Jan 15, 2021
The Japan Rugby Football Union announced Friday that a total of 25 teams including 12 top-division clubs will participate in the new domestic top circuit scheduled to kick off in January 2022.
After initially estimating that the first division would comprise between eight and 12 clubs, the sport’s national governing body chose the larger number based on the expectation that it would be able to offer close, competitive contests to the fans.
Mayumi Taniguchi, the director of the new league’s development office, said that the decision had been made to start with 12 teams after studying recent Top Team seasons and determining that a bigger division would contribute to high-quality play.
A whistle to be used in the Rugby World Cup opening match between Japan and Russia at Tokyo Stadium on Sept. 20 (Shiro Nishihata)
The start of Japan’s Top League rugby union competition has been delayed due to COVID-19 outbreaks at several clubs, the league and Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) said on Thursday.
The competition had been due to start this weekend but with 10 positive tests at Kobe Steelers on Thursday taking the total to 67 league-wide, organizers said they were now aiming for a mid-February start.
Last year’s season was cancelled entirely because of the pandemic.
“Japan Rugby Football Union and Top League have had discussions and we want to do everything we can to have this year’s Top League season,” said JRFU Chairman Kensuke Iwabuchi.
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KYODO Jan 14, 2021
The Japan Rugby Football Union said Thursday that the start of the 2021 Japan Rugby Top League season will be pushed back to early or mid-February and that the competition format will be modified because of multiple COVID-19 outbreaks among players and staff.
The decision was made after 18 new coronavirus cases among three teams were confirmed on Thursday, two days after 44 people from three teams tested positive for the virus, casting doubt over the league s ability to operate safely in a pandemic.
Photo: Photosport Ltd 2020
The competition had been due to start this weekend but with 10 positive tests at Kobe Steelers on Thursday taking the total to 67 league-wide, organisers said they were now aiming for a mid-February start.
Last year s season was cancelled entirely because of the pandemic. Japan Rugby Football Union and Top League have had discussions and we want to do everything we can to have this year s Top League season, said JRFU Chairman Kensuke Iwabuchi.
Organisers said they were yet to finalise a new start date and whether the format needed to be changed because of time restrictions and safety precautions.
Top League cancels two games due to COVID-19 cases among three teams Sorry, but your browser needs Javascript to use this site. If you re not sure how to activate it, please refer to this site: https://www.enable-javascript.com/
KYODO Jan 12, 2021
Two of the eight games scheduled to open the 2021 Japan Rugby Top League season this weekend have been canceled after three teams confirmed positive coronavirus cases, the Japan Rugby Football Union said Tuesday.
The JRFU said a total of 44 players and staff tested positive for the virus, including 24 from Canon Eagles, 13 from Toyota Verblitz, and seven from Suntory Sungoliath.