2016 Asia Rugby Championship Explained

The 2016 Asia Rugby Championship, or ARC, was the second annual tri-nations series for top-level rugby union in Asia and the twenty-ninth continental championship for the Asia Rugby 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 2016 series included Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea. Other Asian nations competed in the lower division tournaments.

The format of the competition is a double round-robin where the top-three nations play each other twice on a home and away basis. The team finishing on top of the standings is declared the winner, and the bottom-placed team is subject to a promotion-relegation play-off against the winner of Division 1,^{[1] [2]} although this opportunity to challenge is often declined.

Teams

The teams involved, with their world rankings prior to the 2016 tournament in brackets:

Nation	Home stadium	City	Head coach	Captain
(10)	Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium	Yokohama Tokyo	Ryuji Nakatake	Keisuke Uchida
(23)	Hong Kong Football Club Stadium	Hong Kong	Leigh Jones	Nick Hewson
(29)	Namdong Asiad Rugby Stadium	Incheon	John Walters	Shin Dong Won

Standings

Champions
Will play in the top 3 challenge

Position	Nation	Games				Points			Points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Difference	BP1	BP2	Total
1		4	4	0	0	242	23	+219	4	0	20
2		4	2	0	2	95	139	-44	2	0	10
3		4	0	0	4	45	220	-175	1	1	2
Source: rugbyarchive.net Four points for a win, two for a draw, one bonus point for four tries or more (BP1) and one bonus point for losing by seven or less (BP2).

Fixtures

Week 1

FB 15 Ryuji Noguchi RW 14 OC 13 Takuya Ishibashi IC 12 Ryoto Nakamura LW 11 Kentaro Kodama FH 10 SH 9 Keisuke Uchida (c) N8 8 Tevita Tatafu OF 7 Taiyo Ando BF 6 Hiroki Yamamoto RL 5 Kazuhiko Usami LL 4 Kotaro Yatabe TP 3 Yu Chinen HK 2 Futoshi Mori LP 1 Kengo Kitagawa Replacements: PR 16 Kanta Higashionna HK 17 Atsushi Sakate PR 18 Takayuki Watanabe LK 19 Naohiro Kotaki N8 20 SH 21 Daisuke Inoue CE 22 Doga Maeda CE 23 Ataata Moeakiola Coach: Ryuji Nakatake

FB 15 Nam Young Soo RW 14 Jang Seong Min OC 13 Jegal Bin IC 12 Lim Sang Jin LW 11 Kim Jin hyeok FH 10 SH 9 Shin Ki Cheol N8 8 Han Kun Kyu OF 7 Kim Hyun Soo BF 6 Park Soon Chai RL 5 Nam Jong Song LL 4 Youn Kwon Woo TP 3 Shin Dong Won (c) HK 2 Kim Min Kyu LP 1 Na Kwan Young Replacements: HK 16 Chong Kwi Hong PR 17 Kang Tae Hyeon PR 18 Kim Myeong Hwan FL 19 Shin Dah Yeon N8 20 Hwang In Jo SH 21 Ahn Sang Ho FB 22 Oh Jim Yeong WG 23 Kim Sung Soo Coach: John Walters

Week 2

FB 15 Alexander McQueen RW 14 Ryan Meacheam OC 13 James Robinson IC 12 Lee Jones LW 11 Salom Yiu Kam Shing FH 10 Benjamin Rimene SH 9 Jamie Hood N8 8 Daniel Falvey OF 7 Toby Fenn BF 6 Nick Hewson (c) RL 5 Paul Dywer LL 4 Adrian Griffiths TP 3 Jack Parfitt HK 2 Jamie Tsang LP 1 Adam Fullgrabe Replacements: HK 16 Lachlan Chubb PR 17 Hon Wum Wei PR 18 Alex Ng LK 19 James Cunningham N8 20 Jack Delaforce SH 21 Eliesa Kaleca Rauca CE 22 Cado Lee FH 23 Niall Rowark Coach: Leigh Jones

FB 15 Ryuji Noguchi RW 14 OC 13 IC 12 Ryoto Nakamura LW 11 Kentaro Kodama FH 10 Ryohei Yamanaka SH 9 Keisuke Uchida (c) N8 8 OF 7 Shokei Kin BF 6 Tsuyoshi Murata RL 5 Kazuhiko Usami LL 4 TP 3 HK 2 LP 1 Replacements: PR 16 HK 17 PR 18 LK 19 FL 20 SH 21 CE 22 WG 23 Coach: Ryuji Nakatake

Week 3

FB 15 Lee Jae Bok RW 14 Jang Seong Min OC 13 Kim Sung Soo IC 12 Kim Jin Hyeok LW 11 Lee Soop Yeong FH 10 Oh Jim Yeong SH 9 Shin Ki Cheol N8 8 Han Kun Kyu OF 7 Kim Hyun Soo BF 6 Park Soon Chai RL 5 Kim Sang Jin LL 4 Youn Kwon Woo TP 3 Shin Dong Won (c) HK 2 Na Kwan Young LP 1 Chong Kwi Hong Coach: John Walters

FB 15 Alexander McQueen RW 14 Ryan Meacheam OC 13 James Robinson IC 12 Lex Kaleca LW 11 Salom Yiu Kam Shing FH 10 Benjamin Rimene SH 9 Jamie Hood N8 8 Daniel Falvey OF 7 Toby Fenn BF 6 Nick Hewson (c) RL 5 Paul Dywer LL 4 Adrian Griffiths TP 3 Rohan Cook HK 2 Jamie Tsang LP 1 Adam Fullgrabe Replacements: HK 16 Lachlan Chubb PR 17 Wei Hon Wum PR 18 Alex Ng LK 19 James Cunningham N8 20 Jack Delaforce SH 21 Lee Jones CE 22 Cado Lee FH 23 Niall Rowark Coach: Leigh Jones

Week 4

FB 15 Lee Jae Bok RW 14 Nam Young Soo OC 13 Kim Sung Soo IC 12 Kim Jin Hyeok LW 11 Lee Soo Pyeong FH 10 Oh Jim Yeong SH 9 Shin Ki Cheol N8 8 Hwang In Jo OF 7 Kim Hyun Soo BF 6 Shin Da Hyeon RL 5 Kim Sang Jin LL 4 Youn Kwon Woo TP 3 Shin Dong Won (c) HK 2 Na Kwan Young LP 1 Chong Kwi Hong Replacements: 16 Kang Tae Hyeon 17 Kim Min Kyo 18 Kim Myeong Hwan 19 Nam Jong Song 20 Son Min Su 21 Lee Sung Bae 22 Oh Youn Hyung 23 Kim In Kyu Coach: John Walters

FB 15 RW 14 Takuhei Yasuda OC 13 Doga Maeda IC 12 Takuya Ishibashi LW 11 Kentaro Kodama FH 10 Ryoto Nakamura SH 9 Keisuke Uchida (c) N8 8 Hiroki Yamamoto OF 7 Shokei Kin BF 6 Masato Furukawa RL 5 Naohiro Kotaki LL 4 Kotaro Yatabe TP 3 Takayuki Watanabe HK 2 Atsushi Sakate LP 1 Kanta Higashionna Replacements: PR 16 Shogo Miura HK 17 Daigo Hashimoto PR 18 Kengo Kitagawa LK 19 Kazuhiko Usami N8 20 Faulua Makisi SH 21 Daiki Nakajima CE 22 Ryuji Noguchi FH 23 Coach: Ryuji Nakatake

Week 5

FB 15 Ryuji Noguchi RW 14 OC 13 Doga Maeda IC 12 Takuya Ishibashi LW 11 Kentaro Kodama FH 10 Ryoto Nakamura SH 9 Keisuke Uchida (c) N8 8 OF 7 Shokei Kin BF 6 RL 5 Kazuhiko Usami LL 4 TP 3 HK 2 LP 1 Replacements: PR 16 HK 17 PR 18 LK 19 FL 20 SH 21 CE 22 WG 23 Coach: Ryuji Nakatake

FB 15 Alexander McQueen RW 14 Ryan Meacheam OC 13 James Robinson IC 12 Tyler Spitz LW 11 Rowan Varty FH 10 Ben Rimene SH 9 Cado Lee Ka To N8 8 Daniel Falvey (c) OF 7 Matt Lamming BF 6 James Cunningham RL 5 Adrian Griffiths LL 4 Jack Delaforce TP 3 Jack Parfitt HK 2 Lachlan Chubb LP 1 Ben Higgins Replacements: HK 16 Jamie Tsang PR 17 Adam Fullgrabe PR 18 Alex Ng Wai-Shing LK 19 Nick Hewson N8 20 Tony Wong Ho Yeung SH 21 Lee Jones CE 22 Adam Rolston FH 23 Niall Rowark Coach: Leigh Jones

Week 6

FB 15 Lee Jae Bok RW 14 Lim Sang Jin OC 13 Kim Seon Gu IC 12 Kim Sung Soo LW 11 Lee Soop Yeong FH 10 Jung Bu Hyon SH 9 Shin Ki Cheol N8 8 Son Min Su OF 7 Kim Hyun Soo BF 6 Shin Da Hyeon RL 5 Kim Sang Jin LL 4 Youn Kwon Woo TP 3 Shin Dong Won (c) HK 2 Kim Min Kyu LP 1 Kang Tae Hyeon Coach: John Walters

FB 15 Alexander McQueen RW 14 Ryan Meacheam OC 13 James Robinson IC 12 Tyler Spitz LW 11 Salom Yiu Kam Shing FH 10 Benjamin Rimene SH 9 Jamie Hood N8 8 Daniel Falvey OF 7 Toby Fenn BF 6 Nicholas Hewson (c) RL 5 Paul Dywer LL 4 Adrian Griffiths TP 3 Jack Parfitt HK 2 Lachlan Chubb LP 1 Benjamin Higgins Replacements: HK 16 Jamie Tsang PR 17 Adam Fullgrade PR 18 Alex Ng Wai Shing LK 19 Finlay Field N8 20 James Cunningham SH 21 Cado Lee Ka-to CE 22 Lex Kaleca FH 23 Niall Rowark Coach: Leigh Jones

Top 3 Challenge

Division 1 winners, Malaysia did not choose to participate in the promotion-relegation play-off. Meaning the composition of next series of the tournament remains the same.^[3]

See also

• 2016 Asia Rugby Championship division tournaments

Notes and References

1. Web site: Asia Rugby Calendar 2016 Asia Rugby . 2016-08-13 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160813002546/http://asiarugby.com/calendar-1 . 2016-08-13 .
2. Web site: Asia Rugby Championship 2016 Asia Rugby . 2016-04-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160416082545/http://asiarugby.com/results-4/ARC/2016-1 . 2016-04-16 . dead .
3. News: Idris. Wan Noriza Meor. Find us a home, plead MRU. 16 May 2016. Malay Mail Online. 16 May 2016.