2014–15 Top League Challenge Series

The 2014–15 Top League Challenge Series was the 2014–15 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 2015–16 season. The competition was contested from 7 December 2014 to 25 January 2015.

2014–15 Top League Challenge Series
CountriesJapan
Date7 December 2014 – 25 January 2015
ChampionsHonda Heat (1st title)
Runners-upMitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars
PromotedHonda Heat
Matches played9

Honda Heat won promotion to the 2015–16 Top League, while Kamaishi Seawaves, Kyuden Voltex and Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars 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 team in Challenge 1 won automatic promotion to the 2015–16 Top League, while the other three 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 2014 regional leagues.

Top West League

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The final standings for the 2014 Top West League were:[1]

2014 Top West League standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Honda Heat 6 6 0 0 466 53 +413 6 0 30
2 Osaka Police 6 3 0 3 189 193 −4 3 0 15
3 Chubu Electric Power 6 3 0 3 170 224 −54 3 0 15
4 JR West Railers 6 0 0 6 43 398 −355 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.

Top East League

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The final standings for the 2014 Top East League were:[2]

2014 Top East League standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars 9 9 0 0 394 127 +267 7 0 43
2 Kamaishi Seawaves 9 7 0 2 308 168 +140 7 1 36
3 Tokyo Gas 9 7 0 2 322 186 +136 5 0 33
4 Hino Red Dolphins 9 6 0 3 301 154 +147 5 1 30
5 Kurita Water 9 6 0 3 305 216 +89 4 0 28
6 Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars 9 4 0 5 232 193 +39 3 2 21
7 Yakult Levins 9 3 0 6 158 291 −133 2 0 14
8 IBM Big Blue 9 2 0 7 190 330 −140 2 1 11
9 Akita Northern Bullets 9 1 0 8 224 364 −140 3 1 8
10 Secom Rugguts 9 0 0 9 85 482 −397 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.

Top Kyūshū League

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The final standings for the 2014 Top Kyūshū League were:[3]

2014 Top Kyūshū League First Phase standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Kyuden Voltex (R) 6 6 0 0 481 55 +426 6 0 30
2 Chugoku Electric Power 6 4 0 2 264 86 +178 4 2 22
3 Mazda Blue Zoomers 6 4 0 2 277 95 +182 3 1 20
4 JR Kyūshū Thunders 6 4 0 2 149 162 −13 3 0 19
5 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 6 2 0 4 110 290 −180 2 0 10
6 Fukuoka Bank (P) 6 1 0 5 96 322 −226 1 0 5
7 Kagoshima Bank 6 0 0 6 35 402 −367 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.
2014 Top Kyūshū League Second Phase standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Kyuden Voltex 2 2 0 0 104 19 +85 2 0 10
2 Chugoku Electric Power 2 1 0 1 27 65 −38 1 0 5
3 Mazda Blue Zoomers 2 0 0 2 33 80 −47 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.

Challenge 1

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Standings

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The final standings for the 2014–15 Top League Challenge 1 were:[4]

2014–15 Top League Challenge 1 standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Honda Heat 3 3 0 0 177 43 +134 1 0 13
2 Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars 3 2 0 1 124 57 +67 1 0 9
3 Kyuden Voltex 3 1 0 2 102 72 +30 1 0 5
4 Kamaishi Seawaves 3 0 0 3 25 256 −231 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 2014–15 Top League Challenge 1:[4]


12 January 2015 Honda Heat 59–0 Kamaishi Seawaves  


12 January 2015 Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars 36–23 Kyuden Voltex  


18 January 2015 Honda Heat 33–16 Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars  


18 January 2015 Kyuden Voltex 26–17 Kamaishi Seawaves  


25 January 2015 Kyuden Voltex 15–17 Honda Heat  


25 January 2015 Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars 26–27 Kamaishi Seawaves  

Challenge 2

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Standings

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The final standings for the 2014–15 Top League Challenge 2 were:[4]

2014–15 Top League Challenge 2 standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Kamaishi Seawaves 2 2 0 0 53 34 +19 1 0 9
2 Chugoku Electric Power 2 1 0 1 48 51 −3 0 0 4
3 Osaka Police 2 0 0 2 27 43 −16 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.

Matches

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The following matches were played in the 2014–15 Top League Challenge 2:[4]


7 December 2014 Chugoku Electric Power 24–17 Osaka Police  


14 December 2014 Osaka Police 10–19 Kamaishi Seawaves  


23 December 2014 Kamaishi Seawaves 34–24 Chugoku Electric Power  

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "West Regional Top League 2014/15". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  2. ^ "East Regional Top League 2014/15". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Kyushu Regional Top League 2014/15". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d "Top League Challenge 2014/15". The Rugby Archive. Retrieved 23 January 2017.