2008 Top League Challenge Series
# 2008 Top League Challenge Series

The 2008 Top League Challenge Series was the 2008 edition of the Top League Challenge Series, a second-tier rugby union competition in Japan, in which teams from regionalised leagues competed for promotion to the Top League for the 2008–09 season. The competition was contested from 27 January to 10 February 2008.

Kintetsu Liners and Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars won promotion to the 2008–09 Top League, while Mazda Blue Zoomers and World Fighting Bull progressed to the promotion play-offs.

## Competition rules and information

The top two teams from the regional Top East League, Top West League and Top Kyūshū League qualified to the Top League Challenge Series. The regional league winners participated in Challenge 1, while the runners-up participated in Challenge 2.

The top two teams in Challenge 1 won automatic promotion to the 2008–09 Top League, while the third-placed team in Challenge 1 and the Challenge 2 winner qualified to the promotion play-offs.

## Qualification

The teams qualified to the Challenge 1 and Challenge 2 series through the 2007 regional leagues.

### Top West League

The final standings for the 2007 Top West League were:

| 2007 Top West League First Phase standings |
| - |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | World Fighting Bull (R) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 251 | 82 | +169 | 5 | 0 | 29 |
| 2 | Honda Heat | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 323 | 93 | +230 | 5 | 1 | 24 |
| 3 | Kintetsu Liners | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 219 | 170 | +112 | 3 | 1 | 20 |
| 4 | Toyota Industries Shuttles | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 222 | 118 | +104 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
| 5 | NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 145 | 217 | −72 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 6 | Osaka Police | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 67 | 288 | −221 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | Chubu Electric Power | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 67 | 389 | −322 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Legend: P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points. (R) indicates a team newly relegated from the Top League. |

* Honda Heat, Kintetsu Liners and World Fighting Bull qualified to the Second Phase.

| 2007 Top West League Second Phase standings |
| - |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Kintetsu Liners | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 32 | +33 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 2 | World Fighting Bull (R) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 37 | +7 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | Honda Heat | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 66 | −40 | 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, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points. (R) indicates a team newly relegated from the Top League. |

* Kintetsu Liners qualified for Challenge 1.
* World Fighting Bull qualified for Challenge 2.

### Top East League

The final standings for the 2007 Top East League were:

| 2007 Top East League standings |
| - |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 466 | 85 | +381 | 9 | 0 | 49 |
| 2 | Secom Rugguts (R) | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 458 | 112 | +346 | 7 | 0 | 43 |
| 3 | NTT Communications Shining Arcs | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 444 | 113 | +331 | 8 | 1 | 41 |
| 4 | Suntory Foods | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 254 | 199 | +55 | 7 | 0 | 35 |
| 5 | Tokyo Gas | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 272 | 259 | +13 | 5 | 0 | 25 |
| 6 | Kamaishi Seawaves | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 250 | 229 | +21 | 5 | 1 | 22 |
| 7 | Kurita Water | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 233 | 328 | −95 | 4 | 1 | 21 |
| 8 | Akita Northern Bullets | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 159 | 437 | −278 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| 9 | JAL Wings | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 123 | 291 | −168 | 1 | 3 | 12 |
| 10 | Insurance Meiji Life Yasuda | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 121 | 415 | −294 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 11 | Shimizu Blue Sharks | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 118 | 430 | −312 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Legend: P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points. (R) indicates a team newly relegated from the Top League. |

* Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars qualified for Challenge 1.
* Secom Rugguts qualified for Challenge 2 after a play-off match against NTT Communications Shining Arcs.

The following match was played:

* Insurance Meiji Life Yasuda and Shimizu Blue Sharks were relegated to lower leagues.

### Top Kyūshū League

The final standings for the 2007 Top Kyūshū League were:

| 2007 Top Kyūshū League First Phase standings |
| - |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Mazda Blue Zoomers | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 268 | 29 | +239 | 5 | 0 | 25 |
| 2 | Chugoku Electric Power | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 145 | 118 | +27 | 3 | 1 | 16 |
| 3 | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 142 | 98 | +44 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| 4 | JR Kyūshū Thunders | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 97 | 183 | −86 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 5 | Toshiba Oita (P) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 78 | 151 | −73 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 6 | Mitsubishi Mizushima | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 69 | 220 | −151 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Legend: P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points. (P) indicates a team newly promoted from lower leagues. |

* Chugoku Electric Power, Mazda Blue Zoomers and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries qualified to the Second Phase.
* Mitsubishi Mizushima were relegated to lower leagues.

| 2007 Top Kyūshū League Second Phase standings |
| - |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Mazda Blue Zoomers | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 22 | +40 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | Chugoku Electric Power | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 49 | 46 | +3 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 68 | −43 | 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, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points. |

* Mazda Blue Zoomers qualified for Challenge 1.
* Chugoku Electric Power qualified for Challenge 2.

## Challenge 1

### Standings

The final standings for the 2008 Top League Challenge 1 were:

| 2008 Top League Challenge 1 standings |
| - |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Kintetsu Liners | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 25 | +52 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 2 | Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 62 | 23 | +39 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | Mazda Blue Zoomers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 104 | −91 | 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, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points. |

* Kintetsu Liners and Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars won promotion to the 2008–09 Top League.
* Mazda Blue Zoomers progressed to the promotion play-offs.

### Matches

The following matches were played in the 2008 Top League Challenge 1:

## Challenge 2

### Standings

The final standings for the 2008 Top League Challenge 2 were:

| 2008 Top League Challenge 2 standings |
| - |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | World Fighting Bull | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 122 | 3 | +119 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 2 | Secom Rugguts | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 83 | 15 | +68 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | Chugoku Electric Power | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 192 | −187 | 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, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points. |

* World Fighting Bull progressed to the promotion play-offs.

### Matches

The following matches were played in the 2008 Top League Challenge 2:

