2015–16 Top League Challenge Series
The 2015–16 Top League Challenge Series was the 2015–16 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 2016–17 season. The competition was contested from 13 December 2015 to 24 January 2016.
| 2015–16 Top League Challenge Series | |
|---|---|
| Countries | Japan |
| Date | 13 December 2015 – 24 January 2016 |
| Champions | Munakata Sanix Blues (2nd title) |
| Runners-up | Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars |
| Matches played | 9 |
There was no automatic promotion to the 2016–17 Top League, but Kyuden Voltex, Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars, Munakata Sanix Blues and Osaka Police progressed to the promotion play-offs.
Competition rules and information
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.
All four teams in Challenge 1 qualified to the promotion play-offs.
Qualification
The teams qualified to the Challenge 1 and Challenge 2 series through the 2015 regional leagues.
Top West League
The final standings for the 2015 Top West League were:[1]
| 2015 Top West League First Phase standings | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Osaka Police | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 160 | 31 | +129 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| 2 | Chubu Electric Power | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 112 | 59 | +53 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| 3 | Unitika Phoenix (P) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 95 | 85 | +10 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | JR West Railers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 62 | 95 | −33 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 5 | Mitsubishi Red Evolutions (P) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 51 | 210 | −159 | 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. (P) indicates a team newly promoted from lower leagues. |
- Chubu Electric Power, JR West Railers, Osaka Police and Unitika Phoenix qualified to the Second Phase.
- Mitsubishi Red Evolutions were relegated to lower leagues.
| 2015 Top West League Second Phase standings | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Osaka Police | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 25 | +42 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| 2 | Chubu Electric Power | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 95 | 44 | +51 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| 3 | JR West Railers | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 76 | −52 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | Unitika Phoenix (P) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 38 | 79 | −41 | 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. |
- Osaka Police qualified for Challenge 1.
- Chubu Electric Power qualified for Challenge 2.
Top East League
The final standings for the 2015 Top East League were:[2]
| 2015 Top East League standings | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 401 | 126 | +275 | 9 | 0 | 45 |
| 2 | Kamaishi Seawaves | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 298 | 176 | +122 | 6 | 0 | 38 |
| 3 | Tokyo Gas | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 376 | 183 | +193 | 6 | 0 | 34 |
| 4 | Hino Red Dolphins | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 318 | 185 | +133 | 7 | 1 | 32 |
| 5 | Kurita Water | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 284 | 230 | +54 | 7 | 3 | 26 |
| 6 | Yakult Levins | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 223 | 232 | −9 | 3 | 1 | 24 |
| 7 | Akita Northern Bullets | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 121 | 280 | −159 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| 8 | Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 203 | 364 | −161 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| 9 | IBM Big Blue | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 110 | 308 | −198 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 10 | Secom Rugguts | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 160 | 410 | −250 | 1 | 1 | 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. |
- Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars qualified for Challenge 1.
- Kamaishi Seawaves qualified for Challenge 2.
Top Kyūshū League
The final standings for the 2015 Top Kyūshū League were:[3]
| 2015 Top Kyūshū League First Phase standings | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Munakata Sanix Blues (R) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 583 | 22 | +561 | 7 | 0 | 35 |
| 2 | Kyuden Voltex | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 404 | 87 | +317 | 5 | 0 | 29 |
| 3 | Mazda Blue Zoomers | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 292 | 179 | +113 | 5 | 0 | 25 |
| 4 | Chugoku Electric Power | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 302 | 178 | +124 | 4 | 1 | 21 |
| 5 | JR Kyūshū Thunders | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 202 | 245 | −43 | 4 | 0 | 16 |
| 6 | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 152 | 367 | −215 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 7 | Nippon Steel Yawata (P) | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 49 | 461 | −412 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | Fukuoka Bank | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 52 | 497 | −445 | 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. |
- Chugoku Electric Power, Kyuden Voltex, Mazda Blue Zoomers and Munakata Sanix Blues qualified to the Second Phase.
| 2015 Top Kyūshū League Second Phase standings | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Munakata Sanix Blues (R) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 217 | 12 | +205 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| 2 | Kyuden Voltex | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 71 | 105 | −34 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 3 | Mazda Blue Zoomers | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 55 | 143 | −88 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | Chugoku Electric Power | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 37 | 120 | −83 | 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. |
- Munakata Sanix Blues qualified for Challenge 1.
- Kyuden Voltex qualified for Challenge 2.
Challenge 1
Standings
The final standings for the 2015–16 Top League Challenge 1 were:[4]
| 2015–16 Top League Challenge 1 standings | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Munakata Sanix Blues | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 166 | 32 | +134 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| 2 | Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 115 | 86 | +29 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 3 | Kyuden Voltex | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 64 | 107 | −43 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | Osaka Police | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 142 | −120 | 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. |
- Kyuden Voltex, Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars, Munakata Sanix Blues and Osaka Police progressed to the promotion play-offs.
Matches
The following matches were played in the 2015–16 Top League Challenge 1:[4]
| 10 January 2016 | Munakata Sanix Blues | 48–18 | Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars | |||
| 10 January 2016 | Osaka Police | 3–31 | Kyuden Voltex | |||
| 17 January 2016 | Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars | 54–19 | Osaka Police | |||
| 17 January 2016 | Munakata Sanix Blues | 61–14 | Kyuden Voltex | |||
| 24 January 2016 | Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars | 43–19 | Kyuden Voltex | |||
| 24 January 2016 | Osaka Police | 0–57 | Munakata Sanix Blues | |||
Challenge 2
Standings
The final standings for the 2015–16 Top League Challenge 2 were:[4]
| 2015–16 Top League Challenge 2 standings | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Kyuden Voltex | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 29 | +40 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | Kamaishi Seawaves | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 68 | 50 | +18 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | Chubu Electric Power | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 29 | 87 | −58 | 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. |
- Kyuden Voltex progressed to Challenge 1.
Matches
The following matches were played in the 2015–16 Top League Challenge 2:[4]
| 13 December 2015 | Kyuden Voltex | 38–12 | Kamaishi Seawaves | |||
| 20 December 2015 | Chubu Electric Power | 17–31 | Kyuden Voltex | |||
| 26 December 2015 | Kamaishi Seawaves | 56–12 | Chubu Electric Power | |||
References
- "West Regional Top League 2015/16". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- "East Regional Top League 2015/16". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- "Kyushu Regional Top League 2015/16". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- "Top League Challenge 2015/16". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
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