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Japan cancels entire Top League season due to COVID-19
The Japan Rugby Top League has decided to cancel their season as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, meaning they will have no final standings for the season.
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The announcement sees Japan Rugby cancel 42 matches in a bid to help stem the spread of the coronavirus.
The news represents a major development as leagues all around the globe are faced with difficult decisions in terms of completing their seasons.
The COVID-19 outbreak has already forced Super Rugby, Top14, the Pro14 and the Gallagher Premiership to suspend their seasons amid growing uncertainty in the sporting calendar.
While most of those leagues are reportedly optimistic about their chances of completing their seasons at a later date, the decision made by Japan Rugby to cancel their league could spark a knock-on effect.
Continue reading below…
In a statement, league organisers said the step was taken with three main viewpoints in mind.
The statement read:
“Given the current status of Novel Coronavirus (COVID019) and expanding infections, the Japan Rugby Top League (JRTL) has decided to cancel all matches of Round 11 and after in the 2020 season as well as this year’s tournament itself.
“JRTL has reached to the decision from the following three viewpoints;
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1. To secure the health and safety of spectators, players and staffs.
2. Following the rapid global spread of the virus, the governments of many various countries including New Zealand and Australia have advised their citizens in overseas to return to their home countries immediately, which mean that many of foreign players in the Top League will return to their homes.
3. All the top league clubs are participating and operating in the league as company sport clubs and it would cause a significant adverse impact on the companies, if any players and/or team staffs are infected.
“Since the Japan Rugby Top League 2020 has been cancelled in the middle of its season and will not be completed, there will be no final standing. Thus, the four participating teams to the 57th Japan Rugby Championship, which currently is scheduled to be held from Saturday May 23rd, will be determined in an alternative way. Further information will be announced as soon as it is confirmed.”
Given the current status of COVID-19 and expanding infections, the Japan Rugby Top League has decided to cancel all matches of Round 11 and after in the 2020 season as well as this year’s tournament itself.
For more information, please see below. https://t.co/azsFo4Hi8e
— Japan Rugby (@JRFURugby) March 23, 2020
A number of Top League players have already been allowed to return to their home countries to be with their families.
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Before the announcement, former Wallaby Matt Giteau, who plays for Suntory Sungoliath, had taken to social media to ask league officials to act quickly on making a decision regarding finishing the season.
“There are more important things than rugby right now,” Giteau wrote on Twitter.
“I love living and playing here in Japan, but not to the point of being excluded from Australia far from my family until June.”
Japan Rugby Top League Chairman, Osamu Ota, said;
“It was a tough decision to make but, given the global infection risk of the coronavirus, we have decided to cancel all matches of Japan Rugby Top League 2020 as all fans and players are our highest priority and the safety and security of the clubs and related parties must be secured. While we are very sorry for all fans, players and officials who have been looking forward to the resumption of the league, we appreciate your kind understanding.
“We sincerely hope that the current coronavirus spread situation gets under control soon and will look for an appropriate way of the new tournament toward the Japanese Rugby Championship in May with considering the social circumstances. We very much appreciate for your continued support to the Japan Rugby Top League.”
Watch: COVID-19’s impact on the immediate future of rugby in New Zealand.
Comments on RugbyPass
What a dagg in more ways than one
5 Go to commentsRegroup come back next year but sack some of the coaching team and don't be like the ABs last minute sacking. If Crusaders don't do well ABs don't do well.
5 Go to commentsProctor Definitely inform again this year had a hell of a season last year and this year is looking even better. Still mixed feelings about Ioane tho.
4 Go to commentsDagg is still trying to get enough headlines to make himself relevant enough to get a job. The Crusaders went back to square one at all levels. Shelve this season and nail the next one.
5 Go to commentsHe was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
5 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
3 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
4 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
38 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
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