# 2019 Rugby World Cup – Asia qualification

Qualifying for the 2019 Rugby World Cup for Asia Rugby began in May 2016 and ended in early June 2018, where the winner of the qualification process advanced to a cross-regional play-off series against the winner of Round 2 of the Oceania qualification process in June 2018.

## Format

The Asia Rugby Championship, governed by Asia Rugby, was the regional qualification tournament for Rugby World Cup 2019, with Divisions 2, 1 and the Top 3 being involved in the process. The teams that competed in the 2016 Divisions 1 and 2 acted as Round 1 qualifiers, with the winner of Division 2 being promoted to Division 1, for the second regional qualification round in 2017. While the teams that competed in Division 1, contested against each other to earn the right to remain in Division 1 for the second regional qualification round, with the team placed bottom being eliminated from Rugby World Cup contention.
2017 saw Division 1 act as the main qualification tournament, where the winner advanced to Round 3 joined Hong Kong and South Korea in the top flight division.
In 2018, the winner of the 2018 Asia Rugby Championship, Round 3, advanced to the cross-regional playoff series against Oceania 4 for a repechage berth.

## Entrants

Ten teams competed during for the 2019 Rugby World Cup – Asian qualification; teams world rankings are prior to the first Asian qualification match on 8 May 2016 and bold nations denotes teams have previously played in a Rugby World Cup.
| Nation | Rank | Began play | Qualifying status |
| Guam | 73 | 18 May 2016 | Eliminated by Thailand on 18 May 2016 |
| Hong Kong | 25 | 28 April 2018 | Advances to Asia/Oceania play-off for repechage |
| Japan | 10 | N/A | Qualified as hosts of the World Cup |
| Kazakhstan | 42 | 8 May 2016 | Withdrew from World Cup contention on 10 April 2016 |
| Malaysia | 58 | 8 May 2016 | Eliminated by South Korea on 19 May 2018 |
| Philippines | 54 | 8 May 2016 | Eliminated by Malaysia on 17 May 2017 |
| Singapore | 59 | 8 May 2016 | Eliminated by Malaysia on 14 May 2016 |
| South Korea | 26 | 28 April 2018 | Eliminated by Hong Kong on 2 June 2018 |
| Sri Lanka | 38 | 8 May 2016 | Eliminated by Malaysia on 20 May 2017 |
| Thailand | 76 | 18 May 2016 | Eliminated by UAE on 21 May 2016 |
| United Arab Emirates | 83 | 18 May 2016 | Eliminated by Sri Lanka on 17 May 2017 |
| Uzbekistan | 87 | 18 May 2016 | Eliminated by UAE on 18 May 2016 |

## Round 1

The first round consisted of ten matches between 8 teams. The winner of the Asian Rugby Championship Division 2 (Round 1A), United Arab Emirates, advanced to the second round and was promoted to division 1 for 2017, while the bottom placed team in division 1 (Round 1B), Singapore, was relegated and thus eliminated from Rugby World Cup contention.
On 10 April 2015, Kazakhstan who were meant to compete in the 2016 Asian Rugby Championship Division 1 (Round 1B) withdrew from the competition and Rugby World Cup contention. Singapore were therefore promoted up to Division 1 and Thailand replaced Singapore in Division 2.

### Round 1A: 2016 Asian Rugby Championship Division 2

The 2016 Asian Rugby Championship Division 2 tournament was contested by four teams in a knockout format. The tournament was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 18 May 2016 – Tashkent | 18 May 2016 – Tashkent |
| Thailand | 25 |
| Thailand | 25 | 21 May 2016 – Tashkent | 21 May 2016 – Tashkent |
| Guam | 16 | 21 May 2016 – Tashkent | 21 May 2016 – Tashkent |
| Guam | 16 | Thailand | 18 |
| 18 May 2016 – Tashkent | 18 May 2016 – Tashkent | | Thailand | 18 |
| 18 May 2016 – Tashkent | 18 May 2016 – Tashkent | United Arab Emirates | 70 |
| United Arab Emirates | 65 | United Arab Emirates | 70 |
| Uzbekistan | 13 | | |
| Uzbekistan | 13 | Third place play-off | Third place play-off |
| | | 21 May 2016 – Tashkent | 21 May 2016 – Tashkent |
| | | Guam | 23 |
| | | Uzbekistan | 22 |
Matches :
18 May 2016 14:00Thailand 25–16 GuamMatch centre ReportDustlik Stadium, Tashkent Referee: Rui Shimizu (Japan)
18 May 2016 16:00Uzbekistan 13–65 United Arab EmiratesMatch centre ReportDustlik Stadium, Tashkent Referee: Just Wang (Singapore)
21 May 2016 14:00Guam 23–22 UzbekistanMatch centre ReportDustlik Stadium, Tashkent Referee: Rui Shimizu (Japan)
21 May 2016 16:00Thailand 18–70 United Arab EmiratesMatch centre ReportDustlik Stadium, Tashkent Referee: Just Wang (Singapore) :

### Round 1B: 2016 Asian Rugby Championship Division 1

The 2016 Asian Rugby Championship Division 1 tournament was contested by four teams in a round robin format. The tournament was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
* Eliminated from RWC qualification
| Pos | Nation | Games | Games | Games | Games | Points | Points | Points | Bonus points | Total points |
| Pos | Nation | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | Bonus points | Total points |
| 1 | Malaysia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 92 | 52 | +40 | 3 | 11 |
| 2 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 75 | 80 | –5 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | Philippines | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 60 | 63 | –3 | 3 | 7 |
| 4 | Singapore | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 65 | 97 | –32 | 0 | 4 |
| Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win - 4 points Draw - 3 points 4 or more tries - 1 point Loss within 7 points - 1 point Loss greater than 7 points - 0 points |
Matches :
8 May 2016 14:30(1 BP) Sri Lanka 33–17 SingaporeRoyal Selangor Stadium, Kuala Lumpur Referee: Timothy Baker (Hong Kong)
8 May 2016 16:30(1 BP) Malaysia 10–15 PhilippinesRoyal Selangor Stadium, Kuala Lumpur Referee: Paul McKay (Singapore)
11 May 2016 14:30(2 BP) Philippines 24–28 SingaporeRoyal Selangor Stadium, Kuala Lumpur Referee: Dewi Rowlands (Hong Kong)
11 May 2016 16:30(1 BP) Malaysia 42–17 Sri LankaRoyal Selangor Stadium, Kuala Lumpur Referee: Timothy Baker (Hong Kong)
14 May 2016 14:30Sri Lanka 25–21 Philippines (1 BP)Royal Selangor Stadium, Kuala Lumpur Referee: Paul McKay (Singapore)
14 May 2016 16:30(1 BP) Malaysia 40–20 SingaporeRoyal Selangor Stadium, Kuala Lumpur Referee: Timothy Baker (Hong Kong) :

## Round 2: 2017 Asian Rugby Championship Division 1

The 2017 Asian Rugby Championship Division 1 tournament was held in Ipoh, Malaysia, in a round-robin format.
* Advances to Round 3
| Pos | Nation | Games | Games | Games | Games | Points | Points | Points | Bonus points | Total points |
| Pos | Nation | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Diff | Bonus points | Total points |
| 1 | Malaysia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 98 | 39 | +59 | 2 | 14 |
| 2 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 66 | 52 | +14 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | Philippines | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 55 | 90 | –35 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | United Arab Emirates | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 65 | 103 | –38 | 0 | 0 |
| Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win - 4 points Draw - 3 points 4 or more tries - 1 point Loss within 7 points - 1 point Loss greater than 7 points - 0 points |
Matches :
14 May 2017 14:00Sri Lanka 24–13 PhilippinesIpoh Padang, Ipoh Referee: Lawrence Wilkinson (Hong Kong)
14 May 2017 16:00(1 BP) Malaysia 36–22 United Arab EmiratesIpoh Padang, Ipoh Referee: Just Wang (Singapore)
17 May 2017 14:00(1 BP) Sri Lanka 33–17 United Arab EmiratesIpoh Padang, Ipoh Referee: Charlie Brown (Singapore)
17 May 2017 16:00(1 BP) Malaysia 40–8 PhilippinesIpoh Padang, Ipoh Referee: Taku Otsuki (Japan)
20 May 2017 14:00Philippines 34–26 United Arab EmiratesIpoh Padang, Ipoh Referee: Lawrence Wilkinson (Hong Kong)
20 May 2017 16:00Malaysia 22–9 Sri LankaIpoh Padang, Ipoh Referee: Taku Otsuki (Japan) :

## Round 3: 2018 Asia Rugby Championship

As the winner of this round, Hong Kong advances to a Cross-regional play-off series against Oceania 4, Cook Islands to earn a berth in the Repechage tournament.
* Advances to Cross-regional play-off series
| Pos | Nation | Games | Games | Games | Games | Points | Points | Points | Bonus points | Total points |
| Pos | Nation | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Diff | Bonus points | Total points |
| 1 | Hong Kong | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 227 | 44 | +183 | 3 | 19 |
| 2 | South Korea | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 128 | 91 | +37 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | Malaysia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 40 | 260 | –220 | 0 | 0 |
| Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win - 4 points Draw - 2 points 4 or more tries - 1 point Loss within 7 points - 1 point Loss greater than 7 points - 0 points |
Matches :
28 April 2018 16:30Malaysia 10–35 South Korea (1 BP)National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur Attendance: 11,500 Referee: Timothy Baker (Hong Kong)
5 May 2018 16:30Malaysia 8–67 Hong Kong (1 BP)National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur Referee: Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
12 May 2018 16:30South Korea 21–30 Hong KongNamdong Asiad Rugby Stadium, Incheon Referee: Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
19 May 2018 16:30(1 BP) South Korea 67–12 MalaysiaNamdong Asiad Rugby Stadium, Incheon Referee: Stephen Copeman (Hong Kong)
26 May 2018 16:00(1 BP) Hong Kong 91–10 MalaysiaHong Kong Football Club Stadium, Hong Kong Referee: Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
2 June 2018 16:00(1 BP) Hong Kong 39–5 South KoreaHong Kong Football Club Stadium, Hong Kong Referee: Shuhei Kubo (Japan) :