Asia Rugby released the 2024 tournament rugby calendar which lists several key national teams sevens and XV tournaments for the region, for women, men and age-grade tournaments. This is our guide to the Asia Rugby 2024 International Tournaments.

Updated November 2024

Just a general note – we try to put these guides together to help fans, and even the media and unions as the way the information is presented by Asia Rugby is less than ideal.

On April 20th 2024, information for some of the Men’s XV’s Divisions changed completely – no reason as to why from the governing body or the permutations on relegation or promotion – the formats have been a mess for years and we were hoping (in vain) it would be better in 2024 after they had released a proposed competition framework.

As with previous years, this is not a comprehensive outlook for all of the tournaments in Asia but it provides an outline which hopefully will allow the respective rugby unions and federations, fans, and media to plan better to prepare for and attend these crucial rugby tournaments in Asia.

It would be great if the complete set of participating teams and venues were announced well in advance for all Asia Rugby 2024 International Tournaments.

• Playing 15s Rugby
• Playing 15s Rugby in an RWC 2025 Pathway
• Playing 15s Rugby in a RWC 2027 Pathway
• Playing 7s Rugby
• Playing 7s Rugby in an Asian Games Pathway
• Playing 7s Rugby in an Olympic Pathway

We previously published Asia Rugby’s New Competition Framework Proposals 2024-2027. and below are the confined tournaments to take place in 2024.

We will keep updating this article when more information is released– so bookmark it now!

Asia Rugby XVs Rugby Tournaments 2024

Men’s XV 2024 Tournaments in Asia

In total, 27 Asian rugby unions or federations expressed an interest in Men’s 15s rugby in 2024 and onwards according to the graphic from Asia Rugby.

It appears as if the ten teams from ARC to Division 3 will be eligible for the RWC 2027 pathway but this has not been further clarified.

No Men’s Division 3 appeared in the Asia Rugby PR and initial calendar but the graphic below indicates there will be one.

Image Credit: Asia Rugby

Asia Rugby Men’s Championship 2024 (ARMC)

Although it was said by just about everyone in 2023 that Malaysia would be relegated from the top tier of Asian Men’s XV rugby after enduring another winless season against Hong Kong China Rugby and South Korea, Asia Rugby (without providing a reason) has decided to make the ARMC 2024 a four-team affair.

In addition to perennial competitors South Korea and defending champions HKCR, newly promoted UAE joins the top flight for the first time, while Malaysia somehow remains in the Asia Rugby Men’s Championship in 2024.

You can see more in our ARMC 2024 Guide.

Photo Credit: HKRU / Ike Li / Ike Images

ARMC 2024 Fixtures (and updated results)

• 1st June 2024 – HKCR 52-5 UAE (Hong Kong –  This will be a doubleheader with the final Women’s Championship match played on the same day).
• 2nd June 2024 – South Korea 55-5 Malaysia vs (Incheon, South Korea)
• 8th June 2024 –  Malaysia 6-70 HKCR (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
• 9th June 2024 – UAE 36-32 South Korea (Dubai, UAE)
• 21st June 2024 – UAE 62-19 Malaysia (Dubai, UAE)
• 22nd June 2024 – HKCR 67-7 South Korea (Hong Kong)

The format is set to be a round-robin.

• Teams: Hong Kong China, South Korea, UAE, Malaysia
• Date: 1-22 June 2024
• Venue: Various

Final Standings – ARMC 2024

1. Hong Kong China
2. UAE
3. South Korea
4. Malaysia*

*This result should mean Malaysia is relegated to Division 1 in 2025 and Sri Lanka will be promoted.

Asia Rugby Men’s Division 1 2024 (Updated)

The Men’s Division 1 2024 was scheduled to be played in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in May 2024 and see the return of the Sri Lanka Men’s 15s team although who they would face was not clarified.

In 2023, only the UAE and Pakistan were involved in Division 1, which the Gulf team easily won. Qatar won Division 2 so they should logically be involved in Division 1 in 2024.

Conflicting reports in Sri Lanka media indicated that Sri Lanka and Qatar would be playing, but the involvement of Pakistan was to be confirmed.

On April 20th, Asia Rugby announced that it would be a combined Division 1&2 and include Sri Lanka, Qatar, India, and Kazakhstan in a knockout tournament – so in the end, quite messily, it was held as a merged Division 1&2 championship with only 4 teams

The winner (Sri Lanka) should earn a promotion to the top-tier Asia Rugby Championship in 2025 which even Asia Rugby confirmed at the completion of the tournament.

• Teams: Sri Lanka, Qatar, India, and Kazakhstan
• Date: 28 April 2024 – 5 May 2024
• Venue: Racecourse International Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Results – Asia Rugby Division 1&2 2024

• Match 1 – Qatar 31-33 Kazakhstan – April 30th, 2024
• Match 2 – Sri Lanka 45-10 India – April 30th, 2024
• 3rd Place Playoff – Qatar 34-25 India – May 4th, 2024
• Final – Kazakhstan 7-45 Sri Lanka – May 4th, 2024

Final Standings – Division 1

1. Sri Lanka*
2. Kazakhstan
3. Qatar
4. India

*They should be promoted to the ARMC 2025.

Photo Credit – Qatar Rugby – XV Men won the Asia Rugby Championship Division 3 2023

Asia Rugby Men’s Division 2 2024 (Cancelled and Merged With Division 1)

Kazakhstan Rugby was been granted the rights to host Asia Rugby Men’s Division 2 in Almaty from 12-18 May 2024 but with the announcement of the combined Division 1&2 in Colombo- we assume that this will no longer take place.

In 2023, Kazakhstan, India and Qatar were involved in Division 2, with the Qataris crowned champions.  Qatar had also beaten Iran in the Division 3 West in 2023.

• Teams: Kazakhstan & was likely to be India, Iran and Thailand – but Thailand and Iran were not listed against a Division tournament.
• Date: 12-18 May 2024 – Potentially combined with Division 1 
• Venue: Almaty, Kazakhstan – Potentially not a host anymore.

Asia Rugby Men’s Division 3 2024 (Never took place)

The graphic above and the language from Asia Rugby suggested there would be a Men’s Division 3 but it’s not on the list released.

Since AR published their calendar of events, Iraq Rugby indicated another XVs Men’s tournament would be played in Lebanon on May 2024 – so this may well be Div 3?

• Teams: Lebanon, Iraq and more to TBC
• Date: Possibly May 2024
• Venue: Possibly Lebanon (TBC)

Asia Rugby U19s Men Championship 2024

The Asia Rugby U19 Championship will be hosted by Chinese Taipei from December 18-22, 2024 (it was confirmed by Asia Rugby in July). The tournament is a qualifier for the World Rugby U20 Trophy 2025.

In 2023, Hong Kong China Rugby were the winner which qualified them for the 2024 World Rugby U20 Trophy held in Scotland. HKCR beat Malaysia and Chinese Taipei in the Asia Rugby Championship 2023- so it is assumed all three nations could be in the Asia Rugby U19s Men Championship 2024.

• Teams: TBC
• Date: 18-20 December 2024
• Venue: TBC, Chinese Taipei

Asia Rugby U19s Men Div 1 2024 (Cancelled?)

No details for the venue were confirmed for the U19s Men Div 1 2024 but the tournament was due to take place in December – but the update from Asia Rugby mid-year seems to have removed the event?

• Teams: TBC
• Date: 13-20 December 2024
• Venue: TBC

Women’s XV 2024 Tournaments in Asia

Asia Rugby Women’s Championship 2024 (ARWC)

Image Credit: Asia Rugby

There is no change to the competing teams for the ARWC in 2024, with favourites Japan competing with Kazakhstan and Hong Kong China Rugby. This year, HKCR hosted the tournament after they narrowly finished third in 2023 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Since 2023, the tournament has added motivation for the teams as the top two are due to compete in WXV – with details for WXV 2024 available here.

Sakura Fifteen 2023 ARWC Champions

Fixtures ARWC 2024

• 22 May 2024 – HKCR 12-29 Japan
• 27 May 2024 – Japan 64-0 Kazakhstan
• 1st June 2024 – Kazakhstan 0-22 HKCR (This will be a doubleheader with the Men’s Asia Rugby Championship match played on the same day).

The Asia Rugby Women’s Championship also serves as a Rugby World Cup Qualifier and the winner of the ARWC 20024 secures a direct spot at the Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025.

The six highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through RWC 2021 and the regional tournaments will also qualify for RWC 2025.

• Teams: Japan, Hong Kong China, and Kazakhstan
• Date: 22 May – 1 June 2024
• Venue: Hong Kong

Final Standings – ARWC 2024

1. Japan (Qualified for WXV 2 and RWC 2025)
2. Hong Kong China (Qualified for WXV 3 and path open to RWC 2025)
3. Kazakhstan

Asia Rugby Women’s Division 1 2024 (Cancelled)

The Asia Rugby Women’s Division 1 tournament 2024 tournament will be hosted by Rugby India from December 13-21, with Asia Rugby confirming mid-year that India will compete against Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.

This will be the debut of the Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates women’s fifteens teams.

There had been a calendar of events released by Malaysia Rugby in March 2024, which indicated the tournament would include India, Malaysia, UAE, Singapore, & the Philippines.

• Teams: India, Malaysia, UAE
• Date: 13-21 December 2024
• Venue: TBC, India

Asia Rugby Sevens Rugby Tournaments 2024

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Image Credit: Asia Rugby

Image Credit: Asia Rugby

Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series 2024 (ARESS)

Emirates came on as a title sponsor and the tournaments from Asia Rugby will be called Asia Rugby Emirates XXX.

In this case, the Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series.

The ARESS 2024 will feature Asia’s top eight Men’s and Women’s 7s teams with the UAE Women’s and Thailand Men’s earning promotion from 2023.

Photo Credit: Asia Rugby – China women win Hangzhou Asian Games Rugby Sevens

Women’s ARSS 2024 Teams

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

Men ARSS 2024 Teams

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

There are three legs again in 2024 of the ARSS with South Korea (1st leg) and Thailand (3rd leg) confirmed and China hosting the second leg. Asia Rugby also said that South Korea and Thailand will host again in 2025.

The top two men’s and women’s teams from the ARESS qualify for the Challenger Series 2025 excluding the Japanese and China women who are in the core SVNS Series. In recent years, the top two men’s and top 3 women’s sides (excluding SVNS-qualified nations) qualified.

1. Asia Rugby Sevens Series Round 1 – Korea 7s (Incheon) – 7-8 September 2024 (Namdong Incheon Asiad Rugby Stadium)
2. Asia Rugby Sevens Series Round 2 – Hangzhou, China – 21-22 September 2024 (Hangzhou Normal University)
3. Asia Rugby Sevens Series Round 3 – Thailand 7s (Bangkok) – 9-10 November 2024 (The Royal Thai Air Force Stadium – please note it was previously listed as Police Tero Stadium).

Results:

You can see here the final leg and Series results.

• Hong Kong China Men – 2024 Champions
• China Women – 2024 Champions
• HKCR and Japan Men Qualify for World Rugby HSBC Challenger 2025
• HKCR and Thailand Women Qualify for World Rugby HSBC Challenger 2025
• Singapore men and women relegated to Trophy Series 2025.

Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Trophy 2024

The Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Trophy (AREST) 2024 was meant to be played with the new Asia Rugby Sevens Challenge in Kathmandu in the first week of October 2024 with both men’s and women’s teams.

The Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy was due to feature 12 men’s teams and 8 women’s teams and the event will earn promotion, to the Asia Rugby Sevens Series for 2025.

Ultimately the Challenge was scrapped in 2024 and combined with the Trophy event.

• Teams: 15 men’s and 8 women’s (planned but Iran was a late withdrawal)
• Date: 4-6 October 2024
• Venue: Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal

Results

• The Philippines women and men earned promotion to the Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series 2025.

Asia Rugby Sevens Challenge 2024 (Cancelled)

The Asia Rugby Sevens Challenge 2024 will be played for the first time alongside the ARST in Kathmandu in the first week of October 2024 with both men’s and women’s teams.

• Teams: Cancelled
• Date: 4-5 October 2024
• Venue: Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal

Asia Rugby U20 Sevens Men & Women 2024 (Cancelled)

India was confirmed to be hosting the U20 Rugby Sevens 224 which will be played in Ahmedabad, India on 23-24 November – no confirmation of teams at the time of the update.

For details of the 2023 U20 7s, please see here – Women’s teams were Nepal, Hong Kong China Rugby (HKCR), Malaysia, and Thailand. The men were Chinese Taipei, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal, India, and Hong Kong China.

Although not released publically, “a message was circulated that said “Due to the late withdrawal of the 2024 Asia Rugby Emirates Under 20 Men & Women 7s host and the inability to secure a new host, the competition has been cancelled for 2024.”

• Teams: TBC
• Date: 23-24 November
• Venue: Ahmedabad, India

Asia Rugby Emirates U18s Boys & Girls 7s 2024

The U18 Girls and Boys will be heading to Johor Bahru, Malaysia for the 2024 edition of the 7s tournament from 28-29 September.

For all of the participating teams from the 2024 tournament, find out more here.

Teams in 2023 included India (girls and boys), UAE (girls and boys), Hong Kong China (girls and boys), Chinese Taipei (girls and boys), Thailand (girls and boys), Malaysia (boys only), and Iran (boys only)

• Teams: 10 Boys & 6 Girls
• Date: 28-29 September 2024
• Venue: Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Results

All of the results can be seen here for the Girls and here for the Boys.

• HKCR Girls- 2024 Champions
• UAE Girls  – 2024 Champions

How To Watch The Asia Rugby International Tournaments In 2024

Asia Rugby said that fans can “watch every moment of every match in real-time as they are live-streamed on the Asia Rugby Facebook and YouTube channels” in 2024.

You can also track any changes to the Asia Rugby Calendar on their website.

Asian & World Rugby Tournaments

• Pacific Nations Cup 2024 Explained.
• Is The New Aligned Rugby Calendar Good For The Sport.
• World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024 – Dates And Venues.
• What will the men’s international rugby calendar look like in 2024?