2016 Asia Rugby Championship

Date	30 April – 4 June
Countries	Hong Kong  Japan  South Korea
Final positions
Champions	Japan (24th title)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	6
Tries scored	54 (9 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Benjamin Rimene (50)
Most tries	Kentaro Kodama (7)
Website	www.asiarugby.com
← 2015 2017 →

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,^[1][2] although this opportunity to challenge is often declined.

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

Position	Nation	Games				Points			Points
		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).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.^[3]

• 2016 Asia Rugby Championship division tournaments