The final round of the Asia Rugby Sevens 2019 was played in Sri Lanka over the course of two days. The Japanese teams (Men and Women) were crowned the 2019 champions.
Women’s Asia Rugby Sevens
The Japanese Women completed a 2019 clean sweep winning the 3rd and final round in Sri Lanka 7s which means they are the Asia Rugby Women’s Series 2019 title champions.
The Thai ladies were the surprise package in Sri Lanka, reaching their second ever final (last having done so in Bangkok, in May 2009 where they lost to China.) The Thais had upset Hong Kong on day one to demote the HK ladies to the Plate.
In the semi-finals of the Cup, Thailand beat Kazakhstan 12-7 while Japan beat China 22-14 to set up the final. The Japanese were too strong winning 26-5.
Hong Kong won the plate, beating Singapore 22-5 while Sri Lanka beat Malaysia to 7th place with a 17-7 victory.
Singapore Ladies are relegated to the Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Trophy 2020.
Final standings:
- Japan
- China
- Kazakhstan
- Thailand
- Hong Kong
- Sri Lanka
- Malaysia
- Singapore (will be relegated to AR Women’s Sevens Trophy 2020)
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Men’s Asia Rugby Sevens
The Japanese men also claimed the win in Sri Lanka, overcoming the disappointment in round 2 in China to make it a double for Japan, claiming the Men’s overall 2019 AR Sevens Series title.
The top four men’s teams were the usual suspects in the final round, with Japan easily overcoming Sri Lanka 45-0 in the semi-final and HK dispatching China 24-19. In another closely contested final, Japan beat the Hong Kong team 17-12 to take the honours.
The Philippines beat the UAE 19-14 for the Plate and Chinese Taipei beat Korea to 7th place with a 19-12 win, however, Chinese Taipei still relegated in 2020 to the AR Sevens Trophy.
Photo Credit: Asia Rugby
Final standings:
- Japan
- Hong Kong
- China
- Sri Lanka
- South Korea
- Philippines
- UAE
- Chinese Taipei (will be relegated to AR Sevens Trophy 2020)
See all the AR Sevens results here.
HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020/2021
The results from Asia Rugby Sevens Series sees “Hong Kong safely through to the two-leg, 16-team qualification series for the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020/2021 next year in South America” said a press release from HK Rugby.
The tournament will be used to qualify 8 teams who can participate at the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens to gain entry into the core series. The HK ladies, however, will miss out on admission to the women’s seven series qualifiers next year due to the results in Sri Lanka.
Hong Kong Men will also qualify as top seeds for the Olympic qualifiers in Korea Nov 23-24.
The SEA Games 2019 takes place in the Philippines this December while the Asian Olympic 7s Qualifiers will be played in China in November. Read more about these and other 7s events here.
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