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Excel 2005 Rugby Japan Schedule

エクセル 2005 ラグビー トップリーグ (Top League)

Excel Schedule, Chart ant Score for Rugby Japan 2003-2006

- September 1, 2004 -

As of Jan 29, 2005, Secom Rugguts and Fukuoka Sanix Blues, top 2 teams of the Challenge Series-I matches 
held on this day for elimination among the 3 regional champion teams, including Toyoda Fabric Machinery, 
who could beat neither Secom nor Sanix, were promoted to Top-League in 2005, 
while Kintetsu and IBM, the bottom 2 teams, namely 11th and 12th as of the end of the 2004 season, 
will be demoted to the regional leagues in 2005.

 Meanwhile World and Ricoh, the 9th and 10th teams will have to fight in decision matches scheduled 
for Feb 13 with Toyoda Fabric Machinery and the winner of the Challenge Series-II, Honda, 
in order to stay on in Top-League. Otherwise they will be demoted to the regional leagues 
while the winners will be promoted from their regional leagues to Top-League. 

The top 8 teams of the 2004 season of Top-League, entitled to compete both in Microsoft Cup and Japan Cup, 
are, as the ranking shows, Toshiba, Yamaha, NEC, Toyota, Kobe Steel, Kubota, Sanyo and Suntory.

- January 29, 2005 -

Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) has started a new national level rugby tournament for,
well, top-level rugby squads, currently organized by the companies which the players are 
the employees of, thus formerly called the workers', or shakai-jin, league.  

JRFU hopes that 'Top League', which starts on Sept. 13 and lasts for five months, as
opposed to the one before, with  the twelve teams, nominated from the three regional leagues
across Japan, will do to Japan's fourth most popular sport what J-League has done to soccer.

Related story

Kobe powers to Top League title - Asahi Shimbun News Jan. 26, '04
Steelers capture first Top League rugby crown - Japan Times Jan. 26, '04
Ricoh gets to fight on by ramming Sanyo - Japan Times Jan. 25, '04

- January 28, 2004 -

As of Jan 18, Japan IBM and Toyota Motor, top 2 teams of the Challenge Series matches
 held on this day for elimination among the top teams of the 3 regional leagues in Japan,
 were promoted to Top-League in 2004, while the bottom 2 teams, namely 11th and 12th
 at the end of the 2003 season - Jan. 25 -, will be demoted to the regional leagues. 

The 9th and 10th teams will have to fight in decision matches with Kyushu Denryoku, 
3rd in the Challenge Series, and the winner of the game Kamaish Seawaves VS Toyoda Fabric
 Machinery scheduled for Jan. 24, in order to stay on in Top-League. Otherwise they will be
 demoted to the regional leagues and the winners will be promoted to Top-League.

The top 8 teams, entitled to participate both in Microsoft Cup and Japan Cup, 
are now fixed, as the ranking shows. They are Suntory, Kobe Steel, Toshiba, Yamaha, NEC,
 World, Sanyo and Kubota. That leaves the 2 of the bottom 4 teams - Secom, Richo, Kintetsu
 and Sanix - to unconditional demotion and the other 2 to the decision matches. Whether each
 of the 4 teams will be "the 2" or "the other 2" all depends on their final games on Jan. 24-25.

Refer to the spreadsheet linked from above for the current ranking and scores.

All will be decided on Top League's final day - Japan Times  Jan. 24, '04
Top League looking to emulate World Cup final - Japan Times Nov. 29, '03
Top League heralds a new era in Japanese rugy - Japan Times  Sept. 12, '03  

- January 19, 2004 -

Excel 2003 Rugby World Cup Australia Schedule with Countdown
- July 27, 2002 -

Excel IRB Under-21 World Cup Schedule
- May 23, 2003

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