Asia Rugby Championship

Asian Five Nations
Current season or competition:; 2012 Asian Five Nations
Sport	Rugby union
Instituted	2008
Inaugural season	2008
Number of teams	5
Region	Asia (ARFU)
Holders	Japan (2012)
Most titles	Japan (5 titles)
Website	HSBC Asian Five Nations
Qualification	Rugby world cup

The Asian Five Nations, known as the HSBC Asian 5 Nations due to its sponsorship by HSBC, is an annual international rugby union competition held between the top five Asian national rugby sides. The teams play a round-robin competition held on five consecutive weekends throughout April and May.

The competition represents the highest tier of international rugby in Asia, and is the apex of a multi-divisional Asian international calendar (see below).

The first competition was held in 2008, and Japan, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan have been selected for all the competitions until now.

Background

The Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) tournament is the pinnacle of four newly formed tiers of elite competition across all 25 Asian rugby unions with promotion and relegation opportunities between divisions for all participating teams.

On 21 February 2008, the International Rugby Board (IRB) confirmed the introduction of this major international tournament to the rugby calendar in April. The IRB-supported competition, which initially comprised Japan, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Korea and the Arabian Gulf Rugby Team, kick-started the ongoing development of the game across the region.

The IRB is committed to increasing global playing standards and the tournament, which has received funding in the form of a US$500,000 IRB grant, represents the pinnacle of a complete restructuring of competition in Asia by the Region’s governing body, the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU).

The tournament is considered vital for the development and expansion of rugby throughout Asia and gives Asian elite players the chance to perform in front of a significantly expanded TV audience, whilst providing a platform for development at all other levels.

The last-placed team in the Asian Five Nations is relegated to the Division I competition in the next year and the top team in Division I gains promotion to the Asian Five Nations. The promotion and relegation policy is also in effect for the Division I and Division II competitions, guaranteeing an opportunity for all unions to advance on the world stage.

With the 2010 Asian Five Nations tournament serving as the qualifying tournament for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, the promotion and relegation system meant that the 2008 Division I and Division II seasons (along with the 2009 Division I season) was also be part of Rugby World Cup qualifying.

In 2008, Division I competition was played amongst China, Chinese Taipei, Singapore and Sri Lanka. The Division II competition was contested by India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand. Four regional competitions was also played. The first was played in Indonesia and featured Cambodia, Indonesia and Laos; the second tournament was held in Guam between Brunei, Guam and the Philippines; the third tournament was in Qatar, played between Qatar, Mongolia and Macau; Kyrgyzstan hosted the final regional competition with Iran, Uzbekistan and themselves in the frame.

Summary

Top 5

Year	Champions	Runners-Up	3rd Place	4th Place	Relegated
2008	Japan	South Korea	Hong Kong	Kazakhstan	Arabian Gulf
2009	Japan	Kazakhstan	South Korea	Hong Kong	Singapore
2010	Japan	Kazakhstan	Hong Kong	Arabian Gulf	South Korea
2011	Japan	Hong Kong	United Arab Emirates	Kazakhstan	Sri Lanka
2012	Japan	South Korea	Hong Kong	United Arab Emirates	Kazakhstan
2013	[[national rugby union team\|]]	[[national rugby union team\|]]	[[national rugby union team\|]]	[[national rugby union team\|]]	[[national rugby union team\|]]

Divisions

Year	Division I		Division II		Division III		Division IV		Division V
Year	Winner	Relegated	Winner	Relegated	Winner	Relegated	Winner	Relegated	Winner	Relegated
2008	Singapore	China	Thailand	N/A	Not Played		Not Played		Not Played
2009	Arabian Gulf	Thailand	Malaysia	Pakistan	Philippines	N/A	Not Played		Not Played
2010	Sri Lanka	Taiwan	Philippines	China	Iran	Indonesia	Jordan	N/A	Not Played
2011	South Korea	Malaysia	Taiwan	India	China	Pakistan	Qatar	Uzbekistan	Laos	N/A
2012	Philippines	Singapore	Thailand	China	India	Pakistan	Qatar	Uzbekistan	Laos	N/A

Regional tournaments

Year	Region 1	Region 2	Region 3	Region 4
Year	Winner	Winner	Winner	Winner
2008	Indonesia	Philippines	Iran	Cancelled
2009	Laos	Cancelled	Uzbekistan	N/A

Sponsorship

The ARFU has secured a significant title sponsorship deal with HSBC for the tournament, which underlines the increasing appetite for the game in Asia. Enhanced television deals for the Asian market were a feature of record Rugby World Cup broadcast coverage and comprehensive coverage of the Asian Five Nations on television will ensure continued widespread exposure across Asia and into IRB targeted growth markets such as China and India.

External links