2021 Top League

Japan's top tier domestic rugby union competition

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2021 Top League

Kubota halfback Daisuke Inoue in February 2021

Countries| Japan
Date| 20 February 2021 – 23 May 2021
Champions| Panasonic Wild Knights (5th title)
Runners-up| Suntory Sungoliath
Matches played| 73
Attendance| 250,022
(average 3,425 per match)
Highest attendance| 8,747 (Suntory Sungoliath v Kubota Spears, 3 April 2021)
Top point scorer| Beauden Barrett (168)
Top try scorer| Malo Tuitama (14)
Official website
www.top-league.jp

<- 2020

2022 ->

The 2021 Top League was the 18th season of Japan's top tier domestic rugby union competition. The original schedule was for a three stage competition that included all 16 Top League teams plus the top four sides from the Top Challenge League, in preparation for the three-tier professional league planned for 2022.[1] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan the season was postponed and re-formatted.[2]

Under the revised format, the two leagues were played separately. The Top League sides were split into two conferences of eight teams for the first stage, followed by a 16-team knockout stage to decide the champion team.

## Teams

[edit]

Verblitz

Steelers

Jubilo

Red Hurricanes

Heat

Blues

Kantō teams:
Black Rams
Brave Lupus
Dynaboars
Eagles
Green Rockets
Red Dolphins
Shining Arcs
Spears
Sungoliath
Wild Knights

class=notpageimage|

2021 Top League Teams

Club  | Region  | Head Coach  | Captain

|
|
|

Canon Eagles | Machida, Tokyo |  Keisuke Sawaki |  Yu Tamura
Hino Red Dolphins | Hino, Tokyo |  Takuro Miuchi |  Kyosuke Horie
Honda Heat | Suzuka, Mie |  Danny Lee |  Ryota Kobayashi
Kobelco Steelers | Kobe |  Dave Dillon |  Tom Franklin
Kubota Spears | Abiko, Chiba |  Frans Ludeke |  Harumichi Tatekawa
Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars | Sagamihara |  Greg Cooper |  Heiden Bedwell-Curtis
Munakata Sanix Blues | Munakata, Fukuoka |  Corey Brown |  Ryuichiro Fukutsubo
NEC Green Rockets | Abiko, Chiba |  Ryota Asano |  Ryoi Kamei
NTT Communications Shining Arcs | Chiba Prefecture |  Hugh Reece-Edwards |  Shokei Kin
NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes | Osaka |  Johan Ackermann |  Lourens Erasmus
Panasonic Wild Knights | Ōta, Gunma |  Robbie Deans |  Atsushi Sakate
Ricoh Black Rams | Setagaya |  Damien Hill |  Shuhei Matsuhashi
Suntory Sungoliath | Fuchū, Tokyo |  Milton Haig |  Ryoto Nakamura
Toshiba Brave Lupus | Fuchū, Tokyo |  Todd Blackadder |  Michael Leitch
Toyota Verblitz | Toyota City |  Simon Cron |  Kaito Shigeno
Yamaha Jubilo | Iwata, Shizuoka |  Naoya Okubo |  Yuya Odo

## Stage One

[edit]

The 16 Top League sides will be split between a red conference and a white conference. They will only play against teams from their conference.[3]

### Red Conference

[edit]

#### Ladder

[edit]

Red Conference Standings

Pos  | Team  | P  | W  | D  | L  | PF  | PA  | PD  | BP  | Pts
1 | Suntory Sungoliath | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 420 | 129 | 291 | 6 | 34
2 | Toyota Verblitz | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 288 | 186 | 102 | 4 | 28
3 | Kubota Spears | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 236 | 130 | 106 | 5 | 25
4 | NTT Communications Shining Arcs | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 236 | 254 | -18 | 3 | 17
5 | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 224 | 229 | -5 | 4 | 16
6 | Honda Heat | 7 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 133 | 240 | -107 | 2 | 6
7 | Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 123 | 309 | -186 | 0 | 6
8 | Munakata Sanix Blues | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 139 | 322 | -183 | 1 | 5

#### Fixtures & Results

[edit]

Round 1

20 February 2021
13:00

NTT Communications Shining Arcs| 41 - 13| Honda Heat

|
|

| Report|
Yumenoshima Stadium
Attendance: 950

20 February 2021
14:00

Kubota Spears| 43 - 17| Munakata Sanix Blues

|
|

| Report|
Nakadai Sports Park Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 1488

20 February 2021
14:00

Toyota Verblitz| 34 - 33| Toshiba Brave Lupus

|
|

| Report|
Paloma Mizuho Stadium
Attendance: 4305

21 February 2021
14:00

Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars| 7 - 75| Suntory Sungoliath

|
|

| Report|
Sagamihara Gion Stadium
Attendance: 4058

Round 2

27 February 2021
12:00

Toshiba Brave Lupus| 7 - 39| Kubota Spears

|
|

| Report|
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 4150

27 February 2021
14:00

Munakata Sanix Blues| 23 - 30| Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars

|
|

| Report|
Global Arena
Attendance: 1280

28 February 2021
13:00

NTT Communications Shining Arcs| 29 - 47| Toyota Verblitz

|
|

| Report|
Yumenoshima Stadium
Attendance: 2940

28 February 2021
14:00

Honda Heat| 14 - 31| Suntory Sungoliath

|
|

| Report|
Mie Sports Garden
Attendance: 2817

Round 3

6 March 2021
12:00

Kubota Spears| 34 - 24| NTT Communications Shining Arcs

|
|

| Report|
Edogawa Stadium
Attendance: 2459

6 March 2021
14:00

Suntory Sungoliath| 75 - 10| Munakata Sanix Blues

|
|

| Report|
Yamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium
Attendance: 2407

6 March 2021
14:00

Toshiba Brave Lupus| 58 - 7| Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars

|
|

| Report|
Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 1513

6 March 2021
14:00

Toyota Verblitz| 45 - 3| Honda Heat

|
|

| Report|
Paloma Mizuho Stadium
Attendance: 4116

Round 4

13 March 2021
13:00

Munakata Sanix Blues| 29 - 61| Toyota Verblitz

|
|

| Report|
Global Arena
Attendance: 2001

20 March 2021
12:00

Toshiba Brave Lupus| 5 - 73| Suntory Sungoliath

|
|

| Report|
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 3986

14 March 2021
13:00

Kubota Spears| 38 - 7| Honda Heat

|
|

| Report|
ZA Oripri Stadium
Attendance: 2115

14 March 2021
14:00

Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars| 26 - 26| NTT Communications Shining Arcs

|
|

| Report|
Sagamihara Gion Stadium
Attendance: 3122

Round 5

26 March 2021
19:30

Toshiba Brave Lupus| 19 - 45| NTT Communications Shining Arcs

|
|

| Report|
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 6125

27 March 2021
14:00

Toyota Verblitz| 36 - 39| Suntory Sungoliath

|
|

| Report|
Paloma Mizuho Stadium
Attendance: 4251

28 March 2021
12:00

Kubota Spears| 32 - 17| Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars

|
|

| Report|
Edogawa Stadium
Attendance: 2057

28 March 2021
13:00

Honda Heat| 24 - 25| Munakata Sanix Blues

|
|

| Report|
Paloma Mizuho Stadium
Attendance: 1265

Round 6

3 April 2021
12:00

NTT Communications Shining Arcs| 40 - 21| Munakata Sanix Blues

|
|

| Report|
Kochi Haruno Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 862

3 April 2021
13:00

Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars| 29 - 40| Toyota Verblitz

|
|

| Report|
Hanazono Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 1562

3 April 2021
14:00

Suntory Sungoliath| 33 - 26| Kubota Spears

|
|

| Report|
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 8747

4 April 2021
12:00

Honda Heat| 17 - 53| Toshiba Brave Lupus

|
|

| Report|
Hanazono Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 1685

Round 7

10 April 2021
14:00

Honda Heat| 55 - 7| Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars

|
|

| Report|
Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu
Attendance: 1039

11 April 2021
12:00

Suntory Sungoliath| 94 - 31| NTT Communications Shining Arcs

|
|

| Report|
Komazawa Olympic Park Stadium
Attendance: 8233

11 April 2021
13:00

Toyota Verblitz| 25 - 24| Kubota Spears

|
|

| Report|
Hanazono Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 4252

11 April 2021
13:00

Munakata Sanix Blues| 14 - 49| Toshiba Brave Lupus

|
|

| Report|
Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu
Attendance: 2825

### White Conference

[edit]

#### Ladder

[edit]

White Conference Standings

Pos  | Team  | P  | W  | D  | L  | PF  | PA  | PD  | BP  | Pts
1 | Panasonic Wild Knights | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 318 | 76 | 242 | 5 | 31
2 | Kobelco Steelers | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 289 | 138 | 151 | 3 | 29
3 | NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 175 | 175 | 0 | 1 | 17
4 | Ricoh Black Rams | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 179 | 184 | -5 | 5 | 17
5 | Canon Eagles | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 176 | 230 | -54 | 2 | 16
6 | Yamaha Júbilo | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 239 | 240 | -1 | 3 | 15
7 | Hino Red Dolphins | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 90 | 238 | -148 | 1 | 7
8 | NEC Green Rockets | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 139 | 324 | -185 | 1 | 1

#### Fixtures & Results

[edit]

Round 1

20 February 2021
14:00

Panasonic Wild Knights| 55 - 14| Ricoh Black Rams

|
|

| Report|
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 3941

20 February 2021
14:00

Kobelco Steelers| 47 - 38| NEC Green Rockets

|
|

| Report|
Hanazono Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 3752

21 February 2021
14:00

Canon Eagles| 24 - 26| NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes

|
|

| Report|
Machida Stadium
Attendance: 2989

21 February 2021
14:00

Hino Red Dolphins| 17 - 52| Yamaha Júbilo

|
|

| Report|
Hanazono Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 2084

Round 2

27 February 2021
14:00

NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes| 38 - 19| NEC Green Rockets

|
|

| Report|
Yanmar Stadium Nagai
Attendance: 2232

28 February 2021
12:00

Yamaha Júbilo| 22 - 23| Ricoh Black Rams

|
|

| Report|
Hanazono Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 1856

28 February 2021
14:00

Panasonic Wild Knights| 60 - 12| Hino Red Dolphins

|
|

| Report|
Kumagaya Rugby Ground
Attendance: 4380

28 February 2021
14:00

Kobelco Steelers| 73 - 10| Canon Eagles

|
|

| Report|
Noevir Stadium Kobe
Attendance: 4407

Round 3

6 March 2021
12:00

NEC Green Rockets| 31 - 59| Yamaha Júbilo

|
|

| Report|
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 3760

6 March 2021
14:00

NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes| 22 - 17| Ricoh Black Rams

|
|

| Report|
Hanazono Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 2592

6 March 2021
14:00

Kobelco Steelers| 52 - 7| Hino Red Dolphins

|
|

| Report|
Noevir Stadium Kobe
Attendance: 2504

6 March 2021
14:00

Canon Eagles| 0 - 47| Panasonic Wild Knights

|
|

| Report|
Showa Denko Dome Oita
Attendance: 7008

Round 4

21 March 2021
12:00

NEC Green Rockets| 7 - 10| Hino Red Dolphins

|
|

| Report|
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 865

14 March 2021
14:00

Ricoh Black Rams| 19 - 20| Kobelco Steelers

|
|

| Report|
Komazawa Olympic Park Stadium
Attendance: 4204

14 March 2021
14:00

Yamaha Júbilo| 32 - 40| Canon Eagles

|
|

| Report|
Yamaha Stadium
Attendance: 6436

14 March 2021
14:00

NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes| 13 - 26| Panasonic Wild Knights

|
|

| Report|
Yanmar Stadium Nagai
Attendance: 4735

Round 5

27 March 2021
12:00

Ricoh Black Rams| 28 - 31| Canon Eagles

|
|

| Report|
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 6302

27 March 2021
13:00

Yamaha Júbilo| 22 - 53| Kobelco Steelers

|
|

| Report|
Hanazono Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 6267

28 March 2021
13:00

Panasonic Wild Knights| 62 - 5| NEC Green Rockets

|
|

| Report|
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 6772

28 March 2021
14:00

Hino Red Dolphins| 25 - 26| NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes

|
|

| Report|
Hanazono Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 2395

Round 6

3 April 2021
13:00

Yamaha Júbilo| 33 - 21| NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes

|
|

| Report|
Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium
Attendance: 3580

4 April 2021
13:00

Hino Red Dolphins| Cancelled [a 1]| Canon Eagles

|
|

| |
Soyu Stadium

4 April 2021
13:00

NEC Green Rockets| 15 - 37| Ricoh Black Rams

|
|

| Report|
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 3710

4 April 2021
14:00

Kobelco Steelers| 13 - 13| Panasonic Wild Knights

|
|

| Report|
Noevir Stadium Kobe
Attendance: 8523

Round 7

10 April 2021
12:00

NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes| 29 - 31| Kobelco Steelers

|
|

| Report|
Hanazono Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 4879

10 April 2021
13:00

Panasonic Wild Knights| 55 - 19| Yamaha Júbilo

|
|

| Report|
Kumagaya Rugby Ground
Attendance: 8389

10 April 2021
13:00

Ricoh Black Rams| 41 - 19| Hino Red Dolphins

|
|

| Report|
Komazawa Olympic Park Stadium
Attendance: 3092

11 April 2021
14:00

Canon Eagles| 71 - 24| NEC Green Rockets

|
|

| Report|
Kumagaya Rugby Ground
Attendance: 2211

## Playoff Stage

[edit]

All sixteen Top League sides plus the top four finishing sides from the 2021 Top Challenge League will be included in the playoff stage. All matches of the playoff stage are knockouts with lower ranked Top League conference teams and the top four Top Challenge League teams playing in the first round to qualify to the round of sixteen.[4]

### First round

[edit]

17 April 2021
12:00

Toyota Industries Shuttles| 24 - 25| NEC Green Rockets

|
|

| Report|
Hanazono Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 941

17 April 2021
14:00

Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars| 24 - 17| Coca-Cola Red Sparks

|
|

| Report|
Paloma Mizuho Stadium
Attendance: 1019

18 April 2021
12:00

Munakata Sanix Blues| 21 - 31| Kintetsu Liners

|
|

| Report|
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 4285

18 April 2021
14:00

Shimizu Blue Sharks| 20 - 48| Hino Red Dolphins

|
|

| Report|
Komazawa Olympic Park Stadium
Attendance: 1036

### Bracket

[edit]

| Round of 16 | | | Quarter-finals | | | Semi-finals | | | Final |

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

|  |  | | |  |  | | |  |  | | |  |  |
| Sungoliath | 76 | | | |
| Green Rockets | 31 |
| | Sungoliath | Bye |
|  |
| | | ~~Black Rams~~ |  |
| Brave Lupus | 24 |

| Black Rams | 27 |
| | Sungoliath | 26 |
|  |
| | | Spears | 9 |
| Spears | 46 | |

| Jubilo | 12 |
| | Spears | 23 |
|  |
| | | Steelers | 21 |
| Steelers | 50 |

| Dynaboars | 17 |
| | Sungoliath | 26 |
|  |
| | | Wild Knights | 31 |
| Verblitz | 49 | | |

| Red Dolphins | 29 |
| | Verblitz | 33 |
|  |
| | | Red Hurricanes | 29 |
| Red Hurricanes | 21 |

| Heat | 13 |
| | Verblitz | 21 |
|  |
| | | Wild Knights | 48 |
| Eagles | 43 | |

| Shining Arcs | 13 |
| | Eagles | 17 |
|  |
| | | Wild Knights | 32 |
| Wild Knights | 54 |

| Liners | 7 |

### Round of 16

[edit]

24 April 2021
12:00

Toshiba Brave Lupus| 24 - 27| Ricoh Black Rams

|
|

Try: Jone Naikabula (2) 3' m 64' c
Daigo Hashimoto 61' m
Takahiro Ogawa 80+2' c
Con: Jack Stratton (0/2)
Takahiro Ogawa (2/2) 65' 80+3'| Report| Try: Takei Hinata 15' c
Toshiya Takahashi 24' c
Shota Yamamoto 78' c
Con: Matt McGahan (3/3) 16' 25' 79'
Pen: Matt McGahan (2/2) 9' 39'
Paloma Mizuho Stadium
Attendance: 2558

24 April 2021
12:00

Kubota Spears| 46 - 12| Yamaha Júbilo

|
|

Try: Bernard Foley 12' c
Finau Tupa 25' c
Penalty Try 29'
Lappies Labuschagné (3) 53' m 74' c 77' c
Con: Bernard Foley (2/3) 14' 26'
Gerhard van den Heever (2/2) 75' 78'
Pen: Bernard Foley (2/2) 22' 60'| Report| Try: Chikara Ito 3' c
Kakeru Okumura 72'
Con: Kakeru Okumura (1/2) 4'
Pen: Kakeru Okumura (0/1)
Edogawa Stadium
Attendance: 2033

24 April 2021
14:30

Suntory Sungoliath| 76 - 31| NEC Green Rockets

|
|

Try: Beauden Barrett (2) 2' c 74' c
Shota Emi 6' m
Sean McMahon 12' m
Takaaki Nakazuru (2) 28' m 33' m
Yukio Morikawa 38' c
Penalty Try 42'
Yutaka Nagare 43' c
Seiya Ozaki 56' c
Samu Kerevi 64' c
Con: Beauden Barrett (4/8) 3' 34' 40' 44'
Hikaru Tamura (3/3) 57' 65' 75'| Report| Try: Daiki Nakajima (3) 22' m 53' c 80' c
Pat Tafa 62' c
Keisuke Yamada 78' m
Con: Alex Goode (2/4) 53' 63'
Benhard Janse van Rensburg (1/1) 80+1'
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 4182

24 April 2021
14:30

Kobelco Steelers| 50 - 17| Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars

|
|

Try: Richard Buckman 9' c
Ryohei Yamanaka 14' m
Lui Naeata 21' m
Ataata Moeakiola 41' c
Hikaru Hashimoto (2) 50' c 68' m
Brodie Retallick 60' c
Hirotaka Hirabara 72' c
Con: Timothy Lafaele (0/1)
Aaron Cruden (4/6) 11' 42' 51' 61'
Lee Seung-sin (1/1) 73'
Pen: Aaron Cruden (0/1)| Report| Try: Ippei Yamamoto 26' c
Michael Little 57' c
Con: James Wilson (2/2) 27' 58'
Pen: James Wilson (1/1) 17'
Hanazono Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 2990

25 April 2021
12:00

NTT Communications Shining Arcs| 13 - 43| Canon Eagles

|
|

Try: Doga Maeda 51' c
Con: Greig Laidlaw (1/1) 52'
Pen: Greig Laidlaw (2/2) 9' 17'| Report| Try: Kobus van Dyk 5' c
SP Marais (2) 23' c 73' c
Jesse Kriel 40+1' m
Ed Quirk 55' c
Amanaki Saumaki 78' c
Con: Yu Tamura (4/5) 6' 57' 74' 80'
Jumpei Ogura (1/1) 24'
Pen: Yu Tamura (1/1) 44'
Edogawa Stadium
Attendance: 1983

25 April 2021
12:00

Honda Heat| 13 - 21| NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes

|
|

Try: Nobutaka Ubukata 61' m
Franco Mostert 67' m
Con: Gwangtee Oh (0/2)
Pen: Gwangtee Oh (1/1) 17'
Matt Duffie (0/1)| Report| Try: Makazole Mapimpi 26' c
Lourens Erasmus 39' c
TJ Perenara 57' c
Con: Ei Kawamuko (3/3) 27' 40' 58'
Paloma Mizuho Stadium
Attendance: 3260

25 April 2021
14:30

Panasonic Wild Knights| 54 - 7| Kintetsu Liners

|
|

Try: Jack Cornelsen (2) 28' c 44' m
Itsuki Onishi 52' c
Dylan Riley 68' c
Ryuji Noguchi 71' c
Kenki Fukuoka 75' m 78' c
Con: Rikiya Matsuda (3/4) 29' 53' 68'
Takuya Yamasawa (2/3) 72' 79'
Pen: Rikiya Matsuda (3/3) 50' 56' 60'| Report| Try: Joshua Nohra 16' c
Con: Patrick Stehlin (1/1) 17'
Hanazono Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 3989

25 April 2021
14:30

Toyota Verblitz| 49 - 29| Hino Red Dolphins

|
|

Try: Jamie Henry 15' c
Taichi Takahashi (2) 20' c 78' c
Male Sa'u 27' c
Fetuani Lautaimi 48' c
Rob Thompson 67' c
Takehito Namekawa 75' c
Con: Lionel Cronjé (7/7) 16' 21' 27' 48' 68' 76' 79'| Report| Try: Chance Peni (2) 4' c 59'c
Taiki Kawai 63' c
Yuki Go 80+2' m
Con: Taro Togo (3/3) 6' 60' 64'
Toshizumi Kitagawa (0/1)
Pen: Taro Togo (1/1) 23'
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 3849

### Quarter-finals

[edit]

8 May 2021
13:00

Toyota Verblitz| 33 - 29| NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes

|
|

Try: Kieran Read 41' c
Jamie Henry (2) 62' c 71' m
Con: Lionel Cronjé (2/3) 42' 63'
Pen: Lionel Cronjé (3/3) 9' 22' 48'| Report| Try: Tom Marshall 15' m
Mifiposeti Paea 27' c
Wimpie van der Walt 43' c
Kouk Shigeno 52' c
Con: Marty Banks (3/4) 28' 45' 54'
Pen: Marty Banks (1/2) 1'
Egao Kenko Stadium
Attendance: 2534

8 May 2021
15:00

Panasonic Wild Knights| 32 - 17| Canon Eagles

|
|

Try: Dylan Riley 2' c
Keisuke Uchida 14' c
Kenki Fukuoka 61' m
Shota Fukui 66' c
Con: Rikiya Matsuda (2/3) 3' 15'
Takuya Yamasawa (1/1) 67'
Pen: Rikiya Matsuda (2/2) 29' 32'| Report| Try: Yu Tamura 47' c
Naoya Minamihashi 68' c
Con: Yu Tamura (2/2) 48' 69'
Pen: Yu Tamura (1/1) 8'
Kumagaya Rugby Ground
Attendance: 4651

9 May 2021
12:45

Kobelco Steelers| 21 - 23| Kubota Spears

|
|

Try: Hayden Parker 39' c
Atsushi Hiwasa 63' c
Rakuhei Yamashita 70' c
Con: Hayden Parker (1/1) 40'
Aaron Cruden (2/2) 64' 71'
Pen: Hayden Parker (0/1)| Report| Try: Sione Vatuvei 3' c
Honeti Taumohaapai 9' c
Con: Bernard Foley (2/2) 4' 10'
Pen: Bernard Foley (1/2) 24'
Gerhard van den Heever (2/3) 61' 76'
Shizuoka Stadium
Attendance: 5543

9 May 2021
14:00

Suntory Sungoliath| Cancelled [5]| Ricoh Black Rams

|
|

| |
Showa Denko Dome Oita

### Semi-finals

[edit]

15 May 2021
14:00

Panasonic Wild Knights| 48 - 21| Toyota Verblitz

|
|

Try: Kenki Fukuoka (3) 1' m 69' c 77' c
Takuya Yamasawa 60' c
Dylan Riley 75' c
Con: Rikiya Matsuda (3/4) 62' 70' 76'
Takuya Yamasawa (1/1) 78'
Pen: Rikiya Matsuda (4/6) 21' 27' 33' 46'
Drop: Rikiya Matsuda 24'| Report| Try: Masato Furukawa 5' m
Taichi Takahashi (2) 9' m 16' m
Con: Lionel Cronjé (0/3)
Pen: Lionel Cronjé (2/3) 35' 47'
Hanazono Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 0

16 May 2021
13:10

Suntory Sungoliath| 26 - 9| Kubota Spears

|
|

Try: Shota Emi 33' m
Con: Beauden Barrett (0/1)
Pen: Beauden Barrett (6/7) 25' 30' 42' 49' 55' 59'
Drop: Beauden Barrett 20'| Report| Pen: Gerhard van den Heever (3/3) 8' 23' 47'
Hanazono Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 0

### Final

[edit]

See also: All-Japan Rugby Football Championship

23 May 2021
13:10 JST

Suntory Sungoliath| 26 - 31| Panasonic Wild Knights

|
|

Try: Ryoto Nakamura 35' c
Takaaki Nakazuru 42' m
Naoto Saito 70' c
Seiya Ozaki 78' c
Con: Beauden Barrett (3/4) 37' 71' 79'
Pen: Beauden Barrett (0/1)| Report| Try: Dylan Riley 5' c
Kenki Fukuoka 30' c
Asaeli Ai Valu 55' m
Con: Rikiya Matsuda (2/3) 6' 31'
Pen: Rikiya Matsuda (3/3) 14' 25' 39'
Takuya Yamasawa (1/2) 73'
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
Attendance: 4668
Referee: Akihisa Aso

|  |

|

FB | 15 |  Seiya Ozaki
RW | 14 |  Takaaki Nakazuru
OC | 13 |  Shogo Nakano
IC | 12 |  Ryoto Nakamura (c)
LW | 11 |  Shota Emi
FH | 10 |  Beauden Barrett
SH | 9 |  Yutaka Nagare
N8 | 8 |  Sean McMahon
OF | 7 |  Naoki Ozawa
BF | 6 |  Hendrik Tui
RL | 5 |  Harry Hockings
LL | 4 |  Tom Savage
TP | 3 |  Shinnosuke Kakinaga
HK | 2 |  Shunta Nakamura
LP | 1 |  Yukio Morikawa
Substitutions:
HK | 16 |  Kosuke Horikoshi
PR | 17 |  Shintaro Ishihara
PR | 18 |  Sam Talakai
LK | 19 |  Joe Latta
FL | 20 |  Tevita Tatafu
SH | 21 |  Naoto Saito
FH | 22 |  Hikaru Tamura
CE | 23 |  Yusuke Kajimura
Coach:
Milton Haig
|  |

|

FB | 15 |  Ryuji Noguchi
RW | 14 |  Semisi Tupou
OC | 13 |  Dylan Riley
IC | 12 |  Hadleigh Parkes
LW | 11 |  Kenki Fukuoka
FH | 10 |  Rikiya Matsuda
SH | 9 |  Keisuke Uchida
N8 | 8 |  Jack Cornelsen
OF | 7 |  Shunsuke Nunomaki
BF | 6 |  Ben Gunter
RL | 5 |  George Kruis
LL | 4 |  Daniel Heenan
TP | 3 |  Shohei Hirano
HK | 2 |  Atsushi Sakate (c)
LP | 1 |  Keita Inagaki
Substitutions:
HK | 16 |  Shota Horie
PR | 17 |  Craig Millar
PR | 18 |  Asaeli Ai Valu
LK | 19 |  Ryota Hasegawa
FL | 20 |  Itsuki Onishi
SH | 21 |  Taiki Koyama
FH | 22 |  Takuya Yamasawa
CE | 23 |  Shota Fukui
Coach:
Robbie Deans

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Matches cancelled due to Covid-19 result in a 0-0 draw.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Top League revises format, schedule for 2021 campaign". The Japan Times. 23 January 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
2. ^ "Top League delays start of season due to COVID-19 outbreak". The Japan Times. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
3. ^ "Top League 2021 Stage One". Top League. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
4. ^ "Japan Rugby Top League 2021 Announces New Tournament Format and Season Calendar". Japan Rugby Football Union. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
5. ^ "Beauden Barrett's Suntory Sungoliath progress to Top League semi-finals after match cancelled due to COVID". RugbyPass. 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.

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