Deadline over pathway to World Cup
Amid lack of competition, HKRU assessing if a men’s 15s side can be fielded
The Hong Kong Rugby Union has until the end of the month to decide whether its men’s 15s side are in a position to try to qualify for next year’s World Cup in France.
Asia Rugby has rearranged the region’s championship to allow Malaysia, South Korea and Hong Kong to compete for a chance to take on Tonga in July for a spot at the 2023 tournament.
Hong Kong had initially withdrawn from this year’s event because of Covid-19 travel restrictions, and social-distancing rules that had prevented any meaningful rugby taking place in the city since before Christmas.
“For us, it was and will always be paramount to protect the integrity of our 15s tournaments – the Asia Rugby Championship that acts as the pinnacle of the regional association calendar – especially in a year that offers a pathway to the Rugby World Cup 2023,” Qais Al Dhalai, the Asia Rugby president, said.
The championship will now kick off on June 4, with South Korea hosting Malaysia in Incheon.
The winner of that hosts Hong Kong in the final, which will be on July 8 in Korea, or July 9 in Kuala Lumpur if Malaysia win.
With the tournament back on, the main consideration for Hong Kong is whether most of the squad, who have not had a competitive game this year, can be ready in time.
“The HKRU is currently assessing player availability under the revised competition window and has agreed to confirm its status at or before the end of May,” the union said in a statement.
Robbie McRobbie, the union’s CEO, welcomed the move and thanked Asia Rugby for making it happen.
“The HKRU would like to express its sincere thanks to Asia Rugby and the South Korea and Malaysia rugby unions for their flexibility and efforts to provide an opportunity for us to participate in the Asia Rugby Championship,” he said.
“With a new proposed schedule in place, the HKRU performance department is assessing the playing squad for availability and will provide a further update on our participation status in due course.”
The winner of the championship will play Tonga in Nuku’alofa on July 23, with direct World Cup qualification up for grabs.
The loser joins the final qualification event, expected to take place in November, which will feature four teams playing in a round-robin format with the winner qualifying for next year’s tournament.