The launch of the HSBC Asian Five Nations marks the latest chapter in the long and distinguished history of rugby in Asia, the fastest growing region in world rugby. In the last ten years, the membership of the Asian Rugby Football Union has nearly tripled from 10 members in 1998 to 28 unions today.
The history of rugby in Asia dates back nearly as long as that in England, where the world’s first rugby union, the RFU, was established in 1871. Eight years later, in 1879, the first Asian rugby union was founded in the Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, Rugby Football Union. Rugby was also being played in both Hong Kong and Japan before the turn of the century.
The game maintained its appeal amongst Asian audiences through the tumultuous post-colonial era and on 15 December 1968 the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) was founded with eight original members: Ceylon, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
The first Asian Rugby Football Tournament (ARFT) was held in April 1969 in Tokyo. It has been played (initially annually and then later bi-annually) ever since. The HSBC Asian Five Nations Top 5 competition now takes the place of the ARFT. The present ARFT trophy is now contested in the HSBC Asian Five Nations Division I competition.
Asia has been represented at every Rugby World Cup since 1987 with Japan being the only Asian team to have qualified and played in every Rugby World Cup. In 2009, Japan became the first Asian nation to be awarded the right to host the Rugby World Cup (in 2019).
Of the 28 member unions of the Asian Rugby Football Union, 15 are full members of the International Rugby Board: Arabian Gulf, China, Chinese Taipei, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand. There are a further 6 associate members of the IRB in Asia including Cambodia, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia and Uzbekistan. Lebanon and the UAE Rugby Association are the two newest ARFU associate members as of December 2009
Rory Underwood & Frank Hadden
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited is the founding and a principal member of the HSBC Group which, with over 9,500 offices in 86 countries and territories and assets of US$2,527 billion at 31 December 2008, is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations.
ARFU is the governing body of rugby in Asia under the authority of the International Rugby Board. Founded in 1968 by eight charter nations, the Union today has 26 member nations. The aim of ARFU has never changed: "to raise physical and moral standards in Asia by education in the healthy pursuit of Rugby Football and to promote friendship among Asian countries." ARFU also supports regional and pan-Asian tournaments, including womens, mens, and youth competition in both sevens and fifteen-a-side rugby. www.arfu.com
