| Rugby League Asian Cup | |
| Founded: | 2012 |
| Teams: | 2 |
| Countrytag: | Region |
| Country: | Asia-Pacific |
| Gov Body: | APRLF |
| Season: | 2012 |
| Count: | 2 |
The Rugby League Asian Cup was a rugby league football tournament for Asian nations that was held in 2012 and 2013. Both editions of the tournament featured the Philippines and Thailand playing each other once. It is run by the Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation and the Trophy itself was donated[1] by the RLIF.
On October 21, 2012, the Philippines Tamaraws defeated the Thailand Stars to win the inaugural Rugby League Asian Cup.[2] and on October 23, 2013, the Philippines again defeated Thailand at the second Asian Cup.[3]
On October 21, 2012, after beating Thailand in the Asian Cup final, Philippines captain Luke Srama was presented with the first Asian Cup trophy. Srama was also presented with a Friendship Cup as a good gesture between the two teams.
The format of the inaugural Rugby League Asian Cup involved a one-off match held in Bangkok between Thailand and the Philippines to decide the champion of the tournament.
It is expected in the future editions of the Asian Cup that the Japan national rugby league team and Singapore will compete in the tournament. It is also hoped that other Asian nations will compete in the future. Japan has planned hosting the tournament in 2014 [4]
| Year | Host nation(s) | Teams | width=1% rowspan=23 | Final result | width=1% rowspan=23 | Final details | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=15% | Winner | width=8% | Score | width=15% | Runner-up | width=15% | Venue | width=8% | Attendance | ||
| 2012 Details | Thailand | 2 | 86 - 0 | Royal Thai Police Stadium, Bangkok | 150 | ||||||
| 2013 Details | Philippines | 2 | 44 - 10 | Philippine Merchant Marine Academy Stadium, San Narciso, Zambales | 2000 | ||||||
The Philippines is the only nation to have won the Asian Cup.
The following list, are all the teams that have competed in the Asian Cup tournament since its inception; the number of times they have appeared; their most recent appearance; consecutive appearances and their highest result:
| Nation | Number of appearances | First appearance | Most recent appearance | Most consecutive cups | Best result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2012 | 2013 | 2 | Champion, 2012 and 2013 | ||
| 2 | 2012 | 2013 | 2 | Runner-up, 2012 and 2013 |
As of the 2013 edition
As of the 2012 edition
| Points | Scorers | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 |  Matt Srama | |
| 16 | William Dreves | |
| 12 | Kevin Gordon | |
| 12 | Dennis Gordon | |
| 8 | Luke Srama | |
| 8 |  Brett Clarke |
As of the 2013 edition
| Year | Captain | Coach | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Luke Srama |  Clayton Watene | ||
| 2013 | Luke Srama | Clayton Watene |