2015 Asia Rugby Championship

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.

For the divisional competitions, see 2015 Asia Rugby Championship division tournaments.
2015 Asia Rugby Championship
Date18 April – 23 May
Countries Hong Kong
 Japan
 South Korea
Final positions
Champions Japan (23rd title)
Tournament statistics
Matches played6
Tries scored50 (8.33 per match)
Top scorer(s) Ayumu Goromaru (38)
Oh Youn-hyung (38)
Most tries Jegal Bin (4)
Karne Hesketh (4)
Jang Seong Min (4)
Websitewww.asian5nations.com
← 2014
2016 →

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
Position Nation Games Points Bonus
points		 Total
points
Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Difference
1 Japan 431016340+123321
2 Hong Kong 411264111–47311
3 South Korea 4103110186–7638
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:

  • The final match saw the Japan v Hong Kong match abandoned due to adverse weather. It was agreed that Japan and Hong Kong would share the points, with each team receiving 3 points each.

Fixtures

Week 1
18 April 2015
12:00 KST (UTC+09)
South Korea  30–56  Japan
Try: Seong Min (2) 11' c, 15' c
Namuk 68' c
Con: Youn-hyung (3/3) 11', 15', 68'
Pen: Youn-hyung (3/3) 6', 36', 48'
 Report[2] Try: Hopgood (2) 24' c, 71' m
Matsui 32' m
Penalty try 38' c
Hesketh 46' m
Fujita 53' m
Tamura 62' m
Holani 74' c
Ives 78' c
Con: Goromaru (4/9) 25', 39', 75', 79'
Pen: Goromaru (1/1) 2'
Namdong Asiad Rugby Stadium, Incheon
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Tim Baker (Hong Kong)
FB15Jang Seong Min 43'
RW14Jegal Bin
OC13Kim Sung Soo (c) 46'
IC12Kim Namuk
LW11Kim Gwong Min
FH10Oh Youn-hyung
SH9Lee Myung Jun
N88Han Kun Kyu
OF7Jang Seok Hwan
BF6Kim Hyun Soo
RL5Youn Kwon Woo 40'
LL4Kim Ho Bum 71'
TP3Kim Kwang Sik 46'
HK2Kim Jeep 46'
LP1Park Sung Ku 46'
Replacements:
HK16Na Kwan Young 46'
PR17Son Young Ki 46'
PR18Shin Dong Won 46'
FL19Hwan In Jo 43'
N820Lee Young Seung 40' 43'
SH21Shin Ki Chul 71'
FB22Nam Young Soo 43'
WG23Park Han Gyul 46'
Coach:
Chung Hyung Seok
FB15Ayumu Goromaru
RW14Chihito Matsui
OC13Karne Hesketh
IC12Yuu Tamura 63'
LW11Yoshikazu Fujita
FH10Harumichi Tatekawa 56'
SH9Atsushi Hiwasa 72'
N88Ryu Holani
OF7Hayden Hopgood 9' to 19'  75'
BF6Justin Ives
RL5Shoji Ito
LL4Luke Thompson 75'
TP3Kensuke Hatakeyama (c) 66'
HK2Takeshi Kizu 54'
LP1Masataka Mikami 70'
Replacements:
PR16Hisateru Hirashima 70'
HK17Hiroki Yuhara 54'
PR18Hiroshi Yamashita 66'
LK19Kazuhiko Usami 75'
FL20Tsuyoshi Murata 9' 19' 75'
SH21Keisuke Uchida 72'
CE22Ryohei Yamanaka 63'
WG23Toshiaki Hirose 56'
Coach:
Eddie Jones

Touch judges:
Matthew Rodden (Hong Kong)
Stephen Copeman (Hong Kong)

Week 2
25 April 2015
16:00 HKT (UTC+08)
Hong Kong  26–33  South Korea
Try: T. McQueen 15' c
Aikman 45' c
A. McQueen 56' m
Kam Shing 71' c
Con: McAdam (1/1) 17'
Rowark (2/3) 46', 73'
 Report[3] Try: Seong Min (2) 4' m, 39' m
Bin (2) 10' c, 25' m
Yong Heung 49' m
Con: Youn-hyung (1/5) 11'
Pen: Youn-hyung (2/2) 32', 41'
Hong Kong Football Club Stadium, Hong Kong
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Paul McKay (Singapore)
FB15Alex McQueen
RW14Tom McQueen
OC13Max Woodward
IC12Tyler Spitz 61'
LW11Salom Yiu Kam Shing
FH10Chris McAdam 40'
SH9Cado Lee Ka-to
N88Nick Hewson (c)
OF7Matt Lamming
BF6Alex Baddeley 61'
RL5Paul Dywer
LL4Jack Delaforce 51'
TP3James Cooper 58'
HK2Lachlan Chubb 52'
LP1John Aikman 51'
Replacements:
HK16Alex Harris 52'
PR17Leon Wei Hon Sum 51'
PR18Jack Nielsen 58'
LK19Bill Brant 51'
FL20Toby Fenn 61'
SH21Jaime Hood 61'
WG22Charlie Higson-Smith
FH23Niall Rowark 40'
Coach:
Andrew Hall
FB15Jang Seong Min
RW14Jegal Bin
OC13Kim Sung Soo (c) 58'
IC12Kim Namuk
LW11Chang Yong Heung
FH10Oh Youn-hyung 69'
SH9Lee Myung Jun
N88Hwan In Jo 42'
OF7Jang Seok Hwan
BF6Kim Hyun Soo 53'
RL5Youn Kwon Woo
LL4Park Soon Chai
TP3Kim Kwang Sik 44' to 54' 73'
HK2Kim Jeep 46'
LP1Park Sung Ku 57'
Replacements:
HK16Na Kwan Young 46'
PR17Son Young Ki 57'
PR18Shin Dong Won 73'
FL19Kim Min Kyu 53'
N820Kim Jeong Min 42'
SH21Shin Ki Chul
FB22Nam Young Soo 69'
WG23Kim Gwong Min 58'
Coach:
Chung Hyung Seok

Touch judges:
Taizo Hirabayashi (Japan)
Rui Shimizu (Japan)

Week 3
2 May 2015
14:00 JST (UTC+09)
Japan  41–0  Hong Kong
Try: Yamada (2) 15' c, 48' m
Hesketh 27' c
Thompson 31' m
Tamura 43' m
Holani 64' c
Fujita 72' m
Con: Goromaru (3/7) 16', 28', 64'
 Report[4]
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo
Attendance: 8,760
Referee: Norman Drake (United Arab Emirates)
FB15Ayumu Goromaru
RW14Chihito Matsui 39'
OC13Karne Hesketh
IC12Yuu Tamura
LW11Akihito Yamada
FH10Harumichi Tatekawa 61'
SH9Atsushi Hiwasa 63'
N88Ryu Holani
OF7Tsuyoshi Murata 39'
BF6Justin Ives
RL5Shoji Ito
LL4Luke Thompson 63'
TP3Kensuke Hatakeyama (c) 61'
HK2Takeshi Kizu 29' 62'
LP1Masataka Mikami 29' 53'
Replacements:
PR16Yusuke Nagae 29' 53'
HK17Ryuhei Arita 29' 62'
PR18Shinnosuke Kakinaga 61'
LK19Kazuhiko Usami 63'
FL20Hayden Hopgood 39'
SH21Keisuke Uchida 63'
WG22Toshiaki Hirose 61'
WG23Yoshikazu Fujita 39'
Coach:
Eddie Jones
FB15Alex McQueen
RW14Tom McQueen
OC13Jaime Hood
IC12Max Woodward 64'
LW11Charlie Higson-Smith 61' to 71' 71'
FH10Ben Rimen
SH9Cado Lee Ka-to 46'
N88Nick Hewson (c) 55'
OF7Toby Fenn
BF6Matt Lamming 46' to 56'
RL5Paul Dywer
LL4Adam Butterfield 40'
TP3Jack Parfitt 64'
HK2Alex Harris 52'
LP1Leon Wei Hon Sum 40'
Replacements:
HK16John Aikman 52'
PR17Lachlan Chubb 40'
PR18Jack Nielsen 64'
LK19Alex Baddeley 40'
N820Damian Bailey 55'
SH21Adam Rolston 46'
WG22Jonny Rees 71'
FH23Niall Rowark 64'
Coach:
Andrew Hall

Touch judges:
Chris Linwood (United Arab Emirates)
Sansudin Saleh (Malaysia)

Week 4
9 May 2015
JST (UTC+09)
Japan  66–10  South Korea
Try: Fukuoka (3) 1' c, 64' c, 79' c
Tatekawa 16' m
Hesketh (2) 24' c, 60' c
Goromaru 29' c
Hatakeyama 39' m
Holani 52' c
Thompson 72' c
Con: Goromaru (8/9) 1', 24', 29', 52', 60', 64', 72', 79'
 Try: Bin 11' c
Con: Han Gyul (1/1) 11'
Pen: Youn-hyung (1/1) 49'
Level-5 Stadium, Fukuoka
Attendance: 4,583
Referee: Matt Rodden (Hong Kong)
FB15Ayumu Goromaru
RW14Yoshikazu Fujita
OC13Karne Hesketh
IC12Yuu Tamura 61'
LW11Kenki Fukuoka
FH10Harumichi Tatekawa 67'
SH9Atsushi Hiwasa 61'
N88Ryu Holani
OF7Tsuyoshi Murata 46'
BF6Justin Ives
RL5Shoji Ito
LL4Kazuhiko Usami 64'
TP3Kensuke Hatakeyama (c) 54'
HK2Takeshi Kizu 61'
LP1Hisateru Hirashima 46'
Replacements:
PR16Masataka Mikami 46'
HK17Hiroki Yuhara 61'
PR18Hiroshi Yamashita 54'
LK19Luke Thompson 64'
FL20Hayden Hopgood 46'
SH21Yuki Yatomi 61'
CE22Ryohei Yamanaka 61'
WG23Toshiaki Hirose 67'
Coach:
Eddie Jones
FB15Jang Seong Min 46'
RW14Park Han Gyul
OC13Jegal Bin
IC12Kim Namuk
LW11Kim Gwong Min
FH10Lee Eutteum 78'
SH9Shin Ki Chul 21'
N88Park Soon Chai
OF7Kim Jeong Min (c) 65'
BF6Jang Seok Hwan
RL5Youn Kwon Woo 73'
LL4Kim Ho Bum
TP3Shin Dong Won 50'
HK2Kim Jeep 73'
LP1Son Young Ki 50'
Replacements:
PR16Na Kwan Young 50'
HK17Kim Min Kyu 73'
PR18Kim Min Kyu 50'
LK19Choi Kang San 73'
FL20Hwan In Jo 65'
SH21Lee Myung Jun 21'
FH22Oh Youn-hyung 46'
FB23Nam Young Soo 78'
Coach:
Chung Hyung Seok

Touch judges:
Tim Baker (Hong Kong)
Patrick Wallingford (Hong Kong)

Week 5
16 May 2015
12:00 KST (UTC+09)
South Korea  37–38  Hong Kong
Try: Jeong Min (2) 11' c, 22' c
Bin 17' m
Yong Heung 41' c
Namuk 74' m
Con: Youn-hyung (3/4) 13', 23', 42'
Pen: Youn-hyung (1/1) 58'
Drop: Youn-hyung (1/1) 68'
 Report[5] Try: Kam Shing (2) 19' c, 80+2' c
Fenn 38' m
Spitz 62' m
Dywer 71' c
Hewson 78' c
Con: Rimen (1/2) 20'
Rowark (3/4) 72', 78', 80+3'
Namdong Asiad Rugby Stadium, Incheon
Referee: Rui Shimizu (Japan)
FB15Jang Seong Min
RW14Jegal Bin
OC13Kim Sung Soo 68'
IC12Kim Namuk 79' to 80'
LW11Chang Yong Heung
FH10Oh Youn-hyung 72'
SH9Lee Myung Jun
N88Park Soon Chai 69'
OF7Kim Jeong Min (c)
BF6Jang Seok Hwan
RL5Youn Kwon Woo 55'
LL4Kim Ho Bum 74'
TP3Kim Kwang Sik 49'
HK2Kim Jeep 55'
LP1Park Sung Ku 64'
Replacements:
PR16Na Kwan Young 64'
HK17Kim Min Kyu 55'
PR18Shin Dong Won 55'
LK19Park Hwan 74'
FL20Hwan In Jo 69'
SH21Shin Ki Chul
FH22Lee Eu Dum 72'
FB23Andre Coquillard 68'
Coach:
Chung Hyung Seok
FB15Alex McQueen
RW14Tom McQueen
OC13Jamie Hood 24'
IC12Max Woodward
LW11Salom Yiu Kam Shing
FH10Ben Rimen 50'
SH9Cado Lee Ka-to
N88Nick Hewson (c)
OF7Toby Fenn 22' 24' 55'
BF6Matt Lamming 58'
RL5Adrian Griffiths
LL4Paul Dywer 75'
TP3Jack Parfitt 13' to 23'
HK2Lachlan Chubb 74'
LP1John Aikman 49'
Replacements:
HK16Alex Harris 74'
PR17Leon Wei Hon Sum 49'
PR18Jack Nielsen 22' 24'
LK19Jack Delaforce 75'
FL20Alex Baddeley 58'
N821Damian Bailey 58'
CE22Tyler Spitz 24'
FH23Niall Rowark 50'
Coach:
Andrew Hall

Week 6
23 May 2015
16:00 HKT (UTC+08)
Hong Kong  0–0
Match abandoned at 20'		  Japan
Aberdeen Sports Ground, Hong Kong
Referee: Chris Linwood (United Arab Emirates)
FB15Jean-Baptiste Aldige
RW14Tom McQueen
OC13Max Woodward
IC12Tyler Spitz
LW11Salom Yiu Kam Shing
FH10Niall Rowark
SH9Cado Lee Ka-to
N88Alex Baddeley
OF7Matt Lamming
BF6Nick Hewson (c)
RL5Paul Dywer
LL4Adrian Griffiths
TP3Jack Parfitt
HK2Alex Harris
LP1Leon Wei Hon Sum
Replacements:
HK16Lachlan Chubb
PR17Jack Nielsen
PR18James Cooper
LK19Jack Delaforce
N820Damian Bailey
SH21Adam Rolston
CE22Gavin Hadley
FH23Chris McAdam
Coach:
Andrew Hall
FB15Ayumu Goromaru (c)
RW14Yoshikazu Fujita
OC13Karne Hesketh
IC12Yuu Tamura
LW11Kenki Fukuoka
FH10Harumichi Tatekawa
SH9Yuki Yatomi
N88Ryu Holani
OF7Hayden Hopgood
BF6Justin Ives
RL5Shoji Ito
LL4Luke Thompson
TP3Shinnosuke Kakinaga
HK2Ryuhei Arita
LP1Hisateru Hirashima
Replacements:
PR16Masataka Mikami
HK17Hiroki Yuhara
PR18Ryu Sioapelatu Holani
LK19Hitoshi Ono
FL20Michael Broadhurst
SH21Keisuke Uchida
CE22Ryohei Yamanaka
WG23Toshiaki Hirose
Coach:
Eddie Jones

Touch judges:
Norman Drake (United Arab Emirates)
Sansudin Saleh (Malaysia)

Top 3 Challenge
6 June 2015
Sri Lanka  Cancelled  South Korea
TBA

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

Squads

Summary
Nation Match venues Head coach Captain
Name City Capacity
 Hong Kong Aberdeen Sports Ground Hong Kong 9,000 Andrew Hall Nick Hewson
Hong Kong Football Club Stadium Hong Kong 2,800
 Japan Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium Tokyo 27,188 Eddie Jones Kensuke Hatakeyama
Level-5 Stadium Fukuoka 22,563
 South Korea Namdong Asiad Rugby Stadium Incheon 7,000 Chung Hyung Seok Kim 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.[6]

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

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Ryuhei Arita Hooker (1989-03-21)21 March 1989 (aged 26) 7 Coca-Cola Red Sparks
Takeshi Kizu Hooker (1988-07-15)15 July 1988 (aged 26) 30 Kobelco Steelers
Hiroki Yuhara Hooker (1984-01-21)21 January 1984 (aged 31) 18 Toshiba Brave Lupus
Kensuke Hatakeyama Prop (1985-08-02)2 August 1985 (aged 29) 59 Suntory Sungoliath
Hisateru Hirashima Prop (1983-01-15)15 January 1983 (aged 32) 35 Kobelco Steelers
Ryu Sioapelatu Holani Prop (1982-12-29)29 December 1982 (aged 32) 0 Panasonic Wild Knights
Shinnosuke Kakinaga Prop (1992-12-19)19 December 1992 (aged 22) 1 Suntory Sungoliath
Masataka Mikami Prop (1988-06-04)4 June 1988 (aged 26) 23 Toshiba Brave Lupus
Yusuke Nagae Prop (1985-07-19)19 July 1985 (aged 29) 17 Toyota Industries Shuttles
Hiroshi Yamashita Prop (1986-01-01)1 January 1986 (aged 29) 37 Kobelco Steelers
Shoji Ito Lock (1980-12-02)2 December 1980 (aged 34) 28 Kobelco Steelers
Hitoshi Ono Lock (1978-05-06)6 May 1978 (aged 36) 87 Toshiba Brave Lupus
Luke Thompson Lock (1981-04-16)16 April 1981 (aged 34) 49 Kintetsu Liners
Kazuhiko Usami Lock (1992-03-17)17 March 1992 (aged 23) 0 Canon Eagles
Michael Broadhurst Flanker (1986-10-30)30 October 1986 (aged 28) 16 Ricoh Black Rams
Justin Ives Flanker (1984-05-24)24 May 1984 (aged 30) 23 Canon Eagles
Tsuyoshi Murata Flanker (1988-12-15)15 December 1988 (aged 26) 0 NEC Green Rockets
Ryu Holani Number 8 (1981-10-25)25 October 1981 (aged 33) 35 Panasonic Wild Knights
Hayden Hopgood Number 8 (1980-07-30)30 July 1980 (aged 34) 3 Kamaishi Seawaves
Atsushi Hiwasa Scrum-half (1987-05-22)22 May 1987 (aged 27) 38 Suntory Sungoliath
Keisuke Uchida Scrum-half (1992-02-22)22 February 1992 (aged 23) 8 Panasonic Wild Knights
Yuki Yatomi Scrum-half (1985-02-16)16 February 1985 (aged 30) 14 Yamaha Júbilo
Yuu Tamura Fly-half (1989-01-09)9 January 1989 (aged 26) 26 NEC Green Rockets
Harumichi Tatekawa Fly-half (1989-12-02)2 December 1989 (aged 25) 28 Kubota Spears
Male Sa'u Centre (1987-10-13)13 October 1987 (aged 27) 20 Yamaha Júbilo
Craig Wing Centre (1979-12-26)26 December 1979 (aged 35) 7 Kobelco Steelers
Ryohei Yamanaka Centre (1988-06-22)22 June 1988 (aged 26) 1 Waseda University
Yoshikazu Fujita Wing (1993-10-08)8 October 1993 (aged 21) 18 Waseda University
Kenki Fukuoka Wing (1992-09-07)7 September 1992 (aged 22) 11 Tsukuba University
Karne Hesketh Wing (1985-08-01)1 August 1985 (aged 29) 2 Fukuoka Sanix Blues
Toshiaki Hirose Wing (1981-10-17)17 October 1981 (aged 33) 23 Toshiba Brave Lupus
Chihito Matsui Wing (1994-11-11)11 November 1994 (aged 20) 0 Doshisha University
Akihito Yamada Wing (1985-07-26)26 July 1985 (aged 29) 10 Western Force
Ayumu Goromaru Fullback (1986-03-01)1 March 1986 (aged 29) 43 Yamaha Júbilo

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

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.

  • Head Coach: Chung Hyung Seok

See also

  • 2015 Asian Rugby Championship Division Tournaments

References

  1. Sallay, Alvin (5 December 2014). "ARFU's philosophical change a boon for Asia's big three". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  2. "Asia Rugby - The Regional Association of World Rugby". Asia Rugby. Archived from the original on 22 April 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  3. "Asia Rugby - The Regional Association of World Rugby". Asia Rugby. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  4. "Asia Rugby - The Regional Association of World Rugby". Asia Rugby. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  5. "Asia Rugby - The Regional Association of World Rugby". Asia Rugby. Archived from the original on 2015-05-21. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  6. "Jones announces 31-man Brave Blossoms squad for Asian Rugby Championship". 5 March 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2017 – via Japan Times Online.
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