The second and final leg of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series 2023 (ARSS) will be played in Bangkok, Thailand this weekend from 14-15 October 2023 at the Royal Thai Police Stadium, and will determine the champions this year as well as the teams which qualify for the Challenger Series.
Following the first leg of the ARSS 2023, which was held in South Korea and won by the Japanese women and men, the Asian Games were held and saw the Hong Kong China men and Chinese women take gold.
Rivalries have been building and the shortened versions of the Series this year mean it’s all on the line in Thailand to determine the 2023 ARSS champions, but standings are also important for teams hoping to have another crack at the Challenger Sevens Series in 2024, and the final standings also determine the seeding for the Asia Rugby Regional Qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympics!
How Are The Asia Rugby Sevens Series 2023 Winners Determined?
With the ARSS 2023 being a two-leg series, the lack of a usual third-leg decider makes it a bit more complicated, as we could easily find ourselves with separate winners from each of the two legs for the women and men.
We have asked Asia Rugby to clarify the permutations and regulations to determine the Series winners, but our understanding is that it could be head-to-head if two teams each have gold and silver in the series. For example. if HKCR men win in Bangkok, and Japan finish second, the Japanese will be the series champions as they would have beaten HKCR 2-1 over the course of the series.
Something similar could come into play for the ladies if it is the Japanese and Chinese women competing in the final, but we don’t know what the criteria are going to separate them if they have the same number of victories over each other in the ARSS 2023 series.
We are also waiting for Asia Rugby to clarify how many teams will progress to the Challenger Series (which World Rugby has also released limited information on). In 2022, the top two men’s and three women’s teams from Asia qualified.
See all of the results from the ARSS 2023 Leg 1 here for the women and men.
Asia Rugby Sevens Series 2023 – Match Officials
Asia Rugby confirmed the team of match officials who will take charge of the fixtures in Bangkok at the Royal Thai Police Stadium*. In addition to the list below, AR says that Thailand Rugby Union (TRU) match officials “will also get the opportunity to take part as Assistant Referees and also take on other match officials’ roles by shadowing the Television Match Officials Panel officials during the tournament.”
*The Royal Thai Police Stadium is also called the Boonyachinda Stadium where Bangkok hosts the leg of the ARSS in 2022.
Match Referees
- Shenggang Qu – CRFA
- Morgan White – HKCR
- Chan Craig – HKCR
- Tetsuka – JRFU
- Hibiki Ikeda – JRFU
- Christabelle Lim Mee – SRU
- James Grant Perry – SRU
- Leow Wei Liang – SRU
Performance Reviewers / TMO
- Taku Otsuki – JRFU
- Greg Hinton – MGRU
- Matt Roden – HKCR
Referee Manager
- George Danapal – Asia Rugby
Citing Commissioners (CC)
- Senanayake Wimal Rohan – Asia Rugby
- Mohammed Azhar Bin Yusof – Asia Rugby
Judicial Officer (JO)
- Edwin Kung – Asia Rugby
ARSS 2023 Bangkok Pools
As more teams announce their squads, we will update this article.
Women’s Sevens Rugby – ARSS 2023 Bangkok
The full match schedule for the women will be updated by Asia Rugby here.
Japan just edged out China in the first leg (although China got revenge by beating Sakura 7s to claim the Asian Games gold) and the two highly matched sides are likely to be in the final again this weekend.
The chasing pack contains HKCR, Thailand, and Kazakhstan, with the Thais picking up bronze in South Korea, but Hong Kong China secured bronze in Hangzhou so they are definitely in the mix in Bangkok. Its unclear how many of the Kazakh Nomad 7s regulars are with the WXV squad that will also be competing this weekend in Dubai so they could be under strength.
It has not been confirmed if there will be relegation from the ARSS to the Trophy Series in 2024 (we assume there will be), so the Philippines and Malaysia will be fighting to avoid the drop.
Current standings after Leg#1:
- Japan
- China
- Thailand
- Hong Kong China
- Kazakhstan
- Singapore
- Philipines
- Malaysia
Pool A
- Japan
- Hong Kong, China
- Kazakhstan
- Malaysia
Japan Women’s Squad ARSS 2023 Bangkok
HCKR Women’s Squad
Malaysia Women’s ARSS 2023 Squad
Pool B
- China
- Thailand
- Singapore
- Philipines
Singapore Women’s Squad
Philippines Women’s Squad – Men’s Sevens Rugby – ARSS 2023 Bangkok
Women’s Sevens Rugby – ARSS 2023 Bangkok Match Schedule
Men’s Sevens Rugby – ARSS 2023 Bangkok
The full match schedule for the women will be updated by Asia Rugby here.
With Japan winning the first round of the ARSS 2023 in South Korea and denying Hong Kong their first gold medal in many tournaments in Asia, HKCR did manage to retain the gold at the Asian Games against another longtime foe in South Korea – all three are the likely top contender in Bangkok.
HKCR need to win the title in Bangkok and hope Japan do not make the final to retain the Asia Rugby Sevens Series title in 2023.
UAE and China are both pooled with the Japanese in Pool A and will be formidable, but HKCR themselves can’t afford to look beyond qualification from Pool B, as South Korea is in their group too.
At the bottom end of the standings, much like for the women, it is Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines looking to avoid the drop.
Current standings after Leg#1:
- Japan
- Hong Kong China
- South Korea
- UAE
- China
- Singapore
- Malaysia
- Philippines
Pool A
- Japan
- UAE
- China
- Philippines
Japanese Men’s Squad
Philippines Men’s Squad
Pool B
- Hong Kong China
- South Korea
- Singapore
- Malaysia
HKCR Men’s Squad
Callum McCULLOUGH, Harry SAYERS, Pierce MACKINLAY-WEST, Max DENMARK, James CHRISTIE, Liam DOHERTY, Liam HERBERT, LEE Ka To Cado ©, Sebastian BRIEN, Russell WEBB, Bryn PHILLIPS, FONG Kit Fung, MAK Kwai Chung
Singapore Men’s Squad
Malaysia Men’s Squad ARSS 2023 Bangkok
Men’s Sevens Rugby – ARSS 2023 Bangkok Match Schedule
Asian Rugby Competition News 2023
- WXV 3 Team Guide – Kazakhstan Nomads.
- WXV 2 2023 Team Guide – Japan Sakura Fifteen.
- WXV 2023 Match Schedule Confirmed,
- Japan Hosts Asian Sevens Rugby Qualifiers For Paris 2024 Olympics.
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