'We want it to be the world's best league': Japan have sights set on global dominance with launch of new pro league
The Japan Rugby Football Union will launch a three-tier professional league from January 2022 in a bid to raise the domestic game to a new level.
The new format, which has yet to be given a name and fell short of the dramatic shake-up some had been calling for, will replace the current corporate rugby structure which features a 16-team Top League and nine-team Top Challenge League.
The revamped league will see 25 teams across three divisions, with 12 top tier clubs split into two conferences.
There will be promotion and relegation playoffs at the end of each season plus a championship game between the winners of the top division conferences.
“We want it to be the world’s best league,” Mayumi Taniguchi, director of the new league’s development office, told reporters Friday.
“We want to improve the Japan national team and Japanese players … We also want more competitive games.”
A shake-up of the domestic game was first mooted after the 2019 Rugby World Cup, when hosts Japan reached the quarter-finals for the first time off the back of an unprecedented wave of public support.
Further calls were made for changes when the Sunwolves, Japan’s sole representative club in the Super Rugby competition, were disbanded last year, giving rise to fears that Japanese players would not get exposure to the game at the top level.
The season would begin in January to align with Southern Hemisphere competitions, allowing the top Japanese teams to arrange games against international opposition.
JRFU chairman Kensuke Iwabuchi stressed, however, they were still only in the discussion phase with unions and leagues outside Japan.
“The international calendar and league calendar are uncertain because of COVID-19 so we haven’t been able to confirm matches yet,” Iwabuchi added.
“We want to set the stage for Japan to compete at a world class level.”
The start of this season’s Top League competition was delayed by a month on Thursday following COVID-19 outbreaks at six clubs, meaning Wallabies captain Michael Hooper won’t make his debut for Toyota Verblitz until February.
Comments on RugbyPass
Go hurricanes go
1 Go to commentsOuch for my team the Bulls but Leinster just in another league in that second half.
1 Go to commentsReally proud to be at last nights game, beating one of our arch rivals Chiefs. Tom Christie did well as captain. He should be the captain when ever Scott Barrett is unavailable. Fine player, Johnny McNicoll was inspirational , he and Sevu Reece compliment each other.
11 Go to commentsConfirmed conclusively that 1. the Chiefs are a one man band 2. DMac is THE vital cog for Robertsons success with the ABs.
1 Go to commentsWrong again Nick! Shoch horror….. This article aged very quickly didnt it.
105 Go to commentsFunny how between 2008-2018 the crusaders did not win the majority of titles… it was spread evenly amongst NZ.
105 Go to commentsThe same might be happening in NZ soon. What is the point of changing the setup to englands Championship?
3 Go to commentsSack the coach.
4 Go to commentsDon’t worry about the Crusaders they have some great talent coming through.
1 Go to commentsThe Crusaders terminally ill team missing 8-9 projected starters at the beginning of the season manhandle a Chiefs team missing just DMac.
105 Go to commentsBig difference from the Crusaders last night. Hotham and McNicoll were sparks but everyone seemed dialed in. Young lock Hannah has no stop and Kellow deserves more game time based on his performance. Being captain seemed to lift Christie’s game and with Strange running the lineout there was a big improvement from Bell (including his brilliant individual try). Good to see Reihana running freely and making a solid contribution from the bench. In the absence of Burke, he makes that backline more potent. Also, good to see Aumua with more of a role. If they can back this up, they could move up the table as some of their “names” return (Barrett, Blackadder, Burke, Taylor, Williams, etc).
11 Go to commentsI think this is unduly harsh. I agree that we must hold them to high standards and that is what they produced in the second half against Italy with 14 men in their first run out for nearly 6 months trying to play an expanded game. Admittedly, the first half was at best disjointed but they worked it out sufficiently to blow Italy out of the water. No other team appears to be able to live with them over 80 minutes at the moment and they still have a huge amount of improvement to make. Their match in France will be the next acid test. That is the next real yardstick.
1 Go to commentsNot sure 700k is worth it. He’ll be coming on for the Hail Mary plays. Cannon fodder.
10 Go to commentsBest situation in the world for the potential of his success in the NFL. Cutthroat, we’ll yeah little buddy, that’s one of the reasons why, at least in the States, it is by far and away the best sports draw. The point is: It’s not only that he’d have Mahomes as his QB, and all the T. Kelce blocking bullshit needs to stop (he’s not a prototypical blocking TE ya numb nuts), it’s that he will have arguably one of the greatest football minds in Andy Reid scheming for him. In the NFL, the most important thing is situation. If the ignoramus Jets signed him, then he’d be screwed from go.
10 Go to commentsWe’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
3 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
10 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
4 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
4 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
4 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to comments