top League 2011/12". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d "Top League Challenge 2011/12". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 23 January 2017.