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In swelteringly hot conditions at a purpose-built rugby stadium in Incheon, South Korea, the Hong Kong China Men’s XV team defeated the hosts 70-22 on 5th July to the backdrop of a raucous crowd to not only retain the Asia Rugby Emirates Men’s Championship (AREMC) for a 6th straight year, they achieved a feat no representative Men’s team from Hong Kong had previously achieved and qualified for a first-ever Rugby World Cup, securing their place as one of 24 teams at the expanded RWC 2027 in Australia.
It's a team that has had to endure heartbreak at previous repechage campaigns, but they have dominated the Asian top-tier competition since Japan stopped competing in the tournament. They won all three matches against UAE, Sri Lanka, and Korea convincingly, racking up 28 tries and only conceding 5 across the competition.
They follow the HKCR Women’s team, who reached RWC 2017.
The winner of the four-team tournament was guaranteed a place at the Rugby World Cup 2027, while the runner-up heads to a play-off against the African runner-up.
World Rugby said, “By claiming the Asia Rugby Championship title, Hong Kong China not only earned regional honours but also made history as only the second Asian nation, after Japan, to qualify for the Men’s Rugby World Cup. The achievement represents a significant milestone for the development of the sport in Hong Kong and across the wider Asian region.”
Player of the Match in the Hong Kong China win was flyhalf Nate De Thierry who slotted 9/9 conversions and was excellent in general play as the team ran in ten tries in total.
Winning captain, and with two tries in an outstanding performance, Josh Hrstich said, “It is pretty overwhelming, and I am super proud of our group, our management and coaches and everyone involved. I want to thank the families and fans and everyone who supported us in the past, and present, and we will need that support for the upcoming years”.
An emotional captain added, “Going into this tournament, we knew that the prize was the opportunity of a lifetime to experience the pinnacle of the game. Pressure is always a privilege, and we felt that we were better prepared than ever to deal with the pressure – and I think that showed on the field.”
Hong Kong China Men’s 15s Head Coach, Andrew Douglas, said before the championship was underway, “This year’s Asia Rugby Championship is hugely important for our men’s 15s programme, with the reward of an automatic qualification spot for the Rugby World Cup a real game changer for the winners.”
After the final whistle in Incheon, at which point there was a visible outpouring of emotion from all involved, from the players and management group in reaching this dream, he said, ”It’s been a massive campaign and a lot of emotion for all of us. I had my family here this week with me, and you could see the support in the stands, too. It got a little bit emotional for all of us, and that came out of us at the final whistle.”
HKCR CEO, James Farndon, added that this presents a tremendously exciting time for the entire organisation and the wider rugby community in Hong Kong.
Simon Amor, the former Japan and USA Men’s 7s Head Coach, who was only appointed HKCR Executive Director of Performance and Representative Rugby a few months ago, said they will “be looking to establish a programme for the next two years that is the best fit for the uniqueness of Hong Kong and that can take our team to the next level.”
The heavy defeat for the Koreans, the most points they had ever conceded to their rivals, saw them slip into 3rd overall and out of the running for the RWC 2027 pathway. They have now been usurped by the United Arab Emirates two years in a row, as the UAE side defeated Sri Lanka on the final weekend in Colombo 29-21, backing up what was deemed a shock win in Incheon in the previous round. They beat Korea last year, too.
Aside from the loss to HKCR, the UAE side managed to record two maximum bonus point wins to claim second place in the AREMC 2025. This means they have been rewarded with a trip in late July to Uganda to face the runner-up of the Rugby Africa Men’s Cup (which gets underway on 8th July) for a one-off match as part of the Africa/Asia playoff.
The winner of that match will head to the Final Qualification Tournament, which is going to be held from 8–18 November 2025 at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai.
Heading into the tournament, Hong Kong China Men were ranked 23rd in World Rugby’s global rankings, followed by Korea in 35th, Sri Lanka in 39th, and the UAE in 50th.
By the close of the tournament, Korea had already lost as many as three places, while the UAE climbed up to 43rd before the final round, and the win over Sri Lanka should see them reach a new high of the top 40 for the first time when World Rugby releases the updated rankings.
For Korea, the third-place finish, considering the favourable draw they had, will be massively disappointing. They have now suffered two of their worst defeats to Hong Kong China over the past two years and lost to the UAE twice. There have been ongoing internal political disputes and no substantial preparation matches before the AREMC.
They have outstanding athletes, a supportive fan base and an excellent national rugby stadium, but it's a union in decline if you look at results in 7s and 15s over the past 3-4 years.
Unless they get their house in order, with the likes of Bahrain, India, Qatar, Kazakhstan and others improving, their long-held position at the top of Asian Men’s rugby will be under threat.
For Sri Lanka, this was their first appearance at the top of Asian Men’s rugby in more than a decade, after they had always been outside contenders.
They also had a disrupted campaign with their head coach, who was in charge against the recently visiting NZ U85kg team, resigning, players became unavailable, and they didn't have a pack that could compete at this level.
They reached the AREMC 2025 by defeating Malaysia 59–19 in the April 2025 playoff and will now have to wait to see which team they play in the 2026 playoff to see if they stay in the top division or drop down.
Friday 13 June: Sri Lanka 34-38 Korea (Colombo, Sri Lanka)
Saturday 14 June: United Arab Emirates 10-43 Hong Kong China (Dubai, UAE)
Saturday 21 June: Korea 36-38 UAE (Incheon, Korea)
Sunday 22 June: Hong Kong China 78-07 Sri Lanka (Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground, Hong Kong)
Friday 4 July: Sri Lanka 21-29 UAE (Colombo, Sri Lanka)
Saturday 5 July: Korea 22-70 Hong Kong China (Incheon, Korea)
Hong Kong China (15 points) Qualify for RWC 2027
UAE (10 points) Move to the next phase of RWC 2027 Qualification
Korea (7 points) Stay in AREMC 2026
Sri Lanka (2 points) Will compete in an Asia Rugby Emirates Playoff Match 2026 to remain in AREMC.