2022 Japan Rugby League One – Division 1
2022 Japan Rugby League One – D1 | |
---|---|
Countries | ![]() |
Date | 7 January – 29 May 2022 |
Champions | Saitama Wild Knights |
Runners-up | Tokyo Sungoliath |
Relegated | Red Hurricanes Osaka Shining Arcs |
Matches played | 61 |
Attendance | 385,227 (average 6,315 per match) |
Highest attendance | 33,604 (Tokyo Sungoliath vs. Saitama Wild Knights, 29 May 2022) |
Lowest attendance | 1,068 (Honda Heat vs. Green Rockets, 27 May 2022) |
Top point scorer | ![]() |
Top try scorer | ![]() ![]() |
Official website | |
league-one | |
← 2021 2022–23 → |
The 2022 Japan Rugby League One – Division 1 was the inaugural season of Japan's new professional three-tier Rugby union competition. It consisted of twelve franchises and played five teams twice and six teams once resulting in each team playing a total of sixteen games home and away.[1] The top four sides at the end of the regular season contested the annual play-offs, whilst the bottom three sides went into a promotion and relegation playoff against the top three sides from the 2022 Japan Rugby League One – Division 2.[2] The champions were the Saitama Wild Knights for the second season in a row. They beat Tokyo Sungoliath in the final 12–18.
Teams and personnel
A total of twelve teams will participate in the inaugural Division 1 season:
![2022 Japan Rugby League One – Division 1 is located in Japan](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Japan_location_map_with_side_map_of_the_Ryukyu_Islands.svg/550px-Japan_location_map_with_side_map_of_the_Ryukyu_Islands.svg.png)
![Steelers](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Greater Tokyo Area†](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Blue Revs](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Verblitz](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![† Greater Tokyo teams BlackRams Brave Lupus Eagles Green Rockets Shining Arcs Spears Sungoliath Wild Knights](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/TransparentPlaceholder.svg/1px-TransparentPlaceholder.svg.png)
BlackRams
Brave Lupus
Eagles
Green Rockets
Shining Arcs
Spears
Sungoliath
Wild Knights
Ladder
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tokyo Sungoliath | 16 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 577 | 286 | +291 | 78 | 36 | 10 | 0 | 66[b] | Play-off Semi-finals |
2 | Saitama Wild Knights (C) | 16 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 527 | 298 | +229 | 68 | 39 | 5 | 0 | 61 | |
3 | Spears Funabashi | 16 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 555 | 342 | +213 | 76 | 42 | 8 | 2 | 58[b] | |
4 | Brave Lupus Tokyo | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 546 | 393 | +153 | 74 | 48 | 8 | 1 | 53[b] | |
5 | Toyota Verblitz | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 400 | 367 | +33 | 52 | 49 | 6 | 0 | 46[b] | |
6 | Yokohama Eagles | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 453 | 349 | +104 | 59 | 47 | 4 | 1 | 45[b] | |
7 | Kobe Steelers | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 521 | 496 | +25 | 75 | 67 | 5 | 3 | 36[b] | |
8 | Shizuoka Blue Revs | 16 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 327 | 403 | −76 | 47 | 54 | 3 | 4 | 27[b] | |
9 | Black Rams Tokyo | 16 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 276 | 480 | −204 | 42 | 67 | 3 | 2 | 21[b] | |
10 | Shining Arcs Urayasu (R) | 16 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 277 | 527 | −250 | 36 | 71 | 1 | 1 | 18 | Relegation play-offs |
11 | Red Hurricanes Osaka (R) | 16 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 183 | 473 | −290 | 23 | 68 | 2 | 0 | 14[b] | Relegation to Division 3[a] |
12 | Green Rockets Tokatsu (O) | 16 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 307 | 535 | −228 | 42 | 76 | 2 | 4 | 14[b] | Relegation play-offs |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Number of wins; 3) Point difference.
(C) Champion; (O) Relegation play-off winner(s); (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ The Red Hurricanes were automatically relegated to the lowest-tier in the Japan Rugby League One (Division 3), as the team underwent a reorganisation. The Japan Rugby League One Board of Directors accepted an application by the team to participate in the third division.[3] As a result, the first-placed team in Division 2 (Hanazono Liners) was automatically granted promotion, with the teams in second and third, qualifying for promotion/relegation fixtures.[3]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Numerous teams that were awarded bonus-point victories (due to COVID-19 disruptions), automatically received a three-converted try result (21–0) in their favour, as well as a try bonus-point (five points) added to their tally in addition to there regular seasonal results. The total list of teams that are included are:
- Three try bonus-point victories: (15 points)
- Two try bonus-point victories: (10 points)
- One try bonus-point victory: (5 points)
Fixtures
Each team were to play five teams twice and six teams once for a total of sixteen home and away matches.[4][5]
Home \ Away | BRT | GRE | KKS | KSP | RHO | SWK | SHI | SBR | TYB | SUN | TBL |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Black Rams Tokyo | — | 21–18 | 0–21[a] | 21–0[b] | 21–0[c] | 17–64 | 33–36 | 22–43 | |||
Green Rockets Tokatsu | — | 17–48 | 41–71 | 10–39 | 34–38 | 27–34 | 10–36 | 0–21[d] | |||
Kobe Steelers | 56–21 | 57–28 | — | 27–22 | 0–21[e] | 37–41 | 23–24 | 35–46 | |||
Spears Funabashi | 59–26 | 40–32 | — | 34–3 | 21–0[f] | 40–13 | 30–24 | 41–20 | |||
Red Hurricanes Osaka | 22–43 | 15–10 | — | 10–66 | 21–0[g] | 0–21[h] | 25–38 | 3–22 | 16–35 | ||
Saitama Wild Knights | 29–12 | 0–21[i] | 37–31 | 35–14 | — | 31–24 | 34–17 | 30–18 | |||
Shining Arcs Urayasu | 42–12 | 0–21[j] | 34–74 | 9–19 | 5–48 | — | 10–27 | 22–21 | |||
Shizuoka Blue Revs | 45–19 | 0–21[k] | 36–13 | 25–26 | — | 0–21[l] | 29–33 | ||||
Toyota Verblitz | 23–19 | 21–0[m] | 21–0[n] | 26–51 | 31–22 | 21–0[o] | — | 0–21[p] | 31–53 | ||
Tokyo Sungoliath | 30–3 | 56–17 | 33–29 | 42–3 | 69–29 | 56–27 | 50–8 | — | 60–46 | ||
Brave Lupus Tokyo | 21–0[q] | 37–18 | 28–43 | 35–7 | 59–26 | 23–33 | 27–3 | — |
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
- ^ Because the Black Rams returned a number of positive COVID-19 tests, the Spears were awarded a bonus point win.
- ^ Red Hurricanes returned a number of positive COVID-19 tests and could not field a side. Black Rams were awarded a bonus point win.
- ^ Blue Revs returned a number of positive COVID-19 tests and could not field a side. Black Rams were awarded a bonus point win.
- ^ Green Rockets returned a number of positive COVID-19 tests and could not field a side. Sungoliath were awarded a bonus point win.
- ^ Steelers returned a number of positive COVID-19 tests and could not field a side. Red Hurricanes were awarded a bonus point win.
- ^ Match was cancelled due to positive COVID-19 tests in the Wild Knights camp, the Spears were awarded a bonus point victory.
- ^ Shining Arcs returned a number of positive COVID-19 tests and could not field a side. Red Hurricanes were awarded a bonus point win.
- ^ Red Hurricanes returned a number of positive COVID-19 tests and could not field a side. Blue Revs were awarded a bonus point win.
- ^ Match was cancelled due to positive COVID-19 tests in the Wild Knights camp, the Green Rockets were awarded a bonus point victory.
- ^ Shining Arcs returned a number of positive COVID-19 tests and could not field a side. Green Rockets were awarded a bonus point win.
- ^ Blue Revs returned a number of positive COVID-19 tests and could not field a side. Steelers were awarded a bonus point win.
- ^ Blue Revs returned a number of positive COVID-19 tests and could not field a side. Sungoliath were awarded a bonus point win as a result.
- ^ Verblitz were awarded bonus point win as a result of the Steelers' positive COVID-19 tests.
- ^ Red Hurricanes returned a number of positive COVID-19 tests and could not field a side. Verblitz were awarded a bonus point win.
- ^ Blue Revs returned a number of positive COVID-19 tests and could not field a side. Thus Verblitz were awarded a bonus point win.
- ^ Verblitz returned a number of positive COVID-19 tests and could not field a side. Sungoliath were awarded a bonus point win.
- ^ Black Rams returned a number of positive COVID-19 tests and could not field a side. Brave Lupus were awarded a bonus point win.
Relegation play-offs
The relegation play-offs took place on 20 and 28 May 2022. [citation needed]
Overview
Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
(D1) Green Rockets | 55–34 | Honda Heat (D2) | 33–10 | 24–22 |
(D1) Shining Arcs | 44–66 | Mitsubishi DynaBoars (D2) | 25–33 | 33–19 |
Matches
All times Japan Standard Time (JST) (UTC+9)
Green Rockets v Honda Heat
20 May 2022 19:00 JST (UTC+9) |
Green Rockets | 33–10 | Honda Heat |
Try: Teruya Goto 7' c Aseri Masivou (2) 14' c, 61' c Penalty try 37' m George Risale 40+2' c Con: Fletcher Smith (4/4) 9', 16', 40+3', 63' | Report | Try: Kanta Omata 67' c Con: Jono Lance (1/1) 68' Pen: Jono Lance (1/1) 32' |
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Aoyama Attendance: 2,269 Referee: Shuhei Kubo |
27 May 2022 19:00 JST (UTC+9) |
Honda Heat | 24–22 | Green Rockets |
Try: Seunghyuk Lee 4' m Dawid Kellerman 14' c Soki Watanabe 31' c Shogo Nezuka 72' m Con: SongGi Pak (2/3) 15', 32' Jono Lance (0/1) | Report | Try: George Risale 44' c Teruya Goto 58' m Tom Marshall 69' c Con: Fletcher Smith (2/3) 45', 71' Pen: Fletcher Smith (1/1) 29' |
Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Higashiōsaka Attendance: 1,068 Referee: Kenki Furuse |
Green Rockets won 55–34 on aggregate, and therefore both clubs remained in their respective leagues.
Shining Arcs v Mitsubishi DynaBoars
21 May 2022 12:00 JST (UTC+9) |
Shining Arcs | 25–33 | Mitsubishi DynaBoars |
Try: Kai Ishii 12' m Shingo Nakashima 53' c Anaru Rangi 68' c Con: Greig Laidlaw (1/2) 54' Doga Maeda (1/1) 69' Pen: Greig Laidlaw (2/2) 9', 38' | Report | Try: Alaiasa Soraroland (2) 22' m, 33' c Matt Vaega 42' c Yoshimitsu Yasue 58' c Michael Little 62' c Con: Matt Vaega (4/5) 34', 42', 59', 63' |
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Aoyama Attendance: 2,986 Referee: Noriaki Hashimoto |
28 May 2022 16:40 JST (UTC+9) |
Mitsubishi DynaBoars | 33–19 | Shining Arcs |
Try: Matt Vaega 15' c Takumi Sugiura (2) 27' m, 38' c Nozomi Nara 66' c Nicholas Ealey 79' c Con: Matt Vaega (4/5) 17', 39', 68', 80+1' | Report | Try: Kai Ishii 10' m Sekonaia Pole 43'c syuhei takeuchi 73' c Con: Otere Black (2/3) 43', 73' |
Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Higashiōsaka Attendance: 3,329 Referee: Akihisa Kajiwara |
Mitsubishi DynaBoars won 44–66 on aggregate, and replaced the Shining Arcs in the Japan Rugby League One – Division 1
Season play-offs
Bracket
Semi-finals | Final | |||||
21 May – Higashiōsaka | ||||||
Tokyo Sungoliath | 30 | |||||
29 May – Shinjuku (Tokyo) | ||||||
Toshiba Brave Lupus | 24 | |||||
Tokyo Sungoliath | 12 | |||||
22 May – Aoyama (Tokyo) | ||||||
Saitama Wild Knights | 18 | |||||
Saitama Wild Knights | 24 | |||||
Kubota Spears | 10 | |||||
Third place | ||||||
28 May – Aoyama (Tokyo) | ||||||
Toshiba Brave Lupus | 15 | |||||
Kubota Spears | 23 |
Semi-finals
21 May 2022 14:30 JST (UTC+9) |
Tokyo Sungoliath | 30–24 | Toshiba Brave Lupus |
Try: Seiya Ozaki 24' c Shintaro Ishihara 42' c Ryoto Nakamura 59' c Con: Damian McKenzie (3/3) 25' 43' 60' Pen: Damian McKenzie (3/5) 31' 49' 52' | Report | Try: Jacob Pierce 27' c Takahiro Ogawa (2) 36' c 45' c Asaeli Ai Valu 55' m Con: Hayata Nakao (3/3) 28' 37' 46' Pen: Hayata Nakao (1/1) 17' |
Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Higashiōsaka Attendance: 7,525 Referee: Takehito Namekawa |
22 May 2022 14:00 JST (UTC+9) |
Saitama Wild Knights | 24–10 | Kubota SpearsTokyo |
Try: Takuya Yamasawa 7' c Kyohei Yamasawa 38' c Shota Horie 65' c Con: Takuya Yamasawa (3/3) 8' 39' 66' Pen: Takuya Yamasawa (1/3) 51' | Report | Try: Opeti Helu 80+2' c Con: Bernard Foley (1/1) 80+3' Pen: Bernard Foley (1/2) 15' |
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Aoyama Attendance: 15,482 Referee: Yu Kawahara |
Third place play-off
28 May 2022 12:05 JST (UTC+9) |
Toshiba Brave Lupus | 15–23 | Kubota Spears |
Try: Seta Tamanivalu 7' m Takuro Matsunaga 11' c Con: Takuro Matsunaga (1/2) 11' Pen: Takuro Matsunaga (1/1) 36' | Report | Try: Gerhard van den Heever 18' m Hiroyuki Yamasaki (2) 27' c, 38' m Con: Bernard Foley (1/3) 29' Pen: Bernard Foley (2/2) 49', 67' |
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Aoyama Attendance: 6,974 Referee: Yosuke Kimura |
Final
29 May 2022 15:00 JST (UTC+9) |
Tokyo Sungoliath | 12–18 | Saitama Wild Knights |
Pen: Damian McKenzie (4/4) 6' 52' 57' 66' | Report | Try: Marika Koroibete 28' c Dylan Riley 73' m Con: Takuya Yamasawa (1/2) 29' Pen: Takuya Yamasawa (2/5) 14' 64' |
National Stadium, Kasumigaoka (Tokyo) Attendance: 33,604 Referee: Shuhei Kubo |
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Statistics
The statistics do not include any additional points, tries, etc. that may have been acquired in play-off matches.
Source: league-one.jp |
Source: league-one.jp |
International players
The Japan Rugby League One holds a foreign player quota. Each Division 1 side are allowed a maximum of three “Category C” players: players who have represented a national team in international rugby that isn't Japan. The Japan Rugby League One also has two other categories of player (A, B), however, there is no limit on the number each team can have for those two category's.[8]
Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
---|---|---|---|
Black Rams Tokyo | ![]() | — | — |
Green Rockets | ![]() | — | — |
Kobelco Kobe Steelers | — | — | — |
Kubota Spears | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Red Hurricanes Osaka | ![]() | — | — |
Saitama Wild Knights | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Shining Arcs | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Shizuoka Blue Revs | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Tokyo Sungoliath | ![]() | ![]() | — |
Toshiba Brave Lupus | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Toyota Verblitz | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Yokohama Canon Eagles | ![]() | ![]() | — |
Notes
- ^ Folau changed international allegiance in July 2022 (to Tonga), following World Rugby eligibility law changes.[6][7]
References
- ^ "Japan Rugby League One Set for Launch in January 2022". Japan Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
- ^ "Japan's new professional rugby league reveals inaugural schedule". The Japan Times. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
- ^ a b "NTTジャパンラグビー リーグワン2022入替戦フォーマットおよび日程のお知らせ" [NTT Japan Rugby League One 2022 replacement format and dates]. league-one.jp (in Japanese). League One. 14 April 2022. Archived from the original on 6 September 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
- ^ "Japan Rugby League One Schedule". Japan Rugby League One. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
- ^ "Schedule and Results". Japan Rugby League One. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
- ^ "Former Wallaby Israel Folau picked for Tonga as international exile ends". The Guardian. 27 May 2022.
- ^ "Israel Folau's Test rugby return short-lived in Tonga's heavy 36-0 loss to Fiji". ABC News. 2 July 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
- ^ "League One: Les quotas de joueurs étrangers ont été annoncés" [League One: Foreign player quotas have been announced]. asierugby.com (in French). 26 October 2021.
External links
- Japan Rugby League One site
- v
- t
- e
Division One | |
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Division Two | |
Division Three |