The 2026 Asia Rugby Championship was the tenth annual rugby union series for Asia Rugby. The tournament was confirmed in January 2026 to kick off in May, with the same four nations returning from the previous edition (2025): Hong Kong China, South Korea and Sri Lanka.
The United Arab Emirates were also due to compete, but on 29 April, the United Arab Emirates withdrew from the Championship due to the war in Iran causing uncertainty in safety and travel within the surrounding region. On 9 May, a refined schedule was announced.
The defending champions were Hong Kong China who won the title after defeating South Korea 70–22 and simultaneously qualified for the 2027 Rugby World Cup for the first time.
They ultimately won the title for the seventh time.
Background and format The format of the series was a single play-off match, followed by a single round-robin where the competing teams played each other once, with the games reversed from the 2025 to allow for an equal share of home games over two years. The team that finished on top of the standings at the end of the series were declared the winners. The team finishing at the bottom of the standing in contention for relegation.
Participants Team Stadium Head coach Captain World Rugby Ranking Home stadium Capacity Location Start End Hong Kong Football Club Stadium 2,750 Happy Valley, Hong Kong Logan Asplin Dean Squire 23rd 23rd Incheon Namdong Asiad Rugby Field 4,968 Namdong, Incheon Lee Myung-geun Lee Hyeon Je 37th 38th Colombo Racecourse 10,000 Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo Dushanth Lewke Tharindu Chathuranga 48th 48th
Standings Champions
Fixtures Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
South Korea won on walkover because Sri Lanka was unable to obtain the necessary travel visas required to enter Korea in time for the match.
Notes
References