Australia 2027 awaits a new Rugby World Cup competitor as Hong Kong qualified for a first ever Rugby World Cup. Hong Kong were crowned Asia Rugby Men’s Champions with a 70-22 win over South Korea in Incheon on Saturday.
Hong Kong dominated South Korea throughout the contest. They converted a 42-3 half-time lead into securing a place in Australia 2027. Alexander Post and Joshua Hrstich both scored two tries each while fly-half Nathan de Thierry was deadly accurate with his goal-kicking. The New Zealander landed 9/9 before being replaced. He was Man of the Match.
| HONG KONG’S AND ASIA’S PATHWAY TO AUSTRALIA 2027 |
Hong Kong’s route to the Rugby World Cup was not a rocky road. To the contrary, Hong Kong blasted past Asian opponents in what was a much easier means of qualifying compared to that of potential debutants from other continental regions.
Before overcoming South Korea, Hong Kong had defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 43-10 and Sri Lanka 78-7. It means that 2027 will be the first ever Rugby World Cup with two Asian competitors. Hong Kong join Japan in Australia 2027. The Japanese have competed at all past Men’s Rugby World Cups.
Hong Kong are officially the 11th debutant since the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987. The previous debutant was Chile at Rugby World Cup 2023 in France while before that it was Russia at Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand.
In qualifying for Australia 2027, Hong Kong do so as Asia 1. Japan qualified based on results at France 2023. There is also a pathway for one more team from Asia. The runners-up from the Asia Rugby Men’s Championship, the UAE are Asia 2. As Asia 2, the UAE will face Africa 2 with the winner advancing to repechage.
The repechage tournament will determine the 24th, and final, spot at Rugby World Cup 2027. It will involve four competitors: (a) Belgium, (b) Africa 2 / UAE, (c) Sudamérica 3, and (d) the loser of a play-off between the bottom side from the Pacific / North America series and Sudamérica 2.
| RUGBY WORLD CUP 2027 – QUALIFIED TEAMS |
Hong Kong claimed the 17th spot at Rugby World Cup 2027. The Asian Champions are the fifth team to secure their place at the tournament this year and are also the fifth to do so on the field.
Twelve teams automatically qualified for Rugby World Cup 2027 based on Rugby World Cup 2023 results. World Rugby awarded the top three teams from every pool from France 2023 with automatic spots at Australia 2027. The twelve teams are: Argentina, Australia, England, Fiji, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa and Wales.
On-field qualification earlier this year saw four from Europe securing places at Australia 2027. Georgia qualified as Europe 1, Spain as Europe 2, Romania as Europe 3 and Portugal as Europe 4. Belgium finished as Europe 5 to secure the European spot in repechage.
