The Asia Rugby Championship for women's national fifteen-a-side teams is a rugby union tournament that has been contested since 2006. Organised by Asia Rugby, there are currently two competition divisions — the Championship, and Division 1. The championship is also the continental qualifying tournament for Asian women's teams in the lead up to the Rugby World Cup, and the WXV.
Upcoming season or competition: 2024 Asia Rugby Women's Championship | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 |
| Countries | China Hong Kong Japan Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Laos Philippines Singapore Thailand Uzbekistan |
| Confederation | Asia Rugby |
| Most recent champion(s) |  Japan (2024) |
| Most titles | Japan (6 titles) |
History
The Asia Rugby Women's Championship began in 2006, the first tournament was hosted by China in Kunming.[1] Hosts, China, won the inaugural tournament and since then, Kazakhstan has gone on to win five times, Japan four times, and China and Hong Kong has won one each.[1]
Format
The international test calendar was restructured to accommodate the upcoming WXV tournament.[2][3] Asia Rugby announced that the Asia Rugby Women's Championship would now be played in two tiers as a pathway to the WXV tournament.[4]
The top team in the Championship division will compete in WXV 2 as Asia 1, and the runner-up in WXV 3.[4]
Previous winners
All-time summary
Up to and including the 2024 edition, the following women's teams' Championship division top-3 finishes in tournaments:
| Rank | Team | Champion | Runner‑up | Third place | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 6 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
| 2 |  Kazakhstan | 5 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 |  Hong Kong | 1 | 6 | 4 | 11 |
| 4 |  China | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 |  Thailand | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Uzbekistan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (6 entries) | 13 | 13 | 9 | 35 | |
Asia Rugby Championship
| Year | Edn | Host • Teams | Final placings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asian Rugby Championship | Winner | Runner-up | Third | Fourth | |||
| 2006 | I | Kunming | 4 | China | Hong Kong | Thailand |  Singapore |
| 2007 | II | Kunming | 4 | Kazakhstan | China | Japan | Singapore |
| 2008 | III | Taraz | 6 | Kazakhstan | Japan | Uzbekistan | Singapore |
| 2010* | IV | Tokyo | 2 | Japan | Hong Kong | — | — |
| Asian 4 Nations | Winner | Runner-up | Third | Fourth | |||
| 2012 | V | Kunshan | 4 | Kazakhstan | Japan | Hong Kong | ‡ China |
| 2013 | VI | Almaty | 4 | Kazakhstan | Japan | Hong Kong | † China |
| 2014 | VII | Hong Kong | 4 | Kazakhstan | Hong Kong | Japan | ‡ Singapore |
| Asia Rugby Championship | Winner | Runner-up | Third | Fourth | |||
| 2015 | VIII | round-robin home or away | 3 | Japan | Kazakhstan | Hong Kong | — |
| 2016 | IX | 3 | Japan | Hong Kong | — | ||
| 2017 | X | 2 | Japan | Hong Kong | — | ||
| 2021 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia[5] | ||||||
| 2022 | XI | Hong Kong | 2 | Hong Kong | Kazakhstan | — | — |
| 2023 | XII | Almaty | 3 | Japan | Kazakhstan | Hong Kong | — |
| 2024 | XIII | Hong Kong | 3 | Japan | Hong Kong | Kazakhstan | — |
Division tournaments
| Year | Div | Host | Teams | Final placings | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARC Divisions | Winner | Runner-up | Third | Fourth | |||
| 2010a | 2 | Sikuet | 3 |  Laos |  Philippines | Thailand | — |
| 2011 | 2 | Vientiane | 4 | § China | Thailand | Philippines | Laos |
| 2012 | 2 | Manila | 4 | § Singapore | Thailand | Philippines | Laos |
| ARC Div 1 | Winner | Runner-up | Third | Fourth | |||
| 2018 | 1 | Singapore | 3 | § Singapore | Philippines |  India | — |
| 2019 | 1 | Calamba | 4 | § China | Philippines | India | Singapore |
| 2024 | 1 | TBC | 3 | TBC | TBC | TBC | — |
Notes:
^* Some sources suggest that the match in Tokyo was for the 2010 ARFU Division 1 XV Championship.[6]
^† Relegated to the division below.
^‡ Able to be challenged by the winner of the division below to play in a promotion-relegation play-off.
^§ Won promotion, or the right to a challenge play-off for promotion, to the division above.
^a Development tournament organised by ARFU in 2010. The games were 40 minutes long and were not test matches.
Asia Pacific Championship
| Year | Host | Teams | Final placings | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Runner-up | Third | |||
| 2016 | Hong Kong | 3 | Japan | Hong Kong |  Fiji |
| 2019 | Lautoka, Fiji | 3 |  Samoa | Hong Kong | Fiji |