KICK-OFF AT KAI TAK; HONG KONG CHINA DETERMINED TO DEFEND HOME TURF AGAINST JAPAN XV

Hong Kong China Rugby (HKCR) has named its squad for the first ever 15s match at Kai Tak Stadium on Friday, 24 October 2025 against JAPAN XV, the Japan Rugby Football Union’s ‘A’ team equivalent.

The squad recently concluded a successful training camp in Japan where over a dozen players made senior squad debuts across two training matches, but the task gets much tougher at home.

JAPAN XV are laden with players from Japan’s professional league, (widely regarded as one of the world’s finest), and emerging stars from the world’s 9th largest rugby playing population. They arrive with strong recent match experience having played Australia ‘A’ with nine Wallabies last week, a 7-71 loss.  

The lopsided score has not dented the side’s confidence said JAPAN XV Acting Head Coach Ippei Asada: “It’s still a young squad, but one full of promise and personality, I have high expectations for them.” 

And well he might, given they beat Hong Kong 64-12 last May. Memorably in that game Japan only kicked the ball six times as they put the visitors to the test with ball in hand and impressive game speed. It all bodes well for a dramatic rematch on the historic occasion of the first fifteen-a-side rugby match played in the Kai Tak Stadium.

“It is exciting,” said HKCR Head of Technical Rugby Andrew Douglas; “Japan had a tough one versus Australia. They will want to put some pride back into that jersey, which makes it tough for us and a good challenge. It’s a fairly big benchmark for us. We definitely want to see the improvement we have made. We believe we are improving but you can only see it in the results.

In the training matches in Japan over a dozen players made senior squad debuts.  

Of that group, six cracked the match day 23 for the JAPAN XV tie, including 6’8” lock Max Murphy, scrumhalf Brendon Nell and winger Dylan McCann, all of whom will start on Friday night, while Ben Sheldon, James Rivers and scrumhalf Eric Chui Wai Lap are on the reserves bench.  

“It’s really exciting for those young guys. It's a very different squad from the ARC [Asia Rugby Championships in July]. There are a lot of new faces, which is good, it’s healthy and there's more to come as we transition to prepare for the Rugby World Cup. 

“We haven't really given a group of players time and combination yet; we have been giving everyone chance and game time, so this is the first 23-man squad of the season that we are putting out looking to build something.”

With over 8,000 tickets sold by mid-week, anticipation is mounting ahead of kick-off:  

“We’re coming off of a good week in Japan. A lot of hard work was put in, and we have a lot more clarity now which breeds confidence. We enjoy playing. We play with width and speed, and it’s a brand of rugby people like to watch. It will be nice to see a big crowd and build some atmosphere now that we are in the palace,” said Douglas.

“We want bums on seats and some noise in the stadium,” agreed Hong Kong China captain and No.8 Josh Hrstich. “It gives us a huge boost as players and when the going gets tough that extra 1% can make the difference.”

The focus is bigger than Friday’s results - and the upcoming matches are as well with HKCR hosting Brumbies A on 8 November and away to Portugal on 15 November - as the calendar ramps up for 2027. 

Hrstich will be looking for one thing coming out of the game: “Growth.” 

“We are newly professional, and we have a great opportunity to put Hong Kong on the world rugby stage. We have a chance to be memorable, and a team that the city can really be proud of and say that’s our team.”

Hong Kong China vs Japan ‘A’ 

Friday 24 October, Kai Tak Stadium (Kick-off 7:10PM)

Tickets: tickets.hkrugby.com/hkchinavsjapan2025

HONG KONG CHINA 

1. Sunia FAMEITAU; 2. Calum SCOTT; 3. Zacceus CINNAMOND; 4. Max MURPHY; 5. Kyle SULLIVAN; 6. Tyler McNUTT; 7. Pierce MACKINLAY-WEST; 8. Josh HRSTICH (C); 9. Brendon NELL; 10. Joseph BARKER; 11. Dylan MCCANN; 12. Thomas HILL 13. Benjamin AXTEN-BURRETT; 14. Marcus RAMAGE; 15. Matt WORLEY; 16. Benedict SHELDON; 17. Rory CINNAMOND; 18. Faizal SOLOMONA PENESA; 19. James RIVERS; 20. James SAWYER; 21. CHUI Wai-Lap, Eric; 22. Gregor MCNEISH; 23. Guy SPANTON

JAPAN ‘A’

1. Sho FURUHATA; 2. Shodai HIRAO; 3. Yuta KOKAJI; 4. Epineri ULUIVITTI; 5. David CVAN ZEELAND; 6. Shohei ITO; 7. Akuto OKUI (C); 8. Rikuto NAKAYA; 9/ Asahi DOEI; 10. Shinya KOMURA; 11. Tomo TAKAMOTO; 12. Yuto MORI; 13. Yuya HIROSE; 14. Kazuma UEDA; 15. Tamuro MATSUNAGA; 16. Soma SAGAWA; 17. Yuchiro TANIGUCHI; 18. Sanshiro KAHARA; 19. Shu YAMAMOTO; 20. Keito AOKI; 21. Shuntaro KITAMURA; 22. Ichigo NAKAKUSU; 23. Kotaro ITO