2018 Top Challenge League

The 2018 Top Challenge League was the second season of Japan's second-tier domestic rugby union competition, the Top Challenge League.^[1]

2018 Top Challenge League
Countries	Japan
Date	8 September – 9 December 2018
Champions	NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes (3rd title)
Runners-up	Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars
Matches played	40
Tries scored	332 (average 8.3 per match)
← 2017 2019 →

It was played from 8 September to 9 December 2018, with eight participating teams. NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes won the competition for the third time – having previously won in 2010–11 and 2016–17 and qualified for the promotion play-offs, along with Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars, Kintetsu Liners and Kurita Water Gush. Kamaishi Seawaves and Chugoku Red Regulions finished seventh and eighth respectively to qualify for the relegation play-offs.

Competition rules

In January 2017, the JRFU announced the format of the Top Challenge League competition. The competition was played in two stages. The First Stage was a round-robin format, where all eight teams played each other once.

The top four teams in the First Stage progressed to Group A of the Second Stage, while the bottom four teams progressed to Group B. Each of these groups was another round-robin, with all four teams playing each other once.

The four teams that competed in Group A progressed to promotion play-offs against the bottom four teams in the 2018–19 Top League.

The two team that finished bottom and second-bottom of Group B progressed to the relegation play-offs, along with the winners and the runners-up of the Regional Challenge, held between the champions of the Top East League, Top West League and Top Kyūshū League.

Teams

Chugoku Red Regulions

Kamaishi Seawaves

Kurita Water Gush

Kintetsu Liners

Kyuden
Voltex

Mazda Blue Zoomers

Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars

NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes

Location of teams in the 2018 Top Challenge League

The following teams took part in the 2018 Top Challenge League competition:

2018 Top Challenge League teams
Team name	Based	2017–18 placing
Chugoku Red Regulions	Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture	Top Challenge League, 6th
Kamaishi Seawaves	Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture	Top Challenge League, 7th
Kintetsu Liners	Higashiosaka, Osaka, Kansai	Top League, Relegated
Kurita Water Gush	Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture	Regional Leagues, Champions
Kyuden Voltex	Fukuoka, Kyūshū	Top Challenge League, 4th
Mazda Blue Zoomers	Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture	Top Challenge League, 5th
Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars	Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture	Top Challenge League, 3rd
NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes	Osaka, Kansai	Top League, Relegated

First stage

Standings

The current standings for the 2018 Top Challenge League First Stage are:

2018 Top Challenge League First Stage standings
Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
1	Kintetsu Liners	7	7	0	0	301	86	+215	47	13	6	0	34
2	NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes	7	6	0	1	345	136	+209	54	21	5	1	30
3	Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars	7	5	0	2	250	157	+93	38	23	4	0	24
4	Kurita Water Gush	7	4	0	3	155	180	−25	24	29	2	0	18
5	Kamaishi Seawaves	7	2	0	5	176	226	−50	24	34	2	1	11
6	Mazda Blue Zoomers	7	2	0	5	173	275	−102	26	41	1	1	10
7	Chugoku Red Regulions	7	1	0	6	159	310	−151	23	46	1	0	5
8	Kyuden Voltex	7	1	0	6	90	279	−189	14	43	0	0	4
Legend: P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TF = Tries for, TA = Tries against, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points. The top four teams qualified for the Second Stage Group A. The bottom four teams qualified for the Second Stage Group B.

Matches

The 2018 Top Challenge League First Stage fixtures are:^[2]

Round one

	8 September 2018	Kintetsu Liners	61–14	Mazda Blue Zoomers
	14:00		Scoreboard[3]		Attendance: 750

	8 September 2018	Chugoku Red Regulions	13–22	Kyuden Voltex
	16:00		Scoreboard[4]		Attendance: 800

	9 September 2018	Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars	42–17	Kamaishi Seawaves
	12:30		Scoreboard[5]		Attendance: 2,783

	9 September 2018	Kurita Water Gush	17–53	NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes
	15:00		Scoreboard[6]		Attendance: 5,880

Round two

	16 September 2018	Chugoku Red Regulions	15–40	Kurita Water Gush
	12:30		Scoreboard[7]		Attendance: 670

	16 September 2018	Kamaishi Seawaves	28–29	Mazda Blue Zoomers
	14:00		Scoreboard[8]		Attendance: 775

	16 September 2018	Kyuden Voltex	17–38	Kintetsu Liners
	15:00		Scoreboard[9]		Attendance: 1,363

	16 September 2018	NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes	31–12	Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars
	17:00		Scoreboard[10]		Attendance: 2,342

Round three

	29 September 2018	Kintetsu Liners	38–7	Kurita Water Gush
	13:00		Scoreboard[11]		Attendance: 740

	29 September 2018	Mazda Blue Zoomers	19–52	NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes
	13:00		Scoreboard[12]		Attendance: 1,030

	29 September 2018	Kyuden Voltex	10–30	Kamaishi Seawaves
	12:00		Scoreboard[13]		Attendance: 300

	30 September 2018	Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars	68–17	Chugoku Red Regulions
	12:00		Scoreboard[14]		Attendance: 700

Round four

	6 October 2018	Mazda Blue Zoomers	23–24	Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars
	13:00		Scoreboard[15]		Attendance: 320

	6 October 2018	Kyuden Voltex	5–17	Kurita Water Gush
	12:00		Scoreboard[16]		Attendance: 150

	7 October 2018	Kamaishi Seawaves	27–52	NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes
	14:00		Scoreboard[17]		Attendance: 1,509

	7 October 2018	Kintetsu Liners	55–0	Chugoku Red Regulions
	13:00		Scoreboard[18]		Attendance: 1,138

Round five

	20 October 2018	NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes	79–0	Kyuden Voltex
	11:30		Scoreboard[19]		Attendance: 1,642

	20 October 2018	Chugoku Red Regulions	24–52	Kamaishi Seawaves
	11:30		Scoreboard[20]		Attendance: 3,000

	21 October 2018	Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars	14–52	Kintetsu Liners
	14:00		Scoreboard[21]		Attendance: 6,886

	21 October 2018	Kurita Water Gush	34–19	Mazda Blue Zoomers
	13:00		Scoreboard[22]		Attendance: 1,500

Round six

	26 October 2018	Kurita Water Gush	0–38	Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars
	19:15		Scoreboard[23]		Attendance: 7,717

	27 October 2018	Kamaishi Seawaves	10–29	Kintetsu Liners
	14:00		Scoreboard[24]		Attendance: 1,278

	27 October 2018	Mazda Blue Zoomers	50–19	Kyuden Voltex
	14:00		Scoreboard[25]		Attendance: 800

	28 October 2018	NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes	54–33	Chugoku Red Regulions
	14:00		Scoreboard[26]		Attendance: 500

Round seven

	3 November 2018	Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars	52–17	Kyuden Voltex
	13:15		Scoreboard[27]		Attendance: 1,600

	4 November 2018	Mazda Blue Zoomers	19–57	Chugoku Red Regulions
	13:00		Scoreboard[28]		Attendance: 1,200

	4 November 2018	Kamaishi Seawaves	12–40	Kurita Water Gush
	14:00		Scoreboard[29]		Attendance: 2,312

	4 November 2018	Kintetsu Liners	28–24	NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes
	14:00		Scoreboard[30]		Attendance: 8,047

Second Stage Group A

Standings

The standings for the 2018 Top Challenge League Second Stage Group A are:

2018 Top Challenge League Second Stage Group A standings
Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	S1B	TB	LB	Pts
1	NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes	3	3	0	0	115	23	+92	17	2	2	2	0	16
2	Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars	3	2	0	1	64	71	−7	9	11	1	1	0	10
3	Kintetsu Liners	3	1	0	2	82	50	+32	12	6	3	1	0	8
4	Kurita Water Gush	3	0	0	3	14	131	−117	2	21	0	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, TF = Tries for, TA = Tries against, S1B = Stage 1 Bonus Points, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points.

• Kintetsu Liners, Kurita Water Gush, Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars and NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes qualified for the promotion play-offs.

Matches

Round one

	25 November 2018	NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes	45–10	Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars
	11:30		Scoreboard[31]		Attendance: 700

	25 November 2018	Kintetsu Liners	57–0	Kurita Water Gush
	14:00		Scoreboard[32]		Attendance: 500

Round two

	1 December 2018	NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes	50–7	Kurita Water Gush
	11:30		Scoreboard[33]		Attendance: 1,646

	1 December 2018	Kintetsu Liners	19–30	Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars
	14:00		Scoreboard[34]		Attendance: 2,622

Round three

	9 December 2018	Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars	24–7	Kurita Water Gush
	11:30		Scoreboard

	9 December 2018	Kintetsu Liners	6–20	NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes
	14:00		Scoreboard

Second Stage Group B

Standings

The standings for the 2018 Top Challenge League Second Stage Group B are:

2018 Top Challenge League Second Stage Group B standings
Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	S1B	TB	LB	Pts
5	Kyuden Voltex	3	2	0	1	89	49	+40	14	6	0	2	1	11
6	Mazda Blue Zoomers	3	2	0	1	80	91	−11	10	14	2	0	0	10
7	Kamaishi Seawaves	3	1	0	2	87	89	−2	12	12	3	1	1	9
8	Chugoku Red Regulions	3	1	0	2	47	74	−27	6	10	1	0	1	6
Legend: P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TF = Tries for, TA = Tries against, S1B = Stage 1 Bonus Points, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points.

• Kyuden Voltex and Mazda Blue Zoomers remain in the Top Challenge League for 2019.
• Chugoku Red Regulions and Kamaishi Seawaves qualify for the relegation play-offs.

Matches

Round one

	18 November 2018	Mazda Blue Zoomers	24–22	Chugoku Red Regulions
	11:30		Scoreboard[35]

	18 November 2018	Kamaishi Seawaves	18–39	Kyuden Voltex
	14:00		Scoreboard[36]

Round two

	1 December 2018	Mazda Blue Zoomers	31–24	Kyuden Voltex
	11:30		Scoreboard[37]		Attendance: 500

	1 December 2018	Kamaishi Seawaves	24–25	Chugoku Red Regulions
	14:00		Scoreboard[38]		Attendance: 600

Round three

	9 December 2018	Chugoku Red Regulions	0–26	Kyuden Voltex
	13:00		Scoreboard[39]		Attendance: 1,050

	9 December 2018	Kamaishi Seawaves	45–25	Mazda Blue Zoomers
	15:00		Scoreboard[40]		Attendance: 1,050

Promotion play-offs

The matches played were:

• Top League sides Hino Red Dolphins and Munakata Sanix Blues won their matches to remain in the Top League for 2019–20.
• Top League sides Coca-Cola Red Sparks and Toyota Industries Shuttles lost their matches and were relegated to the Top Challenge League for 2019.
• Top Challenge League sides Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars and NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes won their matches to win promotion to the Top League for 2019–20.
• Top Challenge League sides Kintetsu Liners and Kurita Water Gush lost their matches to remain in the Top Challenge League for 2019.

	23 December 2018	Munakata Sanix Blues	75–0	Kurita Water Gush
	13:00		Scoreboard[41]		Attendance: 1,110

	23 December 2018	Hino Red Dolphins	21–11	Kintetsu Liners
	13:00		Scoreboard[42]		Attendance: 1,780

	23 December 2018	Toyota Industries Shuttles	7–31	Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars
	13:00		Scoreboard[43]		Attendance: 3,288

	23 December 2018	Coca-Cola Red Sparks	24–33	NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes
	13:00		Scoreboard[44]		Attendance: 3,746

Relegation play-offs

• Top Challenge League side Kamaishi Seawaves won their match to remain in the Top Challenge League for 2019.
• Top Challenge League side Chugoku Red Regulions lost their match and was relegated to the Top Kyūshū League for 2019.
• Top League East side Shimizu Blue Sharks won their match to win promotion to the Top Challenge League for 2019.
• Top League West side Chubu Electric Power lost their match to remain in the Top League West for 2019.

The matches played were:

	5 January 2019	Kamaishi Seawaves	41–7	Chubu Electric Power
	13:00		Scoreboard

	5 January 2019	Chugoku Red Regulions	28–33	Shimizu Blue Sharks
	13:00		Scoreboard

See also

• 2018–19 Top League