2015 Asia Rugby Championship Explained

2015 Asia Rugby Championship
Date:18 April – 23 May
Countries:

Champion:Japan
Count:23
Matches:6
Tries:50
Top Scorer: Ayumu Goromaru (38)
Oh Youn-hyung (38)
Most Tries: Jegal Bin (4)
Karne Hesketh (4)
Jang Seong Min (4)
Preceded By:2014
Succeeded By:2016

The 2015 Asia Rugby Championship, or ARC, was the inaugural tri-nations series for top-level rugby union in Asia and the twenty-eighth continental championship for the ARFU nations. The Asia Rugby Championship replaced the former Asian Five Nations in 2015, with only three nations competing in the top division instead of the previous five. The inaugural series included Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea. Other Asian nations competed in the lower division tournaments.

Instead of the single round-robin format used in the Asian Five Nations, the three teams played each other twice on a home and away basis. Japan, as the team finishing on top of the standings in 2015, was declared the winner. The bottom-placed team, Korea, was subject to a promotion-relegation play-off against the winner of the next lower division.[1] However, Sri Lanka, who finished on top of Division 1, declined the opportunity to challenge.

Standings

Champions
Will play in the top 3 challenge
PositionNationGamesPointsBonus
points		Total
points
PlayedWonDrawnLostForAgainstDifference
1431016340+123321
2411264111–47311
34103110186–7638
Points were awarded to the teams as follows:
Win - 5 points
Draw - 3 points
4 or more tries - 1 point
Loss within 7 points - 1 point
Loss greater than 7 points - 0 points
Notes:

Fixtures

Week 1

FB 15Jang Seong Min
RW 14Jegal Bin
OC 13Kim Sung Soo (c)
IC 12Kim Namuk
LW 11Kim Gwong Min
FH 10Oh Youn-hyung
SH 9 Lee Myung Jun
N8 8 Han Kun Kyu
OF 7 Jang Seok Hwan
BF 6 Kim Hyun Soo
RL 5 Youn Kwon Woo
LL 4 Kim Ho Bum
TP 3 Kim Kwang Sik
HK 2 Kim Jeep
LP 1 Park Sung Ku
Replacements:
HK 16Na Kwan Young
PR 17Son Young Ki
PR 18Shin Dong Won
FL 19Hwan In Jo
N8 20Lee Young Seung
SH 21Shin Ki Chul
FB 22Nam Young Soo
WG 23Park Han Gyul
Coach:
Chung Hyung Seok
FB 15Ayumu Goromaru
RW 14Chihito Matsui
OC 13Karne Hesketh
IC 12
LW 11Yoshikazu Fujita
FH 10
SH 9
N8 8 Koliniasi Holani
OF 7
BF 6 Justin Ives
RL 5 Shoji Ito
LL 4
TP 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama (c)
HK 2
LP 1
Replacements:
PR 16
HK 17
PR 18
LK 19
FL 20
SH 21
CE 22
WG 23
Coach:
Eddie Jones
Touch judges:
Matthew Rodden (Hong Kong)
Stephen Copeman (Hong Kong)

Week 2

FB 15Alex McQueen
RW 14Tom McQueen
OC 13Max Woodward
IC 12Tyler Spitz
LW 11Salom Yiu Kam Shing
FH 10Chris McAdam
SH 9 Cado Lee Ka-to
N8 8 Nick Hewson (c)
OF 7 Matt Lamming
BF 6 Alex Baddeley
RL 5 Paul Dywer
LL 4 Jack Delaforce
TP 3 James Cooper
HK 2 Lachlan Chubb
LP 1 John Aikman
Replacements:
HK 16Alex Harris
PR 17Leon Wei Hon Sum
PR 18Jack Nielsen
LK 19Bill Brant
FL 20Toby Fenn
SH 21Jaime Hood
WG 22Charlie Higson-Smith
FH 23Niall Rowark
Coach:
Andrew Hall
FB 15Jang Seong Min
RW 14Jegal Bin
OC 13Kim Sung Soo (c)
IC 12Kim Namuk
LW 11Chang Yong Heung
FH 10
SH 9 Lee Myung Jun
N8 8 Hwan In Jo
OF 7 Jang Seok Hwan
BF 6 Kim Hyun Soo
RL 5 Youn Kwon Woo
LL 4 Park Soon Chai
TP 3 Kim Kwang Sik
HK 2 Kim Jeep
LP 1 Park Sung Ku
Replacements:
HK 16Na Kwan Young
PR 17Son Young Ki
PR 18Shin Dong Won
FL 19Kim Min Kyu
N8 20Kim Jeong Min
SH 21Shin Ki Chul
FB 22Nam Young Soo
WG 23Kim Gwong Min
Coach:
Chung Hyung Seok
Touch judges:
Taizo Hirabayashi (Japan)
Rui Shimizu (Japan)

Week 3

FB 15Ayumu Goromaru
RW 14
OC 13Karne Hesketh
IC 12Yuu Tamura
LW 11Akihito Yamada
FH 10
SH 9
N8 8 Koliniasi Holani
OF 7
BF 6 Justin Ives
RL 5 Shoji Ito
LL 4
TP 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama (c)
HK 2
LP 1
Replacements:
PR 16
HK 17
PR 18
LK 19
FL 20
SH 21
WG 22
WG 23
Coach:
Eddie Jones
FB 15Alex McQueen
RW 14Tom McQueen
OC 13Jaime Hood
IC 12Max Woodward
LW 11Charlie Higson-Smith
FH 10Ben Rimen
SH 9 Cado Lee Ka-to
N8 8 Nick Hewson (c)
OF 7 Toby Fenn
BF 6 Matt Lamming
RL 5 Paul Dywer
LL 4 Adam Butterfield
TP 3 Jack Parfitt
HK 2 Alex Harris
LP 1 Leon Wei Hon Sum
Replacements:
HK 16John Aikman
PR 17Lachlan Chubb
PR 18Jack Nielsen
LK 19Alex Baddeley
N8 20Damian Bailey
SH 21Adam Rolston
WG 22Jonny Rees
FH 23Niall Rowark
Coach:
Andrew Hall
Touch judges:
Chris Linwood (United Arab Emirates)
Sansudin Saleh (Malaysia)

Week 4

FB 15Ayumu Goromaru
RW 14Yoshikazu Fujita
OC 13Karne Hesketh
IC 12
LW 11Kenki Fukuoka
FH 10
SH 9
N8 8 Koliniasi Holani
OF 7
BF 6 Justin Ives
RL 5 Shoji Ito
LL 4
TP 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama (c)
HK 2
LP 1
Replacements:
PR 16
HK 17
PR 18
LK 19
FL 20
SH 21
CE 22
WG 23
Coach:
Eddie Jones
FB 15Jang Seong Min
RW 14Park Han Gyul
OC 13Jegal Bin
IC 12Kim Namuk
LW 11Kim Gwong Min
FH 10Lee Eutteum
SH 9 Shin Ki Chul
N8 8 Park Soon Chai
OF 7 Kim Jeong Min (c)
BF 6 Jang Seok Hwan
RL 5 Youn Kwon Woo
LL 4 Kim Ho Bum
TP 3 Shin Dong Won
HK 2 Kim Jeep
LP 1 Son Young Ki
Replacements:
PR 16Na Kwan Young
HK 17Kim Min Kyu
PR 18Kim Min Kyu
LK 19Choi Kang San
FL 20Hwan In Jo
SH 21Lee Myung Jun
FH 22
FB 23Nam Young Soo
Coach:
Chung Hyung Seok
Touch judges:
Tim Baker (Hong Kong)
Patrick Wallingford (Hong Kong)

Week 5

FB 15Jang Seong Min
RW 14Jegal Bin
OC 13Kim Sung Soo
IC 12Kim Namuk
LW 11Chang Yong Heung
FH 10
SH 9 Lee Myung Jun
N8 8 Park Soon Chai
OF 7 Kim Jeong Min (c)
BF 6 Jang Seok Hwan
RL 5 Youn Kwon Woo
LL 4 Kim Ho Bum
TP 3 Kim Kwang Sik
HK 2 Kim Jeep
LP 1 Park Sung Ku
Replacements:
PR 16Na Kwan Young
HK 17Kim Min Kyu
PR 18Shin Dong Won
LK 19Park Hwan
FL 20Hwan In Jo
SH 21Shin Ki Chul
FH 22Lee Eu Dum
FB 23Andre Coquillard
Coach:
Chung Hyung Seok
FB 15Alex McQueen
RW 14Tom McQueen
OC 13Jamie Hood
IC 12Max Woodward
LW 11Salom Yiu Kam Shing
FH 10Ben Rimen
SH 9 Cado Lee Ka-to
N8 8 Nick Hewson (c)
OF 7 Toby Fenn
BF 6 Matt Lamming
RL 5 Adrian Griffiths
LL 4 Paul Dywer
TP 3 Jack Parfitt
HK 2 Lachlan Chubb
LP 1 John Aikman
Replacements:
HK 16Alex Harris
PR 17Leon Wei Hon Sum
PR 18Jack Nielsen
LK 19Jack Delaforce
FL 20Alex Baddeley
N8 21Damian Bailey
CE 22Tyler Spitz
FH 23Niall Rowark
Coach:
Andrew Hall

Week 6

FB 15Jean-Baptiste Aldige
RW 14Tom McQueen
OC 13Max Woodward
IC 12Tyler Spitz
LW 11Salom Yiu Kam Shing
FH 10Niall Rowark
SH 9 Cado Lee Ka-to
N8 8 Alex Baddeley
OF 7 Matt Lamming
BF 6 Nick Hewson (c)
RL 5 Paul Dywer
LL 4 Adrian Griffiths
TP 3 Jack Parfitt
HK 2 Alex Harris
LP 1 Leon Wei Hon Sum
Replacements:
HK 16Lachlan Chubb
PR 17Jack Nielsen
PR 18James Cooper
LK 19Jack Delaforce
N8 20Damian Bailey
SH 21Adam Rolston
CE 22Gavin Hadley
FH 23Chris McAdam
Coach:
Andrew Hall
FB 15Ayumu Goromaru (c)
RW 14Yoshikazu Fujita
OC 13Karne Hesketh
IC 12Yuu Tamura
LW 11Kenki Fukuoka
FH 10Harumichi Tatekawa
SH 9 Yuki Yatomi
N8 8 Koliniasi Holani
OF 7 Hayden Hopgood
BF 6 Justin Ives
RL 5 Shoji Ito
LL 4 Luke Thompson
TP 3 Shinnosuke Kakinaga
HK 2 Ryuhei Arita
LP 1 Hisateru Hirashima
Replacements:
PR 16Masataka Mikami
HK 17Hiroki Yuhara
PR 18Ryu Sioapelatu Holani
LK 19Hitoshi Ono
FL 20Michael Broadhurst
SH 21Keisuke Uchida
CE 22Ryohei Yamanaka
WG 23Toshiaki Hirose
Coach:
Eddie Jones
Touch judges:
Norman Drake (United Arab Emirates)
Sansudin Saleh (Malaysia)

Top 3 Challenge

Due to financial reasons, the game was cancelled and South Korea remained in the Tri-nations division for 2016.

Squads

Summary

NationMatch venuesHead coachCaptain
NameCityCapacity
Aberdeen Sports GroundHong Kong9,000 Andrew HallNick Hewson
Hong Kong Football Club StadiumHong Kong2,800
Chichibunomiya Rugby StadiumTokyo27,188 Eddie JonesKensuke Hatakeyama
Level-5 StadiumFukuoka22,563
Namdong Asiad Rugby StadiumIncheon7,000 Chung Hyung SeokKim Sung Soo

Note: Ages, caps and domestic side are of 18 April 2015 – the starting date of the tournament.

Japan

On 5 March, head coach Eddie Jones named a 31-man squad for the 2015 Asian Rugby Championship.[2]

On 11 April, Chihito Matsui and Ryohei Yamanaka was added to the squad.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong's squad for the 2015 Asian Rugby Championship.

Adrian Griffiths was added to the squad for the Round 5 game with South Korea.

Head Coach: Andrew Hall

Forwards
PlayerPositionClub
Lachlan ChubbHooker Hong Kong Scottish
Alex HarrisHooker Kowloon RFC
John AikmanProp Hong Kong Scottish
James CooperProp Hong Kong Cricket Club
Jack NielsenProp Hong Kong Cricket Club
Jack ParfittProp Hong Kong Scottish
Leon Wei Hon SumProp Valley RFC
Bill BrantLock Hong Kong Cricket Club
Adam ButterfieldLock Hong Kong Football Club
Jack DelaforceLock Hong Kong Cricket Club
Paul DywerLock Hong Kong Cricket Club
Adrian GriffithsLock Hong Kong Scottish
Alex BaddeleyFlanker Valley RFC
Toby FennFlanker Valley RFC
Matt LammingFlanker Hong Kong Cricket Club
Damian BaileyNumber eight Hong Kong Cricket Club
Nick Hewson (c)Number eight Valley RFC
Backs
PlayerPositionClub
Jaime HoodScrum-half Hong Kong Football Club
Cado Lee Ka-toScrum-half Kowloon RFC
Adam RolstonScrum-half Valley RFC
Chris McAdamFly-half Kowloon RFC
Ben RimenFly-half Valley RFC
Niall RowarkFly-half Hong Kong Football Club
Gavin HadleyCentre Hong Kong Football Club
Jonny ReesCentre Hong Kong Football Club
Tyler SpitzCentre USRC Tigers RFC
Max WoodwardCentre Valley RFC
Charlie Higson-SmithWing Hong Kong Football Club
Tom McQueenWing Hong Kong Cricket Club
Salom Yiu Kam ShingWing Valley RFC
Jean-Baptiste AldigeFullback Valley RFC
Alex McQueenFullback Hong Kong Cricket Club

South Korea

South Korea 31-man squad for the 2015 Asian Rugby Championship.

Andre Coquillard and Park Hwan were added to the squad for the Round 5 game with Hong Kong.

Forwards
width:40%"Playerwidth:20%"Positionwidth:40%"Club
Kim JeepHooker KAFAC
Na Kwan YoungHooker KAFAC
Kim Min KyuHooker Sang Mu
Shin Dong WonProp Kintetsu Liners
Kim Kwang SikProp Honda Heat
Park Sung KuProp Kubota Spears
Son Young KiProp Posco
Kim Ho BumLock Kubota Spears
Park HwanLock Kepco
Han Kun KyuLock Kepco
Youn Kwon WooLock Musashino Atlastars
Jang Seok HwanLock Sang Mu
Park Soon ChaiLock NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes
Chang Sung MinLock Korea Uni.
Kim Hyun SooFlanker Kepco
Yun Il HanFlanker Dankook University
Hwan In JoFlanker Kepco
Kim Jeong Min (c)Flanker Kepco
Son Min SuFlanker Kyung Hee Uni.
Lee Young SeungNumber eight Hino Red Dolphins
Backs
width:40%"Playerwidth:20%"Positionwidth:40%"Club
Shin Ki ChulScrum-half Korea Rugby Union
Lee Myung JunScrum-half Sang Mu
Park Wan YoungScrum-half Kepco
Lee Eu DumFly-half Posco
Lee Eu TteumFly-half Posco
Oh Youn-hyungFly-half Kepco
Jegal BinCentre NTT Communications Shining Arcs
Kim NamukCentre Kepco
Kim Sung Soo (vc)Centre Kepco
Kim Gwong MinWing Kepco
Park Han GyulWing Korea Rugby Union
Chang Yong HeungWing Yonsei University
Andre CoquillardFullback Korea Rugby Union
Jang Seong MinFullback Sang Mu
Nam Young SooFullback Sang Mu

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Sallay. Alvin. ARFU's philosophical change a boon for Asia's big three. 23 February 2015. South China Morning Post. 5 December 2014.
  2. Web site: Jones announces 31-man Brave Blossoms squad for Asian Rugby Championship. 5 March 2015. 14 September 2017. Japan Times Online.

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