KOREA CLASH SET TO DETERMINE MEN'S RUGBY WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION

As the Asia Rugby Emirates Men’s Championship takes a break this weekend, it gives time to pause, reflect, and look at the state of play for the crucial final round of the Championship. The winner of the tournament – and automatic qualification to the Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 – will be decided in Incheon on Saturday 5 July as Hong Kong China face Korea at the Namdong Asiad Rugby Stadium.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) heads to Colombo to play Sri Lanka on Friday 4 July, but neither team can win the title. The UAE will be looking to secure the runner-up spot for the second consecutive year. If they beat the Tuskers, and Korea doesn't win on the final weekend, the UAE would be part of the repechage route later in the year. 

This route sees a Play-Off clash against the second-best team in the Rugby Africa Men’s Cup 2025 (date TBD), with the winner progressing to the Final Qualification Tournament in Dubai, UAE, from 8-18 November. This four-team, round-robin format will reward the winners with the final place at the Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027.

Sri Lanka will be trying to win to avoid finishing at the bottom of the table, which would mean they would again play in the Asia Rugby Emirates Playoff Match to compete in the Championship in 2026.

For Hong Kong China and Korea, whoever finishes the weekend on top of the table can start preparing for the Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2027. This is thanks to the automatic qualification spot that has been awarded in the expanded 24-team tournament in 2027.

Although the Koreans lost to the UAE at home last week in a pulsating game, they have picked up vital bonus points across both rounds and sit on 7 championship points, three behind Hong Kong China – who sit on ten points thanks to two maximum 5-point hauls. 

With 4 points awarded for a win, the Koreans will need to beat Hong Kong China at home; otherwise, they cannot secure the Championship (a win or draw for Hong Kong China will maintain their gap at the top). Should Korea win, the bonus points that the two teams are able to collect will determine who finishes top – noting that if both teams finish level on points, then the head-to-head record will be used as a tie-breaker (a detailed rundown of all qualification scenarios can be found here).

It is worth noting that Hong Kong China are already guaranteed a second-place finish, as the UAE are on 5 points and can only reach the 10 points that Hong Kong China already have (and would still finish behind Hong Kong China on the head-to-head record). 

The Tournament So Far – Korea

The Koreans have been involved in two high-scoring matches, beating Sri Lanka 38-34 and losing to the UAE 36-38. The 72 points conceded have seen them leak 11 tries across the two fixtures, but they have also scored just as many.

This is compared to the 18 tries Hong Kong China have scored, while only conceding two tries (one in each match) across the opening two rounds.

The set piece is going to be huge in the matchup. Whereas Korea dominated the Sri Lankans to win several penalties at scrum time, including a penalty try, it was a much more even contest against the UAE, and crucially, it was the UAE pack that won the match-winning scrum and lineout to defeat Korea.

Korean Head Coach Lee Myung-Geun has been telling local Korean media they are confident they can win, and if they did, it would be their first Asian Rugby Men’s Championship title since 2002, which was their fifth of all time.

Captain and starting prop Na Gwan-Yong, who previously played in the top flight in Japan, has also said that participating in the Rugby World Cup is the team’s dream, so they are every bit as focused on making history as their opponents are.

In the last round, their most capped players were the captain (24 caps) and centre Kim Nam Uk with 28 caps, but 17 of the 23-man squad had ten caps or fewer. All of their squad come from Korean clubs, and although the wider training group had preparation camps and warm-up matches in Japan last year, they had few warm-up games in the lead-up to the AREMC.

What Do The History Books Say?

In last year's match, Hong Kong China were 62-7 winners at Hong Kong Football Club. These two sides have faced each other 37 times, and Hong Kong China have won 21 times compared against 16 Korean victories – and there has never been a draw. Hong Kong China are however on an impressive 12-match win streak that dates back to April 2015.

Korea are ranked 36th in World Rugby’s rankings and Hong Kong China are 23rd, with the Koreans have dropped six places since last year's Championship.

This article was posted in collaboration with our good friends at RugbyAsia247 – check them out for all the latest Asia Rugby news!