Asia Rugby Championship Premier Division 2019 kicks off

The Premier Division of the Asia Rugby Championship is set to kick off in South Korea on Saturday 18th May 2019, as the hosts take on Malaysia.

Premier Division Asia Rugby Championship 2019

ARC Premier Division 2019 rugby union XVs- Source South Korea Rugby

The Premier Division in 2019 includes Hong Kong, Korea, and Malaysia. Japan is not competing in 2019 due to their involvement at the Rugby World Cup.

The Division includes home and away fixtures, the only division in the Asia Rugby Championship which has this format.

In last years tournament, South Korea beat Malaysia home and away and Malaysia didn’t secure a win in the competition. Hong Kong won all 4 games in 2018 to win the Division and attempt to qualify for the RWC 2019.

Malaysia has just come off a number of warm-up and test match games. Their Barbarians team lost to Sri Lanka 14-55 before the main test team won the second game 31-26 versus Sri Lanka.

All ARC Premier fixtures 2019

Game #1

• Teams: South Korea vs Malaysia
• Date: Saturday, 18th May 2019
• Venue: Namdong Asiad Stadium Incheon

Game #2

• Teams: Malaysia vs South Korea
• Date: Saturday, 25th May 2019
• Venue: Stadium National Bukit Jalil

Game #3

• Teams: South Korea vs Hong Kong
• Date: Saturday, 8th June 2019
• Venue: Namdong Asiad Stadium Incheon

Game #4

• Teams: Hong Kong vs Malaysia
• Date: Saturday, 15th June 2019
• Venue: Hong Kong Football Club

Game #5

• Teams: Malaysia vs Hong Kong
• Date: Saturday, 22nd June 2019
• Venue: Stadium National Bukit Jalil

Game #6

• Teams: Hong Kong vs South Korea
• Date: Saturday, 29th June 2019
• Venue: Hong Kong Football Club

Current World Rugby Rankings

• Hong Kong (25)
• South Korea (30)
• Malaysia (45)

Source: World Rugby

The games should be streamed by Asia Rugby or the respective Rugby Unions.

Division 2 ARC games are also taking place on Saturday in Thailand.