Asia Rugby has published its much-anticipated competitions calendar for 2024 with the Men’s and Women’s Championships featuring as the centerpiece of this year’s rugby competitions.
In the Asia Rugby Men’s Championship, the spotlight will be on the continent’s top four 15-a-side teams. Reigning champions Hong Kong China, Korea, Malaysia, and the recently promoted UAE are set to engage in a round-robin format, providing fans six thrilling opportunities to witness these top Asian teams vie for the coveted title of Asian Champions in four different countries.
The Asia Rugby Women’s Championship serves as a Rugby World Cup Qualifier. The team that lifts the Championship trophy also clinches a prized direct spot in the 2025 World Cup. The Championship will showcase the talents of the top three women’s 15 teams in Asia; reigning champions Japan, Hong Kong China and Kazakhstan will go head-to-head to decide the title in May, in Hong Kong.
The last game of the Women’s Championship will feature as part of an exciting doubleheader, slated to be played on the same day as the Hong Kong China vs. UAE, Asia Rugby Men’s Championship game.
The Asia Rugby Women’s Championship will also be supported by a Division 1 tournament hosted by Rugby India in December.
The Asia Rugby Championship Schedule
The Asia Rugby Men’s Championship kicks off on Saturday, 1st June when Hong Kong China takes on the United Arab Emirates in Hong Kong. In Incheon, Korea, on the following day, Korea clashes with Malaysia.
The action resumes on Saturday, 8th June, when Malaysia lock horns with Hong Kong China in Kuala Lumpur. This same weekend, on Sunday, 9th June, UAE and Korea will battle it out in Dubai, UAE.
On Friday, 21st June, UAE and Malaysia will compete in Dubai, UAE, and the championship concludes in Hong Kong China on Saturday, 22nd June, with the highly anticipated clash between Hong Kong China, and Korea.
The Asia Rugby Men’s Championship will be supported by two Divisional Tournaments, Division 1 features as the first tournament of the year, scheduled to be contested in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in early May. This event marks the eagerly awaited return of the Sri Lanka Men’s 15s team, which hopes to leverage home advantage to secure promotion to the top-tier Asia Rugby Championship.
After successfully hosting the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship in 2023, Kazakhstan Rugby has been granted the rights to host Asia Rugby Men’s Division 2, in Almaty in May.
The Asia Rugby Sevens Series, promises to be the highlight of the Sevens season. The Series will be played in three legs. With the immense success of tournaments in Korea and Thailand, both are becoming regular stops on the Sevens Series calendar and are confirmed for 2024 as well as the 2025 season. The host and dates for the third leg of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series are being finalised and will be confirmed soon.
The Sevens Series features Asia’s top eight Men’s and Women’s 7s teams. With the UAE Women’s and Thailand Men’s teams earning promotions last year, the 2024 Series will see the men’s and women’s teams of Japan, Hong Kong China, China, Malaysia, Singapore, UAE, and Thailand contesting, with Korea’s Men’s and Kazakhstan’s Women’s teams rounding out the 16-team competition.
The second tier Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy along with the new Asia Rugby Sevens Challenge will take place in the picturesque valley of Kathmandu in the first week of October, featuring both men’s and women’s teams.
Nepal has become another valuable rugby destination for Asia Rugby competitions after successfully hosting the U18 and U20 7s in the past two years.
This year the U18 7s tournament will be played in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, in September. The tournament provides the first chance to see the future stars of rugby in Asia in action.
All in All
The 2024 season provides rugby fans a valuable opportunity to travel to spectacular destinations across Asia, to enjoy the culture, food, and Asian hospitality, while at the same time being treated to some great rugby. Rugby enthusiasts around the world will also be able to watch every moment of every match in real-time as they are live-streamed on the Asia Rugby Facebook and YouTube channels.
2024 Competitions Calendar
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