Asia Rugby Women's Championship
The Asia Rugby Championship for women's national fifteen-a-side teams is a rugby union tournament that has been contested since 2006. Organised by Asia Rugby, there are currently two competition divisions — the Championship, and Division 1. The championship is also the continental qualifying tournament for Asian women's teams in the lead up to the Rugby World Cup, and the WXV.
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 |
| Countries | China Hong Kong Japan Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Laos Philippines Singapore Thailand Uzbekistan |
| Confederation | Asia Rugby |
| Most recent champion(s) |  Japan (2023) |
History
The Asia Rugby Women’s Championship began in 2006, the first tournament was hosted by China in Kunming.[1] Hosts, China, won the inaugural tournament and since then, Kazakhstan has gone on to win five times, Japan four times, and China and Hong Kong has won one each.[1]
Format
The international test calendar was restructured to accommodate the upcoming WXV tournament.[2][3] Asia Rugby announced that the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship would now be played in two tiers as a pathway to the WXV tournament.[4]
The top team in the Championship division will compete in WXV 2 as Asia 1, and the runner-up in WXV 3.[4]
Previous winners
All-time summary
Up to and including the 2023 edition, the following women's teams' Championship division top-3 finishes in tournaments:
| Rank | Team | Champion | Runner‑up | Third place | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 5 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 |  Kazakhstan | 5 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| 3 |  Hong Kong | 1 | 5 | 4 | 10 |
| 4 |  China | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 |  Thailand | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Uzbekistan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (6 entries) | 12 | 12 | 8 | 32 | |
Asia Rugby Championship
| Year | Edn | Host • Teams |
Final placings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asian Rugby Championship | Winner | Runner-up | Third | Fourth | |||
| 2006 | I | Kunming | 4 | China | Hong Kong | Thailand |  Singapore |
| 2007 | II | Kunming | 4 | Kazakhstan | China | Japan | Singapore |
| 2008 | III | Taraz | 6 | Kazakhstan | Japan | Uzbekistan | Singapore |
| 2010* | IV | Tokyo | 2 | Japan | Hong Kong | — | — |
| Asian 4 Nations | Winner | Runner-up | Third | Fourth | |||
| 2012 | V | Kunshan | 4 | Kazakhstan | Japan | Hong Kong | ‡ China |
| 2013 | VI | Almaty | 4 | Kazakhstan | Japan | Hong Kong | † China |
| 2014 | VII | Hong Kong | 4 | Kazakhstan | Hong Kong | Japan | ‡ Singapore |
| Asia Rugby Championship | Winner | Runner-up | Third | Fourth | |||
| 2015 | VIII | round-robin home or away |
3 | Japan | Kazakhstan | Hong Kong | — |
| 2016 | IX | 3 | Japan | Hong Kong | — | ||
| 2017 | X | 2 | Japan | Hong Kong | — | ||
| 2021 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia[5] | ||||||
| 2022 | XI | Hong Kong | 2 | Hong Kong | Kazakhstan | — | — |
| 2023 | XII | Almaty | 3 | Japan | Kazakhstan | Hong Kong | — |
Division tournaments
| Year | Div | Host • Teams |
Final placings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARC Divisions | Winner | Runner-up | Third | Fourth | |||
| 2010a | 2 | Sikuet | 3 |  Laos |
 Philippines |
Thailand |
— |
| 2011 | 2 | Vientiane | 4 | § China |
Thailand |
Philippines |
Laos |
| 2012 | 2 | Manila | 4 | § Singapore |
Thailand |
Philippines |
Laos |
| ARC Div 1 | Winner | Runner-up | Third | Fourth | |||
| 2018 | 1 | Singapore | 3 | § Singapore |
Philippines |
 India |
— |
| 2019 | 1 | Calamba | 4 | § China |
Philippines |
India |
Singapore |
| 2023 | 1 | TBC | 3 | TBC | TBC | TBC | — |
Notes:
^* Some sources suggest that the match in Tokyo was for the 2010 ARFU Division 1 XV Championship.[6]
^† Relegated to the division below.
^‡ Able to be challenged by the winner of the division below to play in a promotion-relegation play-off.
^§ Won promotion, or the right to a challenge play-off for promotion, to the division above.
^a Development tournament organised by ARFU in 2010. The games were 40 minutes long and were not test matches.
See also
References
- "Asia Rugby Women's Championship kicks off in Almaty". Asia Rugby. 2023-05-15. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
- "Rugby World Cup 2025 set to break new ground as tournament expands to 16 teams". www.rugbyworldcup.com. 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
- "Women's Rugby World Cup to be expanded to 16 teams from 2025". Sky Sports. 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
- "Asia Rugby Releases Partial 2023 Tournament Calendar". RugbyAsia247. 2023-02-20. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
- "Statement regarding Rugby World Cup 2021 Final Qualification Tournament". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
- http://www.fira-aer-rugby.com/forum2007/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3671&p=39686#p39686