2023 Rugby World Cup – Asia qualification

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2023 Rugby World Cup – Asia qualification
Tournament details
Dates4 June 2022 – 9 July 2022
No. of nations3
Tournament statistics
Matches played2
2019
2027

Qualifying for the 2023 Rugby World Cup for Asia commenced in June 2022, with three teams competing for a spot in a Regional play-off match against Oceania 2.[1][2]

Format[edit]

The Asia Rugby Championship, governed by Asia Rugby, is the regional qualification tournament for Rugby World Cup 2023, with only the leading Asian Championship league acting as the process. Three teams will participate across two matches, with the winner of the Asian Cup semi-final progressing to play the highest ranked participating team Hong Kong in the Asian Cup final. The winner of the final will advance to a Asia/Pacific play-off match against the winner of Oceania Round 3, Tonga (Oceania 2).

Originally planned for May 2021, the Championship was postponed due to health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic,[3][4] and had been pushed back multiple more times to allow ample time for teams to participate safely owing COVID-19. This also meant multiple restructures of the competition from a round-robin format home and away to just a single round of fixtures played out of a neutral venue.[5]

In April 2022, the format changed once again, following the withdrawal of Hong Kong, setting up a 2-match play-off between South Korea and Malaysia. However, on 29 April, Asia Rugby confirmed the final format for the competition which included Hong Kong back in the competition.[6]

Entrants[edit]

Three teams will compete during for the Asian qualifiers for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, with Japan the only team thus far qualified from the Region.

Nation Rank Began play Qualifying status
 Hong Kong 22 9 July 2022 Advances to Asia/Pacific play-off as Asia 1 on 9 July 2022
 Japan 10 N/A Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2019 World Cup
 Malaysia 51 4 June 2022 Eliminated by South Korea on 4 June 2022
 South Korea 29 4 June 2022 Eliminated by Hong Kong on 9 July 2022

Round 1: Asian Rugby Championship[edit]

Cup Semi-Final[edit]

4 June 2022
16:30 KST (UTC+9)
South Korea 55–10 Malaysia
Try: Kim Hyun Soo 5' c
Chang Yong Heung 25' m
Jeong Yeon Sik 28' c
Choi Seong Deok 47' c
Kim Gwong Min (2) 58' m, 64' c
Shin Da Hyun 69' c
Chae Min Seong 74' c
Con: Kim Ki Min (3/5) 6', 30', 49'
Oh Ji Myeong (3/3) 65', 69', 78'
Pen: Kim Ki Min (1/1) 12'
Report
WR Report
Try: Etonia Vaqa Saukuru 79' c
Con: Mat Zizi (1/1) 80'
Pen: Mat Zizi (1/1) 14'
Incheon Namdong Asiad Rugby Field, Incheon
Attendance: 5,078
Referee: Craig Chan (Hong Kong)

Cup Final[edit]

9 July 2022
17:00 KST (UTC+9)
South Korea 21–23 Hong Kong
Try: Choi Seong Deok 46' c
Kim Kwang Min 63' m
Con: On Ji Myeong (1/2) 46'
Pen: On Ji Myeong (3/3) 60', 69', 75'
Report
WR Report
Try: Alexander Post 20' m
Matthew Worley 36' c
Nathan de Thierry 71' m
Con: Glyn Hughes (1/2) 37'
Pen: Glyn Hughes (1/2) 12'
Gregor McNeish (1/2) 80+3'
Incheon Namdong Asiad Rugby Field, Incheon
Referee: Tasuku Kawahara (Japan)
Team details
FB 15 Jeong Yeon Sik
RW 14 Hwang In Jo
OC 13 Lee Soo Pyeng
IC 12 Kim Yong Hwi
LW 11 Kim Kwang Min (c)
FH 10 Kim Ki Min downward-facing red arrow 40'
SH 9 Lee Geon downward-facing red arrow 51'
N8 8 Park Joon Young downward-facing red arrow 62'
OF 7 Noh Ok Ki
BF 6 Kim Yo Han
RL 5 Shin Da Hyeon downward-facing red arrow 40'
LL 4 Kim Dae Hwan downward-facing red arrow 51'
TP 3 Kang Sun Hyeok downward-facing red arrow 57'
HK 2 Yu Si Hoon downward-facing red arrow 57'
LP 1 Na Kwan Young downward-facing red arrow 66'
Replacements:
PR 16 Lee Hyen Soo upward-facing green arrow 66'
HK 17 Choi Ho Young upward-facing green arrow 57'
PR 18 Shin Ki Soo upward-facing green arrow 57'
LK 19 Choi Seong Deok upward-facing green arrow 40'
LK 20 Park Jun Beom upward-facing green arrow 51'
SH 21 Lee Myeong Jun upward-facing green arrow 51'
FH 22 On Ji Myeong upward-facing green arrow 40'
FL 23 Moon Jeong Ho upward-facing green arrow 62'
Coach:
South Africa Charles Louw
FB 15 Jack Neville
RW 14 Charles Higson-Smith Red card 1'
OC 13 Benjamin Axten-Burrett
IC 12 Tom Hill downward-facing red arrow 58'
LW 11 Matthew Worley Yellow card 22'
FH 10 Glyn Hughes downward-facing red arrow 65'
SH 9 Bryn Phillips downward-facing red arrow 60'
N8 8 Joshua Hrstich (c)
OF 7 Jame Sawyer
BF 6 Jame Cunningham
RL 5 Patrick Jenkinson
LL 4 Mark Prior downward-facing red arrow 54'
TP 3 Ashton Hyde downward-facing red arrow 69'
HK 2 Alexander Post downward-facing red arrow 65'
LP 1 Faizal Solomona Penesa downward-facing red arrow 57'
Replacements:
HK 16 John McCormick-Houston upward-facing green arrow 65'
PR 17 Ian Etheridge upward-facing green arrow 69'
PR 18 Zacceus Cinnamond upward-facing green arrow 57'
LK 19 Kyle Sullivan
FL 20 Luke van der Smit upward-facing green arrow 54'
SH 21 Jack Combes upward-facing green arrow 60'
FH 22 Gregor McNeish upward-facing green arrow 65'
CE 23 Nathan de Thierry upward-facing green arrow 58'
Coach:
Wales Lewis Evans

Assistant referees:
Noriaki Hashimoto (Japan)
Teruhisa Kajiwara (Japan)
Television match official:
Minoru Fuji (Japan)


References[edit]

  1. ^ "Qualifiers". World Rugby. Archived from the original on 2021-01-15. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  2. ^ "Asia Rugby Competitions 2021". Asia Rugby. 19 May 2021. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Asia Rugby puts player welfare first, postpones tournaments schedule until end of June 2020". Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Asia Rugby Announces 2021 Competitions Calendar". Archived from the original on 18 February 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Calendar 2021". Asia Rugby. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Asia Rugby Keeps the Dream Alive for the World Cup 2023". Archived from the original on 2022-04-30. Retrieved 2022-04-30.

External links[edit]