Asia Rugby Championship

The Asia Rugby Championship, or ARC, is an annual rugby union competition held amongst national rugby sides within the Asia Rugby region.[1] The competition was originally known as the Asian Rugby Football Tournament when founded in 1969, and was called the Asian Five Nations from 2008 to 2014.

Asia Rugby Championship
Recent season or competition
2023 Asia Rugby Championship
SportRugby union
Formerly known asAsian Five Nations
Instituted1969
2008 (as Asian Five Nations)
2015 (ARC)
Governing bodyAsia Rugby
Holders Hong Kong (4 titles)
Most titles Japan (25 titles)

The winner of the competition's top division is recognised as the rugby champion of Asia. The top division, sometimes referred to as the Tri Nations, includes the top three Asian teams each season. Division 1 includes the next four teams and Division 2 includes the next four. Division three is further divided geographically, with each of the West, East and South Central divisions including three teams.

As of 2017, Japan is the most successful team, securing 25 out of a possible 30 titles since 1969. They have not participated in the series since 2017.

History

The competition was formed as the Asian Rugby Football Tournament in 1969.[1] Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Thailand contested the inaugural Asian title. Japan were the champions on that occasion.

The tournament was held biennially for the most of its first four decades. It wasn't until 1982 that South Korea became the second team to win the title. The number of teams participating varied from year to year, with as many as 12 teams competing as other Asian teams joined the competition. From 1969 to 1996, there was a single division split into two groups. But in 1998, a second division was introduced as the game began to grow in Asia.

In 2003, a second Asian competition called the Asian Rugby Series was formed. The Asian Rugby Series ran alongside the Rugby Championship to help determine divisional allocations for the Asian Rugby Championship. With more teams competing, a third division was added to the Rugby Championship in 2004. The dual competitions ran until 2007.

Asian Five Nations Logo

Asian Five Nations (2008–14)

In 2008, the ARFU merged the Rugby Championship and Rugby Series into the Asian Five Nations. The competition became an annual championship and a promotion-relegation format was introduced. The winner of Division 2 replaced the loser of Division 1, and the winner of Division 1 replaced the loser of the Five Nations. For its inaugural years, no Division 3 took place, though several regional divisions were implemented across Asia. During the time of this competition, the main Five Nations division was dominated by Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong; the only three teams never to have been relegated to a lower division.

Asia Rugby Championship (2015 onward)

The competition was revamped again for the 2015 season as the Asia Rugby Championship. Under the new format, the top three teams formed a Tri nations division. A promotion-relegation challenge was instituted whereby the Division 1 winner had to defeat the Tri nations third place-getter to gain promotion for the next season.

Format

The current format sees the competition separated into various divisions, with a promotion and relegation format operated into each division. However, this only applies to Division 1 through 3, as the loser of the Tri Nations Division will play a play-off match against the winner of Division 1 to determine the third Tri Nations team for the following year. Where as the winners of Division 2 will automatically replace the loser of Division 1, and the two bottom placed teams in Division 2 will both be relegated down to one of the three regions in Division 3; West, East or South Central. Each of the three regions are made up three teams, and as of 2015, only the winners of the South Central and East divisions can be promoted to Division 2. This is because, the teams competing in the West region, are not considered as full members by World Rugby.

In 2015 in the main Tri Nations division, each team played each other on a home and away basis, picking up 5 points for a win and 3 for a draw. 2 additional points are up for grabs through bonus points, but in order to earn them, teams need to score 4 or more tries in a match, or when losing, lose by 7 points or less. In 2016 the points awarded were changed to 4 points for a win and 1 point for a draw with bonus points the same. For all Divisions, 1 through to 3, nations will only play each other once, with one of the included teams hosting all matches at home. These teams will also aim to pick points up for a win or draw, and gain bonus points. For all divisions, the team with the most table points wins their respective divisions, and if possible, earns promotion to the next division.

Current divisions

As of 2023, the competition divisions are:

Tri Nations
 Hong Kong
 Malaysia
 South Korea
 Japan
Division 1
 Pakistan
 Philippines
 Singapore
 United Arab Emirates
Division 2
 India
 Kazakhstan
 Qatar

 

Division 3
West
 Iran
 Lebanon
Central
 Mongolia
 Kyrgyzstan
 Uzbekistan
South
 Bangladesh
   Nepal

Previous winners

All-time summary

As of the 2023 Asia Rugby Championship.

RankTeamChampionRunnerupThird placeTotal
1 Japan255030
2 South Korea517729
3 Hong Kong481527
4 Kazakhstan0202
5 Thailand0134
6 Sri Lanka0101
7 Malaysia0044
8 Chinese Taipei0033
9 Singapore0011
 United Arab Emirates0011
Totals (10 entries)343434102

Asia Rugby Championship

Year  Edn Host 
Teams
Final placings
Asian Rugby Tournament Winner Runner-up Third Fourth
1969 I Tokyo 5  Japan  Hong Kong  Thailand  Taiwan
1970 II Bangkok 7  Japan  Thailand  Hong Kong  Singapore
1972 III Hong Kong 7  Japan Hong Kong Thailand Singapore
1974 IV Colombo 8  Japan Sri Lanka South Korea Malaysia
1976 V Tokyo 8  Japan South Korea Chinese Taipei Thailand [2]
1978 VI Kuala Lumpur 7  Japan South Korea Singapore Thailand
1980 VII Taipei 8  Japan South Korea Hong Kong Chinese Taipei
1982 VIII Singapore 8  South Korea Japan Hong Kong Malaysia
1984 IX Fukuoka 8  Japan South Korea Chinese Taipei Thailand
1986 X Bangkok 8  South Korea Japan Thailand [3] Chinese Taipei
1988 XI Hong Kong 8  South Korea Japan Hong Kong Chinese Taipei
1990 XII Colombo 8  South Korea Japan Hong Kong Thailand
1992 XIII Seoul 8  Japan  Hong Kong  South Korea  Thailand
1994 XIV Kuala Lumpur 8  Japan  South Korea  Hong Kong  Chinese Taipei
1996 XV Taipei 7  Japan  South Korea  Hong Kong  Chinese Taipei
Asian Rugby Champs Div I Winner Runner-up Third Fourth
1998 XVI Singapore 4  Japan South Korea Hong Kong Chinese Taipei
2000 XVII Aomori 4  Japan South Korea Chinese Taipei Hong Kong
2002 XVIII Bangkok 4  South Korea Japan Hong Kong Chinese Taipei
2004 XIX Hong Kong 4  Japan South Korea Hong Kong Chinese Taipei
2006 XX Hong Kong 3  Japan South Korea Hong Kong
Asian Five Nations Winner Runner-up Third Fourth
2008 XXI round-robin
home
or
away
5  Japan  South Korea  Hong Kong  Kazakhstan
2009 XXII 5  Japan  Kazakhstan  South Korea  Hong Kong
2010 XXIII 5  Japan  Kazakhstan  Hong Kong Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Arabian Gulf
2011 XXIV 5  Japan  Hong Kong  United Arab Emirates  Kazakhstan
2012 XXV 5  Japan  South Korea  Hong Kong  United Arab Emirates
2013 XXVI 5  Japan  South Korea  Hong Kong  Philippines
2014 XXVII 5  Japan  Hong Kong  South Korea  Philippines*
Asia Rugby Championship Winner Runner-up Third Fourth
2015 XXVIII home
and
away
3  Japan  Hong Kong  South Korea
2016 XXIX 3  Japan  Hong Kong  South Korea
2017 XXX 3  Japan  Hong Kong  South Korea
2018a XXXI 3  Hong Kong  South Korea  Malaysia
2019a XXXII 3  Hong Kong  South Korea  Malaysia
2022 XXXIII play-off 3  Hong Kong  South Korea  Malaysia
2023 XXXIV 3  Hong Kong  South Korea  Malaysia

Notes:

^* Relegated to the division below

^ Able to be challenged by the winner of the division below to play in a promotion-relegation play-off.

^a Japan—as hosts of the 2019 Rugby World Cup–did not defend their Asia rugby Championship title in 2018 to allow the Tri Nations competition to form part of the 2019 Rugby World Cup – Asia qualification process. Instead of returning to the trinations for 2019, Japan played the Pacific Nations to prepare for the World Cup.

Division tournaments

Year Div Host 
Teams
Final placings
ARC Divisions Winner Runner-up Third Fourth
1998 2 Singapore 6  Singapore Sri Lanka Thailand Malaysia
2000 2 Ōwani 4  Singapore China Sri Lanka Thailand
2002 2 Bangkok 7  ThailandCooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Arabian Gulf Singapore Kazakhstan
2004 2 Hong Kong 4  Singapore Thailand KazakhstanCooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Arabian Gulf
3 4  China Sri Lanka India Pakistan
2007 2 Colombo 6  Kazakhstan Sri Lanka China Chinese Taipei
3 3  Iran India Pakistan
Asian Five Nations Divisions Winner Runner-up Third Fourth
2008 1 Taiwan 4 § Singapore  Chinese Taipei  Sri Lanka  China
2 Thailand 4 § Thailand  Malaysia  India   Pakistan
P Guam 3 § Philippines § Guam  Brunei
C Sri Lanka 3 § Iran  Uzbekistan  Kyrgyzstan
SE Indonesia 3 § Indonesia  Laos  Cambodia
2009 1 Dubai 4 § Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Arabian Gulf  Chinese Taipei  Sri Lanka  Thailand
2 Malaysia 4 § Malaysia  China  India  Pakistan
3 Philippines 4 § Philippines  Guam  Iran   Indonesia
C Uzbekistan 3 § Uzbekistan  Kyrgyzstan  Mongolia
SE Laos 3 § Laos  Brunei  Cambodia
2010 1 Singapore 4 § Sri Lanka  Singapore  Malaysia  Chinese Taipei
2 India 4 §  Philippines  India  Thailand  China
3 Indonesia 4 § Iran  Pakistan  Guam   Indonesia
4 Kazakhstan 4 § Jordan  Uzbekistan Kazakhstan Almaty Select   Mongolia
2011 1 South Korea 4 § South Korea  Singapore  Philippines  Malaysia
2 Thailand 4 § Chinese Taipei  Thailand  Iran  India
3 Indonesia 4 § China  Guam  Indonesia   Pakistan
4 Dubai 4 § Qatar  Lebanon  Jordan   Uzbekistan
5 Cambodia
& Laos
2 § Laos  Cambodia
2012 1 Philippines 4 § Philippines  Sri Lanka  Chinese Taipei  Singapore
2 Malaysia 4 § Thailand  Malaysia  Iran  China
3 Indonesia 4 § India  Guam  Indonesia  Pakistan
4 Dubai 4 § Qatar  Lebanon  Jordan   Uzbekistan
5 Cambodia 3 § Laos  Brunei  Cambodia
2013 1 Sri Lanka 4 § Sri Lanka  Kazakhstan  Chinese Taipei  Thailand
2 Malaysia 4 § Singapore  Malaysia  Iran  India
3 4 § Qatar  Guam  Indonesia   China
4 Dubai 4 § Lebanon  Pakistan  Uzbekistan   Laos
5 Cambodia 2 § Cambodia  Brunei
2014 1 Dubai &
Hong Kong
4   Kazakhstan
  Singapore
 United Arab Emirates
 Chinese Taipei
2 Qatar 4   Malaysia  Qatar  Iran  Thailand
3E Laos 4   China  Guam  Indonesia  Laos
3W Pakistan 4   Lebanon  Uzbekistan  India  Pakistan
4 Brunei 3   Mongolia  Cambodia  Brunei
ARC Divisions Winner Runner-up Third Fourth
2015 1 Philippines 4   Sri Lanka  Philippines  Kazakhstan  Singapore
2 Malaysia 4 § Malaysia  United Arab Emirates  Chinese Taipei  Thailand
3E Indonesia 3 § Guam  China  Indonesia
3SC Uzbekistan 2 § Uzbekistan  India
3W Lebanon 3   Lebanon  Iran  Jordan
2016 1 Malaysia 4   Malaysia  Sri Lanka  Philippines  Singapore
2 Uzbekistan 4   UnitedArabEmirites  Thailand  Guam  Uzbekistan
3E Thailand 2   Laos  Indonesia
3WC Qatar 3   Qatar  Lebanon  Iran
3W Jordan 3   Jordan United Arab Emirates UAE Shaheen  Saudi Arabia
2017 1 Malaysia 4 § Malaysia  Sri Lanka  Philippines   United Arab Emirates
2 Taiwan 4 § Singapore  Thailand  Chinese Taipei   India
3W Uzbekistan 3   Lebanon  Uzbekistan  Iran
2018 1 Philippines 2   Philippines  Singapore
2 Thailand 3 § Chinese Taipei  Thailand  India
3E Brunei 3   Guam  China  Brunei
3C Kazakhstan 4   Kazakhstan  Pakistan  Mongolia  Kyrgyzstan
3W Lebanon 4   Lebanon  Iran  Qatar  Jordan
2019 1 Taipei 4   Philippines  Singapore  Sri Lanka  Chinese Taipei
2 Thailand 4   UnitedArabEmirites  Thailand  Kazakhstan  Guam
3ES Indonesia 3   China  India  Indonesia
3C Pakistan 2   Pakistan  Uzbekistan
3W Qatar 3   Qatar  Lebanon  Jordan
2022 2 Pakistan 2   Pakistan  Thailand
3C Kyrgyzstan 4   Kazakhstan  Uzbekistan  Mongolia  Kyrgyzstan
3W Al Ain 2   Qatar  Iran
3S India 3   India  Bangladesh    Nepal
2023 1 Pakistan 2   United Arab Emirates  Pakistan
2 Qatar 3   Qatar  Kazakhstan  India
3C 2  
3S 3  
3W 2  

Notes:

^ Relegated to the division below.

^§ Won promotion, or the right to a challenge play-off for promotion, to the division above.

See also

References

  1. "History". Asia Rugby. 2016. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  2. "Asian Championship 1986". Rugby Archive. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  3. "Asian Championship 1986". Rugby Archive. Archived from the original on 2018-06-24. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
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