The 2008 Asian Five Nations, known as the 2008 HSBC Asian 5 Nations due to its sponsorship by HSBC, was the inaugural series of the newly formatted Asian rugby union tournament, the Asian Five Nations. It is the flagship competition devised by the International Rugby Board to develop the sport in the Asian region. Ten matches were played over five weekends from 26 April to 24 May, with Japan winning all four of their games to become the first Asian Five Nations champions on 18 May 2008.
| Date | 26 April 2008 – 24 May 2008 |
|---|---|
| Countries | Arabian Gulf Hong Kong Japan Kazakhstan South Korea |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Japan (16th title) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 10 |
| Website | www |
← 2007 2009 → | |
Scoring system: 5 points for a win, three for a draw, one bonus point for being within seven points of the winning team, and one for four tries.
Teams
editThe teams involved, with their world rankings pre tournament, were:
- Arabian Gulf (43)
Hong Kong (30)
Japan (18)
Kazakhstan (33)
South Korea (23)
Final table
edit| Position | Nation | Games | Points | Table points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | Tries | Bonus Points | Points | ||
| 1 | Japan
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 310 | 58 | +252 | 48 | 4 | 24 |
| 2 | South Korea
|
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 150 | 104 | +46 | 14 | 3 | 18 |
| 3 | Hong Kong
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 96 | 154 | −58 | 11 | 1 | 11 |
| 4 | Kazakhstan
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 100 | 172 | −72 | 11 | 2 | 7 |
| 5 | Arabian Gulf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 65 | 233 | −139 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
- Bottom team, Arabian Gulf, are relegated to Division One for 2009 edition.
Fixtures
edit| Date | Match | Result | Venue |
| 2008-04-26 | Korea – Japan | 17–39 | Munhak Stadium, Incheon |
| 2008-04-26 | Arabian Gulf – Hong Kong | 12–20 | Al Ain |
| 2008-05-03 | Japan – Arabian Gulf | 114–6 | Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Osaka |
| 2008-05-03 | Hong Kong – Kazakhstan | 23–17 | Hong Kong |
| 2008-05-09 | Arabian Gulf – Korea | 20–43 | Al Arabi Stadium, Doha |
| 2008-05-11 | Kazakhstan – Japan | 6–82 | Almaty |
| 2008-05-18 | Japan – Hong Kong | 75–29 | Tohoku Denryoku Big Swan Stadium, Niigata |
| 2008-05-18 | Korea – Kazakhstan | 40–21 | South Korea |
| 2008-05-24 | Kazakhstan – Arabian Gulf | 56–27 | Taldykorgan |
| 2008-05-24 | Hong Kong – Korea | 24–50 | King's Park, Hong Kong |
References
editExternal links
edit
- Japan Rugby Football Union
- [1]
- Asian 5 nations Archived 29 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine on itsrugby.co.uk