# 2016 Asia Rugby Championship

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, 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 |
| Japan (10) | Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium | Yokohama Tokyo | Ryuji Nakatake | Keisuke Uchida |
| Hong Kong (23) | Hong Kong Football Club Stadium | Hong Kong | Leigh Jones | Nick Hewson |
| South Korea (29) | Namdong Asiad Rugby Stadium | Incheon | John Walters | Shin Dong Won |

## Standings

* Champions
* Will play in the top 3 challenge
| Position | Nation | Games | Games | Games | Games | Points | Points | Points | Points | Points | Points |
| Position | Nation | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | BP1 | BP2 | Total |
| 1 | Japan | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 242 | 23 | +219 | 4 | 0 | 20 |
| 2 | Hong Kong | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 95 | 139 | -44 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 3 | South Korea | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 45 | 220 | -175 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Source: rugbyarchive.net Archived 2018-09-30 at the Wayback Machine 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

* 30 April 2016 14:00 JST (UTC+9)
| Japan | 85–0 | South Korea |
| Try: H. Yamashita (3) 1' m, 5' c, 26' m K. Kodama (5) 14' c, 29' c, 42' m, 67' c, 72' m, R. Yamanaka 20' c K. Uchida 40+1' c R. Nakamura 52' c T. Tatafu 76' c A. Moeakiola 80' c Con: R. Yamanaka (7/9) 7', 16', 21', 27', 30', 40+2', 53' R. Nakamura (3/4) 68', 76', 80+1' | Asia Rugby Report JRFU Details | |
* Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium, Yokohama Attendance: 4,698 Referee: Patrick Kwok
| FB | 15 | Ryuji Noguchi |
| RW | 14 | Hajime Yamashita | 67' |
| OC | 13 | Takuya Ishibashi |
| IC | 12 | Ryoto Nakamura |
| LW | 11 | Kentaro Kodama |
| FH | 10 | Ryohei Yamanaka | 64' |
| SH | 9 | Keisuke Uchida (c) | 62' |
| N8 | 8 | Tevita Tatafu |
| OF | 7 | Taiyo Ando | 64' |
| BF | 6 | Hiroki Yamamoto |
| RL | 5 | Kazuhiko Usami |
| LL | 4 | Kotaro Yatabe | 62' |
| TP | 3 | Yu Chinen | 67' |
| HK | 2 | Futoshi Mori | 67' |
| LP | 1 | Kengo Kitagawa | 53' |
| Replacements: ||
| PR | 16 | Kanta Higashionna | 53' |
| HK | 17 | Atsushi Sakate | 67' |
| PR | 18 | Takayuki Watanabe | 67' |
| LK | 19 | Naohiro Kotaki | 62' |
| N8 | 20 | Tsuyoshi Murata | 64' |
| SH | 21 | Daisuke Inoue | 62' |
| CE | 22 | Doga Maeda | 64' |
| CE | 23 | Ataata Moeakiola | 67' |
| Coach: ||
| Ryuji Nakatake ||
| FB | 15 | Nam Young Soo |
| RW | 14 | Jang Seong Min | 39' to 50' |
| OC | 13 | Jegal Bin | 21' |
| IC | 12 | Lim Sang Jin |
| LW | 11 | Kim Jin hyeok |
| FH | 10 | Oh Youn-hyung | 46' |
| SH | 9 | Shin Ki Cheol |
| N8 | 8 | Han Kun Kyu | 72' |
| OF | 7 | Kim Hyun Soo |
| BF | 6 | Park Soon Chai |
| RL | 5 | Nam Jong Song | 55' |
| LL | 4 | Youn Kwon Woo | 76' |
| TP | 3 | Shin Dong Won (c) | 48' |
| HK | 2 | Kim Min Kyu | 62' |
| LP | 1 | Na Kwan Young |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Chong Kwi Hong | 62' |
| PR | 17 | Kang Tae Hyeon | 72' |
| PR | 18 | Kim Myeong Hwan | 76' |
| FL | 19 | Shin Dah Yeon | 55' |
| N8 | 20 | Hwang In Jo | 48' |
| SH | 21 | Ahn Sang Ho |
| FB | 22 | Oh Jim Yeong | 46' |
| WG | 23 | Kim Sung Soo | 21' |
| Coach: ||
| John Walters ||

### Week 2

* 7 May 2016 16:30 HKT (UTC+8)
| Hong Kong | 3–38 | Japan |
| Pen: B. Rimene 15' | HKRU Report JRFU Report | Try: S. Kin 4' c K. Uchida 11' m K. Kodama 22' c R. Nakamura 54' c H. Yamamoto 63' c, 76' m Con: R. Yamanaka (4/6) 5', 22', 54', 64' |
* Hong Kong Football Club Stadium, Hong Kong Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Tatu Otsuki
| FB | 15 | Alexander McQueen |
| RW | 14 | Ryan Meacheam | 52' |
| OC | 13 | James Robinson | 52' |
| IC | 12 | Lee Jones |
| LW | 11 | Salom Yiu Kam Shing |
| FH | 10 | Benjamin Rimene |
| SH | 9 | Jamie Hood | 52' |
| N8 | 8 | Daniel Falvey |
| OF | 7 | Toby Fenn |
| BF | 6 | Nick Hewson (c) |
| RL | 5 | Paul Dywer |
| LL | 4 | Adrian Griffiths | 52' |
| TP | 3 | Jack Parfitt | 40' |
| HK | 2 | Jamie Tsang | 25' |
| LP | 1 | Adam Fullgrabe | 40' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Lachlan Chubb | 25' |
| PR | 17 | Hon Wum Wei | 40' |
| PR | 18 | Alex Ng | 40' |
| LK | 19 | James Cunningham | 52' |
| N8 | 20 | Jack Delaforce |
| SH | 21 | Eliesa Kaleca Rauca | 52' |
| CE | 22 | Cado Lee | 52' |
| FH | 23 | Niall Rowark | 52' |
| Coach: ||
| Leigh Jones ||
| FB | 15 | Ryuji Noguchi |
| RW | 14 | Hajime Yamashita | 52' |
| OC | 13 | Takuya Ishibashi | 70' |
| IC | 12 | Ryoto Nakamura |
| LW | 11 | Kentaro Kodama |
| FH | 10 | Ryohei Yamanaka |
| SH | 9 | Keisuke Uchida (c) | 66' |
| N8 | 8 | Tevita Tatafu | 56' |
| OF | 7 | Shokei Kin |
| BF | 6 | Tsuyoshi Murata |
| RL | 5 | Kazuhiko Usami |
| LL | 4 | Naohiro Kotaki | 58' |
| TP | 3 | Yu Chinen | 66' |
| HK | 2 | Futoshi Mori | 63' |
| LP | 1 | Kanta Higashionna | 70' |
| Replacements: ||
| PR | 16 | Syogo Miura | 70' |
| HK | 17 | Atsushi Sakate | 63' |
| PR | 18 | Takayuki Watanabe | 66' |
| LK | 19 | Kotaro Yatabe | 58' |
| FL | 20 | Hiroki Yamamoto | 56' |
| SH | 21 | Daisuke Inoue | 66' |
| CE | 22 | Doga Maeda | 70' |
| WG | 23 | Ataata Moeakiola | 52' |
| Coach: ||
| Ryuji Nakatake ||

### Week 3

* 14 May 2016 12:00 KST(UTC+9)
| South Korea | 27-34 | Hong Kong |
| Try: Lee Jae Bok 9' m, 63' c Kim Sung Soo 38' c Na Kwan Yong 71' m Con: Lee Soop Yeong (2/3) 39', 64' Oh Jim Yeong (0/1) Pen: Lee Soop Yeong (1/1) 47', | Asia Rugby Report HKRU Starting XV | Try: A. MuQueen 3' c, 50' c J. Hood 56' c B. Rimeme 77' c Con: B. Rimene (4/4) 4', 50', 57', 78' Pen: B. Rimene (2/2) 13', 19' |
* Namdong Asiad Rugby Stadium, Incheon
| FB | 15 | Lee Jae Bok |
| RW | 14 | Jang Seong Min |
| OC | 13 | Kim Sung Soo |
| IC | 12 | Kim Jin Hyeok | 48' to 58' |
| 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

* 21 May 2016 12:00 KST(UTC+9)
| South Korea | 3-60 | Japan |
| Pen: Oh Jim Yeong (1/2) 2' | Asia Rugby Report JRFU Report | Try: Atsushi Sakate (2) 5' m, 49' c Ryohei Yamanaka (2) 26' m, 32' c Keisuke Uchida 12' m Penalty try 23' c Kentaro Kodama 53' m Kotaro Yatabe 61' c Takuhei Yasuda 73' m Ryuji Noguchi 80'c Con: Ryoto Nakamura (2/6) 24', 80+1' Ryohei Yamanaka (3/4) 33', 50', 62' |
* Namdong Asiad Rugby Stadium, Incheon Attendance: 500 Referee: Matt Rodden (Hong Kong)
| FB | 15 | Lee Jae Bok |
| RW | 14 | Nam Young Soo |
| OC | 13 | Kim Sung Soo | 72' |
| IC | 12 | Kim Jin Hyeok | 55' |
| LW | 11 | Lee Soo Pyeong |
| FH | 10 | Oh Jim Yeong |
| SH | 9 | Shin Ki Cheol | 76' |
| N8 | 8 | Hwang In Jo | 28' |
| OF | 7 | Kim Hyun Soo | | 53' to 63' |
| BF | 6 | Shin Da Hyeon |
| RL | 5 | Kim Sang Jin | 73' |
| LL | 4 | Youn Kwon Woo | | 16' to 26' |
| TP | 3 | Shin Dong Won (c) | 75' |
| HK | 2 | Na Kwan Young | 25' |
| LP | 1 | Chong Kwi Hong | 62' |
| Replacements: ||
| | 16 | Kang Tae Hyeon | 62' |
| | 17 | Kim Min Kyo | 25' |
| | 18 | Kim Myeong Hwan | 75' |
| | 19 | Nam Jong Song | 73' |
| | 20 | Son Min Su | 28' |
| | 21 | Lee Sung Bae | 76' |
| | 22 | Oh Youn Hyung | 55' |
| | 23 | Kim In Kyu | 72' |
| Coach: ||
| John Walters ||
| FB | 15 | Ryohei Yamanaka | 71' |
| RW | 14 | Takuhei Yasuda |
| OC | 13 | Doga Maeda |
| IC | 12 | Takuya Ishibashi |
| LW | 11 | Kentaro Kodama | 66' |
| FH | 10 | Ryoto Nakamura |
| SH | 9 | Keisuke Uchida (c) | 73' |
| N8 | 8 | Hiroki Yamamoto |
| OF | 7 | Shokei Kin | 71' |
| BF | 6 | Masato Furukawa |
| RL | 5 | Naohiro Kotaki | 62' |
| LL | 4 | Kotaro Yatabe |
| TP | 3 | Takayuki Watanabe | 71' |
| HK | 2 | Atsushi Sakate | 71' |
| LP | 1 | Kanta Higashionna | 50' |
| Replacements: ||
| PR | 16 | Shogo Miura | 50' |
| HK | 17 | Daigo Hashimoto | 71' |
| PR | 18 | Kengo Kitagawa | 71' |
| LK | 19 | Kazuhiko Usami | 62' |
| N8 | 20 | Faulua Makisi | 71' |
| SH | 21 | Daiki Nakajima | 73' |
| CE | 22 | Ryuji Noguchi | 71' |
| FH | 23 | Hajime Yamashita | 66' |
| Coach: ||
| Ryuji Nakatake ||

### Week 5

* 28 May 2016 14:00 JST (UTC+9)
| Japan | 59-17 | Hong Kong |
| Try: N. Kotaki 24' c T. Ishibashi (2) 28' c, 47' c A. Moeakiola (2) 35' c, 60' c H. Yamamoto 41' c D. Maeda 53' c Penalty try 73' c Con: R. Nakamura (8/8) 25', 29', 36', 41', 48', 54', 61', 73' Pen: R. Nakamura (1/1) 40+1' | Asia Rugby Report JRFU Report HKRU Report | Try: A. Griffiths 19' c J. Cunningham 44' c Con: B. Rimene (2/2) 20', 45' Pen: B. Rimene (1/1) 13' |
* Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo Attendance: 5,771 Referee: Tim Baker
| FB | 15 | Ryuji Noguchi |
| RW | 14 | Ataata Moeakiola | 63' |
| OC | 13 | Doga Maeda |
| IC | 12 | Takuya Ishibashi |
| LW | 11 | Kentaro Kodama |
| FH | 10 | Ryoto Nakamura |
| SH | 9 | Keisuke Uchida (c) | 70' |
| N8 | 8 | Tevita Tatafu | 65' |
| OF | 7 | Shokei Kin |
| BF | 6 | Hiroki Yamamoto | 47' |
| RL | 5 | Kazuhiko Usami |
| LL | 4 | Naohiro Kotaki | 56' |
| TP | 3 | Takayuki Watanebe | 53' |
| HK | 2 | Atsushi Sakate | 67' |
| LP | 1 | Kengo Kitagawa | 56' |
| Replacements: ||
| PR | 16 | Shogo Miura | 56' |
| HK | 17 | Diago Hashimoto | 67' |
| PR | 18 | Yu Chinen | 53' |
| LK | 19 | Kotaro Yatabe | 56' |
| FL | 20 | Faulua Makisi | 47' |
| SH | 21 | Daiki Nakajima | 70' |
| CE | 22 | Takuhei Yasuda | 63' |
| WG | 23 | Masato Furukawa | 65' |
| Coach: ||
| Ryuji Nakatake ||
| FB | 15 | Alexander McQueen |
| RW | 14 | Ryan Meacheam |
| OC | 13 | James Robinson |
| IC | 12 | Tyler Spitz | 56' |
| LW | 11 | Rowan Varty |
| FH | 10 | Ben Rimene | 53' |
| SH | 9 | Cado Lee Ka To | 61' |
| N8 | 8 | Daniel Falvey (c) | 61' |
| OF | 7 | Matt Lamming |
| BF | 6 | James Cunningham |
| RL | 5 | Adrian Griffiths |
| LL | 4 | Jack Delaforce | 41' |
| TP | 3 | Jack Parfitt | 40' |
| HK | 2 | Lachlan Chubb | 54' |
| LP | 1 | Ben Higgins | 47' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Jamie Tsang | 54' |
| PR | 17 | Adam Fullgrabe | 47' |
| PR | 18 | Alex Ng Wai-Shing | 40' |
| LK | 19 | Nick Hewson | 41' |
| N8 | 20 | Tony Wong Ho Yeung | 61' |
| SH | 21 | Lee Jones | 56' |
| CE | 22 | Adam Rolston | 61' |
| FH | 23 | Niall Rowark | 53' |
| Coach: ||
| Leigh Jones ||

### Week 6

* 4 June 2016 16:30 HKT (UTC+8)
| Hong Kong | 41-15 | South Korea |
| Try: B. Rimene 11' c T. Fenn 30' c Ryan Meacheam 40' c, 48' c J. Robinson 80' c Con: B. Rimene (5/5) 12', 30', 40+1', 49', 80' Pen: B. Rimene (2/2) 22', 70' | Asian Rugby Report HKRU Report | Try: Lee Soop Yeong 6' c Kim Min Kyu 26' m Con: Lee Soop Yeong (1/2) 7' Pen: Lee Soop Yeong (1/1) 36' |
* Hong Kong Football Club Stadium, Hong Kong
| 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 | 63' to 73' |
| 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.