China Women and Hong Kong China Men Claim First Leg of ARSS 2024

Sunday 8th September saw the Chinese women and the Hong Kong China men lift the respective women’s and men’s ARSS 2024 first leg Cups at the Namdong Incheon Asiad Rugby Stadium after two days of action which did spring a couple of surprises but the usual suspects are the contenders to be crowned the Asian champions at the conclusion of the three rounds in November.

Women’s 7s Summary – ARSS 2024 Leg 1

For the women’s competition, the Chinese only fielded two of the squad that achieved a best-ever 6th place finish at the Paris Olympics 2024 but the team was still far too strong for the competition, with their toughest match being the pool victory of Hong Kong China which they won 14-7. The teams met again in the Cup final but the Chinese ran out comfortable 26-0 winners to keep this remarkable run of form going.

Photo Credit: Asia Rugby

For Hong Kong China, the runners-up spot was well deserved after they beat the Sakura 7s in the semifinal in a nail-biting match which was won in the second half of golden point extra time with Ka Yan Chong scoring the winner after a resolute team performance. It has to be said that the Japanese sent a team with 9 new caps as new Head Coach Yuka Kanematsu got her tenure underway.

HKCR captain Natasha Olson-Thorne said via Hong Kong China, “As a team, we’ve been working really hard, and you can see that paying off with that grit and determination coming through in our games against China and Japan, especially in that semi-final. There is lots to celebrate and also lots to learn from, and now the challenge we have is to keep building from here.”

Thailand, according to the new Head Coach and TRU president, were looking to dominate this ARSS but they finished fourth after Japan beat them in the 3rd place playoff. The Thais and HKCR will be looking to finish in the top four to try and qualify for the Challenger Series – and it doesn’t look like at this stage they will be challenged by the other teams.

Photo Credit: Asia Rugby – Thailand and Japan Women – ARSS 2024 Leg 1

Kazakhstan fell behind the quartet of China, Japan, HKCR and Thailand last season, and even though they have a full-time pro programme, they looked off the pace compared to the top four but better than UAE, Malaysia and Singapore.

There were some standout performances from some of the players on the other sides, notably Kazakhstan #8, and #4 Kajolin Jenisin (we originally had this down as Henrietta David as per the team sheet but we have been made aware this may have been wrong) for Malaysia. The UAE should be happy with their 6th-place finish as they look to stay up in the Series after qualifying for the first time.

Men’s 7s Summary – ARSS 2024 Leg 1

The Hong Kong China men have lost some undeniable talent and experience coming into the season but the squad looked to be in dominant form in Korea and only conceded two tries on the way to an undefeated weekend to lift the Cup, beating China 40-7 in the final. In particular, they put away Japan, Korea and China over the two days and they will be their biggest rivals to try and secure a top-two finish to qualify for the HSBC Challenger Series.

New HKCR captain James Christie said, “It was a huge honour to captain the side for the first time. We have a really tight-knit and close team and there are many leaders in it so didn’t have to change much as we all stepped up and put in a fantastic performance. I also want to give a special mention to Matteo for a great contribution on his first cap.”

You never quite know what you will get from the Chinese (due to lack of information), the Koreans who have chopped their 7s and XVs teams so much over recent seasons, and a new-look Japanese men’s side who also had 9 debuts over the weekend and a new Head Coach who had very little time with the team before this opening round.

Photo Credit: Asia Rugby – Korea and Japan Men – ARSS 2024 Leg 1

Japan 7s Head Coach Phil Greening knows he doesn’t have much time to improve if he wants to reach the Challenger Series. The Chinese looked a step ahead and stronger than both Japan and Korea – they spent much of the past year competing in tournaments in Europe. The Japanese ended up third beating the hosts in a tightly contested 3rd place game 17-12.

For the rest, the UAE had a wonderful first season in the ARSS last year but finished 7th in Korea and they and Singapore look likely to contest the relegation spot. The Malaysian men and newly promoted Thailand looked like they might have enough to stay up but so much will come down to keeping a squad healthy and fit and taking the most of the smallest chances.

The second ARSS 2024 leg takes place in Hangzhou, China from 21-22 September 2024.

ARSS 2024 – Leg 1 Korea 7s Final Standings

Women

1. China
2. Hong Kong China
3. Japan
4. Thailand
5. Kazakhstan
6. UAE
7. Malaysia
8. Singapore

Photo Credit: Asia Rugby – Hong Kong China Women runners-up – Leg 1 ARSS 2024