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.
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.
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.[1]
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.
More information Matches ...
| Matches |
Dustlik Stadium, Tashkent
Referee: Rui Shimizu (Japan) |
Dustlik Stadium, Tashkent
Referee: Just Wang (Singapore) |
Dustlik Stadium, Tashkent
Referee: Rui Shimizu (Japan) |
Dustlik Stadium, Tashkent
Referee: Just Wang (Singapore) |
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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.
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| Eliminated from RWC qualification |
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The 2017 Asian Rugby Championship Division 1 tournament was held in Ipoh, Malaysia, in a round-robin format.
More information Matches ...
| Matches |
Ipoh Padang, Ipoh
Referee: Taku Otsuki (Japan) |
Ipoh Padang, Ipoh
Referee: Taku Otsuki (Japan) |
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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.
More information Pos, Nation ...
| Pos |
Nation |
Games |
Points |
Bonus
points |
Total
points |
| Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
For |
Against |
Diff |
| 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[citation needed]
4 or more tries - 1 point
Loss within 7 points - 1 point
Loss greater than 7 points - 0 points |
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Guam
Hong Kong
Japan
Kazakhstan
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan