IBM Big Blue may have recorded its first win of the year, in beating World Fighting Bull 37-28 at Tokyo's Chichibunomiya on Saturday, but it wasn't enough to prevent it from taking up one of the two automatic relegation spots from the Top League.
The Sanyo Wild Knights' 61-7 demolition of the Kintetsu Liners at Osaka's Hanazono Stadium, ensured IBM's fate, and means the game between World and Kintetsu on Jan. 12 will decide which other team drops out of Japan's top rugby competition -- the winner almost certainly facing a playoff to stay in the top flight.
"We had already resigned ourselves to going down," said IBM fullback Peter Miller. "It's good to get a win and hopefully we will come straight back up. This is a young team so hopefully the experience will do them some good."