The first Asia Rugby Men’s Divisional championships are due to get underway soon, and until this past week we were all still waiting for confirmation of which teams are involved in the relevant divisions (and to be honest are still waiting for clarification), but other XVs tests are being planned over the upcoming coming months.
Asia Rugby Division 1 & 2 2024 – XVs Tests
Asia Rugby Men’s Division 1 2024 is due to start at the end of April but Asia Rugby hadn’t yet confirmed the participation of which teams would be involved. Their calendar suggested it would be held in Sri Lanka, and obviously, the hosts are involved but both Qatar and Pakistan had both been linked for participation in Division 1.
Reports from Sri Lankan media confused the matter, with no statement made by the governing body, media suggested Pakistan would not feature and that a two-game playoff might determine the division.
On April 20th 2024, Asia Rugby confusingly announced that Division 1 and 2 will be played simultaneously in Colombo and announced Sri Lanka, Qatar, Kazakhstan, and India will play a knockout format for both divisions.
Kazakhstan had been granted the rights to host Asia Rugby Men’s Division 2 in Almaty from 12-18 May 2024 (with that tournament listed on the Asia Ruby calendar but it has since been removed). India, Iran and Thailand were all due to be involved with Kazakhstan – so now, who knows?
The communication on the changes from Asia Rugby leaves a lot to be desired – as it has been for some years – and we have no idea where that leaves Pakistan, Thailand or Iran’s Men’s XV teams.
Malaysia vs Singapore XVs Tests 2024
Malaysia Rugby also reported it is in discussions for a causeway clash against Singapore. According to Scoop (a Malaysian-based sports outlet), the national Men’s rugby 15s team is keen for a match to help prepare for the 2024 Asia Rugby Championship in June 2024 which will include HKCR, South Korea, and the UAE in the top-flight of Asian Men’s XVs rugby.
Malaysia Rugby (MR) honorary secretary general, Fahmy Jalil said that the match is set to take place at the Johor Rugby Stadium in Johor Bahru on May 11 2024. One of the reasons Singapore has been targeted is that it is: “the sole country in the Southeast Asian region with a rugby 15s team” according to Jalil – which is a very sad state of affairs for the region.
However, the Philippines might argue otherwise as they are ranked 40th by World Rugby, which is the 4th highest-place Men’s Asian team after Japan, HKCR and South Korea.
Malaysia’s Men’s ‘Bunga Raya’ have yet to secure a victory in the ARMC since joining in 2018 and is ranked 50th by World Rugby, while Singapore is ranked 54th.
The planned fixtures would potentially include the 15s and the 7s squads.
Photo Credit: Malaysia Rugby Union XVs side in preparation in March 2024
Tri-Union Test Series 2024
Singapore said it is also preparing for the Division One Asia Rugby Championship (although not listed by Asia Rugby as taking part in Division 1 or 2) and has also announced a Tri-Union series with Chinese Taipei and Thailand which appears to be an XVs Men’s series.
The Tri-Union Test Series is set to be played between 28th June -6th July 2024 at the Jurong West Stadium in Singapore.
Currently, none of the three Asian Men’s XVs teams are listed on the Asia Rugby calendar to be involved in any XVS divisions but all will be competing in 7s tournaments.
World Rugby Rankings:
- Singapore – 54th
- Chinese Taipei – 65th
- Thailand – 78th
Asian Rugby 2024
- Guide To The Asia Rugby 2024 International Tournaments.
- Is The New Aligned Rugby Calendar Good For The Sport.
- What will the men’s international rugby calendar look like in 2024?
- Hong Kong China Rugby Men’s XV Embark On Australian Tour
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