2016 Asia Rugby Championship

The 2016 Asia Rugby Championship, or ARC, was the second annual tri-nations series for top-level rugby union in Asia and the twenty-ninth continental championship for the Asia Rugby nations. The Asia Rugby Championship replaced the former Asian Five Nations in 2015, with only three nations competing in the top division instead of the previous five. The 2016 series included Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea. Other Asian nations competed in the lower division tournaments.

2016 Asia Rugby Championship
Date30 April – 4 June
Countries Hong Kong
 Japan
 South Korea
Final positions
Champions Japan (24th title)
Tournament statistics
Matches played6
Tries scored54 (9 per match)
Top scorer(s)Hong Kong Benjamin Rimene (50)
Most triesJapan Kentaro Kodama (7)
Websitewww.asiarugby.com
2015
2017

The format of the competition is a double round-robin where the top-three nations play each other twice on a home and away basis. The team finishing on top of the standings is declared the winner, and the bottom-placed team is subject to a promotion-relegation play-off against the winner of Division 1,[1][2] although this opportunity to challenge is often declined.

Teams

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The teams involved, with their world rankings prior to the 2016 tournament in brackets:

Nation Home stadium City Head coach Captain
  Japan (10) Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
Yokohama
Tokyo
  Ryuji Nakatake Keisuke Uchida
  Hong Kong (23) Hong Kong Football Club Stadium Hong Kong   Leigh Jones Nick Hewson
  South Korea (29) Namdong Asiad Rugby Stadium Incheon   John Walters Shin Dong Won

Standings

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Champions
Will play in the top 3 challenge
Position Nation Games Points Points
Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Difference BP1 BP2 Total
1   Japan 4 4 0 0 242 23 +219 4 0 20
2   Hong Kong 4 2 0 2 95 139 -44 2 0 10
3   South Korea 4 0 0 4 45 220 -175 1 1 2
Source: rugbyarchive.net Archived 2018-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
Four points for a win, two for a draw, one bonus point for four tries or more (BP1) and one bonus point for losing by seven or less (BP2).

Fixtures

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Week 1

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30 April 2016
14:00 JST (UTC+9)
Japan  85–0  South Korea
Try: H. Yamashita (3) 1' m, 5' c, 26' m
K. Kodama (5) 14' c, 29' c, 42' m, 67' c, 72' m,
R. Yamanaka 20' c
K. Uchida 40+1' c
R. Nakamura 52' c
T. Tatafu 76' c
A. Moeakiola 80' c
Con: R. Yamanaka (7/9) 7', 16', 21', 27', 30', 40+2', 53'
R. Nakamura (3/4) 68', 76', 80+1'
Asia Rugby Report
JRFU Details
Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium, Yokohama
Attendance: 4,698
Referee: Patrick Kwok
FB 15 Ryuji Noguchi
RW 14 Hajime Yamashita   67'
OC 13 Takuya Ishibashi
IC 12 Ryoto Nakamura
LW 11 Kentaro Kodama
FH 10 Ryohei Yamanaka   64'
SH 9 Keisuke Uchida (c)   62'
N8 8 Tevita Tatafu
OF 7 Taiyo Ando   64'
BF 6 Hiroki Yamamoto
RL 5 Kazuhiko Usami
LL 4 Kotaro Yatabe   62'
TP 3 Yu Chinen   67'
HK 2 Futoshi Mori   67'
LP 1 Kengo Kitagawa   53'
Replacements:
PR 16 Kanta Higashionna   53'
HK 17 Atsushi Sakate   67'
PR 18 Takayuki Watanabe   67'
LK 19 Naohiro Kotaki   62'
N8 20 Tsuyoshi Murata   64'
SH 21 Daisuke Inoue   62'
CE 22 Doga Maeda   64'
CE 23 Ataata Moeakiola   67'
Coach:
  Ryuji Nakatake
FB 15 Nam Young Soo
RW 14 Jang Seong Min   39' to 50'
OC 13 Jegal Bin   21'
IC 12 Lim Sang Jin
LW 11 Kim Jin hyeok
FH 10 Oh Youn-hyung   46'
SH 9 Shin Ki Cheol
N8 8 Han Kun Kyu   72'
OF 7 Kim Hyun Soo
BF 6 Park Soon Chai
RL 5 Nam Jong Song   55'
LL 4 Youn Kwon Woo   76'
TP 3 Shin Dong Won (c)   48'
HK 2 Kim Min Kyu   62'
LP 1 Na Kwan Young
Replacements:
HK 16 Chong Kwi Hong   62'
PR 17 Kang Tae Hyeon   72'
PR 18 Kim Myeong Hwan   76'
FL 19 Shin Dah Yeon   55'
N8 20 Hwang In Jo   48'
SH 21 Ahn Sang Ho
FB 22 Oh Jim Yeong   46'
WG 23 Kim Sung Soo   21'
Coach:
  John Walters

Week 2

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7 May 2016
16:30 HKT (UTC+8)
Hong Kong  3–38  Japan
Pen: B. Rimene 15'HKRU Report
JRFU Report
Try: S. Kin 4' c
K. Uchida 11' m
K. Kodama 22' c
R. Nakamura 54' c
H. Yamamoto 63' c, 76' m
Con: R. Yamanaka (4/6) 5', 22', 54', 64'
Hong Kong Football Club Stadium, Hong Kong
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Tatu Otsuki
FB 15 Alexander McQueen
RW 14 Ryan Meacheam   52'
OC 13 James Robinson   52'
IC 12 Lee Jones
LW 11 Salom Yiu Kam Shing
FH 10 Benjamin Rimene
SH 9 Jamie Hood   52'
N8 8 Daniel Falvey
OF 7 Toby Fenn
BF 6 Nick Hewson (c)
RL 5 Paul Dywer
LL 4 Adrian Griffiths   52'
TP 3 Jack Parfitt   40'
HK 2 Jamie Tsang   25'
LP 1 Adam Fullgrabe   40'
Replacements:
HK 16 Lachlan Chubb   25'
PR 17 Hon Wum Wei   40'
PR 18 Alex Ng   40'
LK 19 James Cunningham   52'
N8 20 Jack Delaforce
SH 21 Eliesa Kaleca Rauca   52'
CE 22 Cado Lee   52'
FH 23 Niall Rowark   52'
Coach:
  Leigh Jones
FB 15 Ryuji Noguchi
RW 14 Hajime Yamashita   52'
OC 13 Takuya Ishibashi   70'
IC 12 Ryoto Nakamura
LW 11 Kentaro Kodama
FH 10 Ryohei Yamanaka
SH 9 Keisuke Uchida (c)   66'
N8 8 Tevita Tatafu   56'
OF 7 Shokei Kin
BF 6 Tsuyoshi Murata
RL 5 Kazuhiko Usami
LL 4 Naohiro Kotaki   58'
TP 3 Yu Chinen   66'
HK 2 Futoshi Mori   63'
LP 1 Kanta Higashionna   70'
Replacements:
PR 16 Syogo Miura   70'
HK 17 Atsushi Sakate   63'
PR 18 Takayuki Watanabe   66'
LK 19 Kotaro Yatabe   58'
FL 20 Hiroki Yamamoto   56'
SH 21 Daisuke Inoue   66'
CE 22 Doga Maeda   70'
WG 23 Ataata Moeakiola   52'
Coach:
  Ryuji Nakatake

Week 3

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14 May 2016
12:00 KST(UTC+9)
South Korea  27-34  Hong Kong
Try: Lee Jae Bok 9' m, 63' c
Kim Sung Soo 38' c
Na Kwan Yong 71' m
Con: Lee Soop Yeong (2/3) 39', 64'
Oh Jim Yeong (0/1)
Pen: Lee Soop Yeong (1/1) 47',
Asia Rugby Report
HKRU Starting XV
Try: A. MuQueen 3' c, 50' c
J. Hood 56' c
B. Rimeme 77' c
Con: B. Rimene (4/4) 4', 50', 57', 78'
Pen: B. Rimene (2/2) 13', 19'
Namdong Asiad Rugby Stadium, Incheon
FB 15 Lee Jae Bok
RW 14 Jang Seong Min
OC 13 Kim Sung Soo
IC 12 Kim Jin Hyeok   48' to 58'
LW 11 Lee Soop Yeong
FH 10 Oh Jim Yeong
SH 9 Shin Ki Cheol
N8 8 Han Kun Kyu
OF 7 Kim Hyun Soo
BF 6 Park Soon Chai
RL 5 Kim Sang Jin
LL 4 Youn Kwon Woo
TP 3 Shin Dong Won (c)
HK 2 Na Kwan Young
LP 1 Chong Kwi Hong
Coach:
  John Walters
FB 15 Alexander McQueen
RW 14 Ryan Meacheam
OC 13 James Robinson
IC 12 Lex Kaleca
LW 11 Salom Yiu Kam Shing
FH 10 Benjamin Rimene
SH 9 Jamie Hood
N8 8 Daniel Falvey
OF 7 Toby Fenn
BF 6 Nick Hewson (c)
RL 5 Paul Dywer
LL 4 Adrian Griffiths
TP 3 Rohan Cook
HK 2 Jamie Tsang
LP 1 Adam Fullgrabe
Replacements:
HK 16 Lachlan Chubb
PR 17 Wei Hon Wum
PR 18 Alex Ng
LK 19 James Cunningham
N8 20 Jack Delaforce
SH 21 Lee Jones
CE 22 Cado Lee
FH 23 Niall Rowark
Coach:
  Leigh Jones

Week 4

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21 May 2016
12:00 KST(UTC+9)
South Korea  3-60  Japan
Pen: Oh Jim Yeong (1/2) 2'Asia Rugby Report
JRFU Report
Try: Atsushi Sakate (2) 5' m, 49' c
Ryohei Yamanaka (2) 26' m, 32' c
Keisuke Uchida 12' m
Penalty try 23' c
Kentaro Kodama 53' m
Kotaro Yatabe 61' c
Takuhei Yasuda 73' m
Ryuji Noguchi 80'c
Con: Ryoto Nakamura (2/6) 24', 80+1'
Ryohei Yamanaka (3/4) 33', 50', 62'
Namdong Asiad Rugby Stadium, Incheon
Attendance: 500
Referee: Matt Rodden (Hong Kong)
FB 15 Lee Jae Bok
RW 14 Nam Young Soo
OC 13 Kim Sung Soo   72'
IC 12 Kim Jin Hyeok   55'
LW 11 Lee Soo Pyeong
FH 10 Oh Jim Yeong
SH 9 Shin Ki Cheol   76'
N8 8 Hwang In Jo   28'
OF 7 Kim Hyun Soo   53' to 63'
BF 6 Shin Da Hyeon
RL 5 Kim Sang Jin   73'
LL 4 Youn Kwon Woo   16' to 26'
TP 3 Shin Dong Won (c)   75'
HK 2 Na Kwan Young   25'
LP 1 Chong Kwi Hong   62'
Replacements:
16 Kang Tae Hyeon   62'
17 Kim Min Kyo   25'
18 Kim Myeong Hwan   75'
19 Nam Jong Song   73'
20 Son Min Su   28'
21 Lee Sung Bae   76'
22 Oh Youn Hyung   55'
23 Kim In Kyu   72'
Coach:
  John Walters
FB 15 Ryohei Yamanaka   71'
RW 14 Takuhei Yasuda
OC 13 Doga Maeda
IC 12 Takuya Ishibashi
LW 11 Kentaro Kodama   66'
FH 10 Ryoto Nakamura
SH 9 Keisuke Uchida (c)   73'
N8 8 Hiroki Yamamoto
OF 7 Shokei Kin   71'
BF 6 Masato Furukawa
RL 5 Naohiro Kotaki   62'
LL 4 Kotaro Yatabe
TP 3 Takayuki Watanabe   71'
HK 2 Atsushi Sakate   71'
LP 1 Kanta Higashionna   50'
Replacements:
PR 16 Shogo Miura   50'
HK 17 Daigo Hashimoto   71'
PR 18 Kengo Kitagawa   71'
LK 19 Kazuhiko Usami   62'
N8 20 Faulua Makisi   71'
SH 21 Daiki Nakajima   73'
CE 22 Ryuji Noguchi   71'
FH 23 Hajime Yamashita   66'
Coach:
  Ryuji Nakatake

Week 5

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28 May 2016
14:00 JST (UTC+9)
Japan  59-17  Hong Kong
Try: N. Kotaki 24' c
T. Ishibashi (2) 28' c, 47' c
A. Moeakiola (2) 35' c, 60' c
H. Yamamoto 41' c
D. Maeda 53' c
Penalty try 73' c
Con: R. Nakamura (8/8) 25', 29', 36', 41', 48', 54', 61', 73'
Pen: R. Nakamura (1/1) 40+1'
Asia Rugby Report
JRFU Report
HKRU Report
Try: A. Griffiths 19' c
J. Cunningham 44' c
Con: B. Rimene (2/2) 20', 45'
Pen: B. Rimene (1/1) 13'
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo
Attendance: 5,771
Referee: Tim Baker
FB 15 Ryuji Noguchi
RW 14 Ataata Moeakiola   63'
OC 13 Doga Maeda
IC 12 Takuya Ishibashi
LW 11 Kentaro Kodama
FH 10 Ryoto Nakamura
SH 9 Keisuke Uchida (c)   70'
N8 8 Tevita Tatafu   65'
OF 7 Shokei Kin
BF 6 Hiroki Yamamoto   47'
RL 5 Kazuhiko Usami
LL 4 Naohiro Kotaki   56'
TP 3 Takayuki Watanebe   53'
HK 2 Atsushi Sakate   67'
LP 1 Kengo Kitagawa   56'
Replacements:
PR 16 Shogo Miura   56'
HK 17 Diago Hashimoto   67'
PR 18 Yu Chinen   53'
LK 19 Kotaro Yatabe   56'
FL 20 Faulua Makisi   47'
SH 21 Daiki Nakajima   70'
CE 22 Takuhei Yasuda   63'
WG 23 Masato Furukawa   65'
Coach:
  Ryuji Nakatake
FB 15 Alexander McQueen
RW 14 Ryan Meacheam
OC 13 James Robinson
IC 12 Tyler Spitz   56'
LW 11 Rowan Varty
FH 10 Ben Rimene   53'
SH 9 Cado Lee Ka To   61'
N8 8 Daniel Falvey (c)   61'
OF 7 Matt Lamming
BF 6 James Cunningham
RL 5 Adrian Griffiths
LL 4 Jack Delaforce   41'
TP 3 Jack Parfitt   40'
HK 2 Lachlan Chubb   54'
LP 1 Ben Higgins   47'
Replacements:
HK 16 Jamie Tsang   54'
PR 17 Adam Fullgrabe   47'
PR 18 Alex Ng Wai-Shing   40'
LK 19 Nick Hewson   41'
N8 20 Tony Wong Ho Yeung   61'
SH 21 Lee Jones   56'
CE 22 Adam Rolston   61'
FH 23 Niall Rowark   53'
Coach:
  Leigh Jones

Week 6

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4 June 2016
16:30 HKT (UTC+8)
Hong Kong  41-15  South Korea
Try: B. Rimene 11' c
T. Fenn 30' c
Ryan Meacheam 40' c, 48' c
J. Robinson 80' c
Con: B. Rimene (5/5) 12', 30', 40+1', 49', 80'
Pen: B. Rimene (2/2) 22', 70'
Asian Rugby Report
HKRU Report
Try: Lee Soop Yeong 6' c
Kim Min Kyu 26' m
Con: Lee Soop Yeong (1/2) 7'
Pen: Lee Soop Yeong (1/1) 36'
Hong Kong Football Club Stadium, Hong Kong
FB 15 Lee Jae Bok
RW 14 Lim Sang Jin
OC 13 Kim Seon Gu
IC 12 Kim Sung Soo
LW 11 Lee Soop Yeong
FH 10 Jung Bu Hyon
SH 9 Shin Ki Cheol
N8 8 Son Min Su
OF 7 Kim Hyun Soo
BF 6 Shin Da Hyeon
RL 5 Kim Sang Jin
LL 4 Youn Kwon Woo
TP 3 Shin Dong Won (c)
HK 2 Kim Min Kyu
LP 1 Kang Tae Hyeon
Coach:
  John Walters
FB 15 Alexander McQueen
RW 14 Ryan Meacheam
OC 13 James Robinson
IC 12 Tyler Spitz
LW 11 Salom Yiu Kam Shing
FH 10 Benjamin Rimene
SH 9 Jamie Hood
N8 8 Daniel Falvey
OF 7 Toby Fenn
BF 6 Nicholas Hewson (c)
RL 5 Paul Dywer
LL 4 Adrian Griffiths
TP 3 Jack Parfitt
HK 2 Lachlan Chubb
LP 1 Benjamin Higgins
Replacements:
HK 16 Jamie Tsang
PR 17 Adam Fullgrade
PR 18 Alex Ng Wai Shing
LK 19 Finlay Field
N8 20 James Cunningham
SH 21 Cado Lee Ka-to
CE 22 Lex Kaleca   63' to 73'
FH 23 Niall Rowark
Coach:
  Leigh Jones

Top 3 Challenge

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Division 1 winners, Malaysia did not choose to participate in the promotion-relegation play-off. Meaning the composition of next series of the tournament remains the same.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Asia Rugby Calendar 2016 | Asia Rugby". Archived from the original on 2016-08-13. Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  2. ^ "Asia Rugby Championship 2016 | Asia Rugby". Archived from the original on 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  3. ^ Idris, Wan Noriza Meor (16 May 2016). "Find us a home, plead MRU". Malay Mail Online. Retrieved 16 May 2016.