# 2023 Rugby World Cup – Asia qualification

Qualifying for the 2023 Rugby World Cup for Asia commenced in June 2022, with three teams competing for a spot in a Regional play-off match against Oceania 2.

## Format

The Asia Rugby Championship, governed by Asia Rugby, is the regional qualification tournament for Rugby World Cup 2023, with only the leading Asian Championship league acting as the process. Three teams will participate across two matches, with the winner of the Asian Cup semi-final progressing to play the highest ranked participating team Hong Kong in the Asian Cup final. The winner of the final will advance to an Asia/Pacific play-off match against the winner of Oceania Round 3, Tonga (Oceania 2).
Originally planned for May 2021, the Championship was postponed due to health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and had been pushed back multiple more times to allow ample time for teams to participate safely owing COVID-19. This also meant multiple restructures of the competition from a round-robin format home and away to just a single round of fixtures played out of a neutral venue.
In April 2022, the format changed once again, following the withdrawal of Hong Kong, setting up a 2-match play-off between South Korea and Malaysia. However, on 29 April, Asia Rugby confirmed the final format for the competition which included Hong Kong back in the competition.

## Entrants

Three teams will compete during for the Asian qualifiers for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, with Japan the only team thus far qualified from the Region.
| Nation | Rank | Began play | Qualifying status |
| Hong Kong | 22 | 9 July 2022 | Advances to Asia/Pacific play-off as Asia 1 on 9 July 2022 |
| Japan | 10 | N/A | Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2019 World Cup |
| Malaysia | 51 | 4 June 2022 | Eliminated by South Korea on 4 June 2022 |
| South Korea | 29 | 4 June 2022 | Eliminated by Hong Kong on 9 July 2022 |

## Round 1: Asian Rugby Championship
### Cup Semi-Final

* 4 June 2022 16:30 KST (UTC+9)
| South Korea | 55–10 | Malaysia |
| Try: Kim Hyun Soo 5' c Chang Yong Heung 25' m Jeong Yeon Sik 28' c Choi Seong Deok 47' c Kim Gwong Min (2) 58' m, 64' c Shin Da Hyun 69' c Chae Min Seong 74' c Con: Kim Ki Min (3/5) 6', 30', 49' Oh Ji Myeong (3/3) 65', 69', 78' Pen: Kim Ki Min (1/1) 12' | Report WR Report | Try: Etonia Vaqa Saukuru 79' c Con: Mat Zizi (1/1) 80' Pen: Mat Zizi (1/1) 14' |
* Incheon Namdong Asiad Rugby Field, Incheon Attendance: 5,078 Referee: Craig Chan (Hong Kong)

### Cup Final

* 9 July 2022 17:00 KST (UTC+9)
| South Korea | 21–23 | Hong Kong |
| Try: Choi Seong Deok 46' c Kim Kwang Min 63' m Con: On Ji Myeong (1/2) 46' Pen: On Ji Myeong (3/3) 60', 69', 75' | Report WR Report | Try: Alexander Post 20' m Matthew Worley 36' c Nathan de Thierry 71' m Con: Glyn Hughes (1/2) 37' Pen: Glyn Hughes (1/2) 12' Gregor McNeish (1/2) 80+3' |
* Incheon Namdong Asiad Rugby Field, Incheon Referee: Tasuku Kawahara (Japan)
Team details :
| FB | 15 | Jeong Yeon Sik |
| RW | 14 | Hwang In Jo |
| OC | 13 | Lee Soo Pyeng |
| IC | 12 | Kim Yong Hwi |
| LW | 11 | Kim Kwang Min (c) |
| FH | 10 | Kim Ki Min | 40' |
| SH | 9 | Lee Geon | 51' |
| N8 | 8 | Park Joon Young | 62' |
| OF | 7 | Noh Ok Ki |
| BF | 6 | Kim Yo Han |
| RL | 5 | Shin Da Hyeon | 40' |
| LL | 4 | Kim Dae Hwan | 51' |
| TP | 3 | Kang Sun Hyeok | 57' |
| HK | 2 | Yu Si Hoon | 57' |
| LP | 1 | Na Kwan Young | 66' |
| Replacements: ||
| PR | 16 | Lee Hyen Soo | 66' |
| HK | 17 | Choi Ho Young | 57' |
| PR | 18 | Shin Ki Soo | 57' |
| LK | 19 | Choi Seong Deok | 40' |
| LK | 20 | Park Jun Beom | 51' |
| SH | 21 | Lee Myeong Jun | 51' |
| FH | 22 | On Ji Myeong | 40' |
| FL | 23 | Moon Jeong Ho | 62' |
| Coach: ||
| Lee Myung Geun | |
| FB | 15 | Jack Neville |
| RW | 14 | Charles Higson-Smith | 1' |
| OC | 13 | Benjamin Axten-Burrett |
| IC | 12 | Tom Hill | | 58' |
| LW | 11 | Matthew Worley | 22' |
| FH | 10 | Glyn Hughes | | 65' |
| SH | 9 | Bryn Phillips | | 60' |
| N8 | 8 | Joshua Hrstich (c) |
| OF | 7 | Jame Sawyer |
| BF | 6 | Jame Cunningham |
| RL | 5 | Patrick Jenkinson |
| LL | 4 | Mark Prior | | 54' |
| TP | 3 | Ashton Hyde | | 69' |
| HK | 2 | Alexander Post | | 65' |
| LP | 1 | Faizal Solomona Penesa | | 57' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | John McCormick-Houston | | 65' |
| PR | 17 | Ian Etheridge | | 69' |
| PR | 18 | Zacceus Cinnamond | | 57' |
| LK | 19 | Kyle Sullivan |
| FL | 20 | Luke van der Smit | | 54' |
| SH | 21 | Jack Combes | | 60' |
| FH | 22 | Gregor McNeish | | 65' |
| CE | 23 | Nathan de Thierry | | 58' |
| Coach: ||
| Lewis Evans ||
* Assistant referees:
* Noriaki Hashimoto (Japan)
* Teruhisa Kajiwara (Japan)
* Television match official:
* Minoru Fuji (Japan)