AGE GRADE TEAMS PREPARE FOR ACTION-PACKED 2026

2026 is gearing up to be a huge year for Hong Kong China’s senior representative teams, as our men’s and women’s 7s take part in the Asian Sevens Series in August and October as well as at the Asian Games in October; our men’s XVs play in the Nations Cup in July and November – in preparation for next year’s Men’s Rugby World Cup debut; and our women’s XVs compete in the Asia Rugby Championship in May before hosting the WXV Global Series Challenger in September.

An action-packed schedule for Hong Kong China’s age grade and development teams is also very close to being finalised, as young players target strong performances and a route into future senior representative teams.

In May, June and July, the LIT Super Sevens Series takes place across the UK. Hong Kong China Rugby have sent men’s and women’s development teams to the last couple of editions of the series, and may once again travel.

In May and June, Hong Kong China Men’s XVs will take part in the Asia Rugby Men’s Championship (ARMC), defending the title that last summer secured the team qualification to the Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027. Hong Kong China Men will also play their first three matches in the Nations Cup in South America in July, with the overall men’s high-performance programme being led by Andrew Douglas as Head of Technical Rugby. Logan Asplin is Head Coach for the Nations Cup squad into the Men’s World Cup, while USRC Tigers Club Coaching Officer (CCO) Nigel Hotham will step into the role as Head Coach of the development group playing in the ARC campaign. 

An ARMC calendar has been set with the group starting with a trip to Sri Lanka on 24 May and a match against Korea on 7 June. The United Arab Emirates have withdrawn from this year’s competition due to regional safety concerns and travel uncertainties, resulting in Hong Kong China playing only two games. Consequently, all scheduled UAE fixtures are recorded as 0-0 draws, allowing them to retain their current ranking points.

In June and July, Hong Kong China women’s U23s will take part in camp, heading to Singapore to take on Singapore on 27 June, before returning to Hong Kong to play a squad from the Hong Kong China Dragons Programme on 4 July.

In September, the Asia Rugby U18s Sevens takes place in China, as Hong Kong China looks to build on their success in last season’s competition – when the boys finished runners-up and the girls finished third.

In September and October the World Rugby U20 Challenger Cup 2026 will take place, with Hong Kong China set to submit a Men’s U20s team. This tournament has been planned in part to fill a gap left by the removal of World Rugby’s U20 Trophy (previously the Junior World Trophy), which was last played in 2024 and saw Hong Kong China finish in 7th place.

In November, the Asia Rugby U20s Sevens will be held in India. Hong Kong China boys will be defending their 2025 title, while the girls will be looking to go one better after finishing runners-up last season.

In December, the year will conclude with the Asia Rugby Men’s U19s Championship in Sri Lanka. The tournament did not take place last year, but in 2024 Hong Kong China U19s finished runners-up to a strong Japan side. 

Final fixture information, details of how to watch, announcements of travelling squads and match previews and reports will all be added at hkrugby.com or via our Instagram and Facebook accounts.