Top 5 Asian Rugby Tournaments & Events To Be Excited About in 2025

Happy New Year and welcome to what is shaping up to be an exciting year filled with blockbuster rugby tournaments and pinnacle events – we have thought hard about selecting our top 5 Asian rugby events to get excited about and plan for in 2025 with some honourable mentions along the way.

1. Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 England – Sakura XV Represent The Region

It will only be Japan carrying the flag for Asia at the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 in England which runs from 22 August to 27 September 2025 and will be hosted across eight host locations. We are hopeful of being there, but the Japan Sakura XV had a tough run in 2024 with so many near defeats but there is undoubtedly talent in the squad that Head Coach Lesley Mckenzie has been building leading up to RWC 2025.

There are also a number of star Sevens players who have opted to focus on their club XVs season, and they may well get called up to the wider training squad for the Rugby World Cup. Currently, there are no warm-up games confirmed for the Sakura XV, but we assume the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship 2025 will still take place, and we know there is no WXV this year.

Japan are in Pool C with defending champions New Zealand, Ireland, and Spain, and no matter the results, 2025 will be a prime opportunity for the Women’s game to take another step up in visibility and encourage young players around the world to pick up a rugby ball and start playing as new heroines will be launched on the global stage.

Rugby World Cup 2025 News

• Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 Pools Confirmed – Japan in Pool C.
• World Rugby Launches Impact Beyond 2025 Global Impact Programme.
• Official Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Gilbert Ball Unveiled.

2. A Second Asian Men’s XV Team Will Qualify for RWC 2027 – Asia Rugby Emirates Men’s Championship 2025

Excitement has been brewing for this year’s Men’s Championship since the confirmation that the winner will earn automatic qualification for the Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia, meaning Asia for the first time will have two teams at the pinnacle of Men’s global competition as Japan has already qualified.

Hong Kong China, Korea, and the UAE are all confirmed contendors, while the winner of the Sri Lanka and Malaysia playoff game at some point in 2025 will be the final team to be represented in the competition.

We saw a big increase in the number of Asian Men’s XV tests in 2024, and 2025 could see even more. HKCR toured South America and hosted Brazil last year, while the UAE and Korea hosted sides at the end of 2024.

In the buildup to the Asia Rugby Emirates Men’s Championship 2025, it is likely all three representative teams will have tours or play preparation matches to be as well prepared as possible to win the title and earn a berth at RWC 2027 – which would be a first for any of these Asian sides competing.

Even the runner-up will still have a shot at the RWC 2027 qualification but via a more challenging path.

The full schedule of the Championship is still to be announced but it will be played between June-July 2025.

Image Credit: World Rugby

Rugby World Cup 2027 News

• Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 Visual Branding Unveiled.
• Rugby World Cup 2027 Qualification Explained.
• Malaysia and Sri Lanka Men’s XV Set To Play In 2025 Asia Rugby Emirates Mens Championship Playoff Match.

3. Kai Tak Stadium And The Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2025

There has been a mixture of excitement and hesitation about the world’s most famous Sevens event moving venues in 2025, but having seen the new Kai Tak Stadium from the outside, seen the updated photos of the indoor facilities and heard what is being planned and available at the Rugby Sevens purpose-built venue, its difficult not be to excited about the tournament running from 28-30 March 2025.

The design incorporates changing rooms for up to 20 teams, has retained the famous South Stand, features one of largest sports bars in Asia with the longest bar top – and offers an amazing view of the harbour while also offering a retractable roof!

The whole week building up to the actual Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens will again be a jam-packed jamboree of rugby tournaments, charitable lunches, dinners and seminars as the world comes to play in Hong Kong. From the Kowloon Rugbyfest 2025, Tradition HKFC 10s, and the Melrose Claymores – there is something for everyone.

Photo Credit- HKCR- Hong Kong China men’s and women’s 7s stars and coaching staff took a tour of the new Kai Tak Stadium

• 2025 Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens – What You Need To Know.
• Melrose Claymores Teams For Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2025 Announced.
• Hong Kong China Rugby CEO James Farndon – “Hugely Exciting Times Ahead”.
• Kai Tak Stadium Confirmed As Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2025 Venue.

4. World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 – Will We See Another Asian Side Be Promoted?

The World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 this season will see three rounds taking place between March and April 2025 (two in Cape Town, South Africa and a final round in Krakow, Poland) to decide the top four teams that qualify for the HSBC SVNS Play-Off competition which in 2025 will be played in Los Angeles.

From Asia, the Hong Kong China men and women, the Japanese men, and the Thailand women all have a chance to try and earn a spot at promotion to the HSBC SVNS.

Having followed these teams so closely over the years and seeing how some have come agonisingly close or competed at the top tier of Sevens on the planet, we can’t wait for these Sevens tournaments.

1. Cape Town, SA – Venue TBC – 1-2 March 2025*
2. Cape Town SA – Venue TBC – 7-8 March 2025*
3. Krakow, Poland – Henryk Reyman’s Municipal Stadium – 11-12 April, 2025
4. Los Angeles – Dignity Health Sports Park – 3-4 May 2025 (Relegation play-off competition)

5. Rugby Premier League (RPL) Kicks Off 2025

We should know details by the end of Q1 2025, if not before, but the 10-year strategic partnership Rugby India and GMR Sports have signed to launch the Rugby Premier League (RPL) in 2025 will be keenly watched as the first professional 7s rugby league take shape in Asia.

So far, we know that the RPL will feature six city-based sides “showcasing elite talent from top rugby nations globally but the details of the city-based franchises, ownership details, and international coaches are all due to be announced in due course.

Sevens is hugely popular across Asia and often prioritised by Asian rugby unions and federations due to funding allocations from their domestic sporting bodies and Olympic Councils.

Honourable Mentions – Rugby & Touch 2025

There are also honourable mentions of:

• The Golden Oldies Rugby Festival heads to Singapore in 2025 and the tournament is due to take place from 6-13 April 2025 – This will be the first time it will be staged in Southeast Asia.
• SEA Games 2025 is being hosted in Thailand in December, which thus far has confirmed the return of Rugby 7s for the first time at the regional sports competition since being hosted in the Philippines in 2019.
• Still TBC by the Federation of International Touch (FIT), after numerous false starts in Aisa, the current 2025 plan includes hosting an Asian Cup touch tournament during 2025. Previously it was due to be held in China, and then in Malaysia in 2023 but neither one went ahead- so if it does happen in 2025 – it will be building on the success and exposure of the Touch World Cup held in 2024.

Federation of International Touch (FIT) events 2025-2028

Asian Rugby Social Events & Tournaments 2025

• The Best 2025 Touch Tournaments In Asia
• The Best Social 2025 Rugby Tournaments In Asia.