Complicated university schedules in Kanto contributed to causing a downturn in Japanese rugby. Rugby at Japanese universities had developed under a strong influence of both Oxford and Cambridge universities. Along with the observation of the amateurism spirit, Japanese universities were committed to the belief that rugby games should be held as tournaments. The related parties considered that, under this belief, players could meet their opponents and develop mutual respect for each other as humans through interactions over the years, helping each other learn and hone their skills. They believed that the concept of championships had negative effects that strong teams or players could compete while weaker ones were discarded. ‘We play rugby, not to show off our rugby skills, but only to improve and refine ourselves.' This was their philosophy when it comes to rugby.
During these times, Nihon, Chuo, and Hosei universities saw rapid growth. However, traditional universities, such as Keio, Waseda, and Meiji, had a problem with their tight schedules which made it difficult to hold matches. Keio and Nihon that won all the tournaments in 1955 actually did not meet even at once, which certainly highlighted this schedule issue. Afterward, the university rugby tournament shifted to a two-league system, but popular universities including Keio and Waseda were demoted to the second league. This situation caused to the Waseda-Meiji match to attract even very few spectators.
The universities then held successive discussions, attempting to get back to the tournament style while seasons of trial and error continued. These attempts resulted in landing the following solution: From the 1968 season, all the participants were divided into the tournament group consisting with 10 universities (Waseda, Keio, Meiji, Rikkyo, Tokyo, Tokyo University of Education (present Tsukuba Univ.), Nippon Sports Science Univ., Aoyama Gakuin, Seikei, and Seijo) and the league competition group consisting with 8 universities (Hosei, Nihon, Chuo, Senshu, National Defense Academy, Toyo, Kokushi, and Daito Bunka). The top 4 universities in both groups would play in interleague games conducted in a crisscross manner. The 4 winners of these interleague games would then advance to the All-Japan University Rugby Championship.
During this period, rugby fans enthusiastically accepted the match style where the champion of the Company Rugby Football Championship and that of the All-Japan University Rugby Championship met to decide the top winner in Japan. This acted as a trigger for Japanese rugby to get out of the slump. (Source: “The 80-Year History of JRFU”)
During these times, Nihon, Chuo, and Hosei universities saw rapid growth. However, traditional universities, such as Keio, Waseda, and Meiji, had a problem with their tight schedules which made it difficult to hold matches. Keio and Nihon that won all the tournaments in 1955 actually did not meet even at once, which certainly highlighted this schedule issue. Afterward, the university rugby tournament shifted to a two-league system, but popular universities including Keio and Waseda were demoted to the second league. This situation caused to the Waseda-Meiji match to attract even very few spectators.
The universities then held successive discussions, attempting to get back to the tournament style while seasons of trial and error continued. These attempts resulted in landing the following solution: From the 1968 season, all the participants were divided into the tournament group consisting with 10 universities (Waseda, Keio, Meiji, Rikkyo, Tokyo, Tokyo University of Education (present Tsukuba Univ.), Nippon Sports Science Univ., Aoyama Gakuin, Seikei, and Seijo) and the league competition group consisting with 8 universities (Hosei, Nihon, Chuo, Senshu, National Defense Academy, Toyo, Kokushi, and Daito Bunka). The top 4 universities in both groups would play in interleague games conducted in a crisscross manner. The 4 winners of these interleague games would then advance to the All-Japan University Rugby Championship.
During this period, rugby fans enthusiastically accepted the match style where the champion of the Company Rugby Football Championship and that of the All-Japan University Rugby Championship met to decide the top winner in Japan. This acted as a trigger for Japanese rugby to get out of the slump. (Source: “The 80-Year History of JRFU”)