After the successful completion of the HSBC Asian Five Nations (A5N) Top 5 competition in May 2008, the groundbreaking new regional rugby series enters its next stage with tomorrow's kick-off of the Division II Tournament in Bangkok.
Adding to the excitement surrounding the launch of the new series, the Division II Tournament has been named by the International Rugby Board as Asia's first qualifier event for Rugby World Cup 2011.
The Division II Tournament, which will be played on June 11 and 15 2008, marks just the second qualification event for Rugby World Cup 2011 following the North American West Indies Rugby Association (NAWIRA) qualification tournament in April 2008.
In addition to keeping its Rugby World Cup dream alive, the winner of the Division II Tournament will be promoted to the HSBC Asian Five Nations Division I Tournament in 2009, replacing the relegated last placed finisher in Division I 2008, (to be played between China, Chinese Taipei, Singapore and Sri Lanka in Chinese Taipei in November).
Next year's Division I Tournament will serve as Round II of the Rugby World Cup Qualifiers for Asia.
The Asian Five Nations Division II Tournament features top seeded Malaysia, second seeds Thailand, third seeds India and fourth seeds Pakistan vying for promotion to Division I and the opportunity to further progress on the road to the Rugby World Cup in 2011.
The Division II Tournament seedings are based on the results of the Asian Rugby Football Union's Asian Nations Series 2007.
With the unique promotion and relegation structure of the HSBC Asian Five Nations tournament, this year's Division I competition will also effectively count as a Rugby World Cup qualifier, as the relegated team will miss out on their opportunity to figure in the hunt for a spot in New Zealand where the Rugby World Cup 2011 will be played.
The Division II tournament will be played over two competition days starting tomorrow. The format sees the top seeds Malaysia play fourth seed Pakistan in the opener at Bangkok's Army Stadium tomorrow at 4.00pm.
Following that match, second seeded Thailand will take on third seed India at 6.00pm local time. The finals will be played on Saturday 15 June with the relegation match between Loser 1 and Loser 2 kicking off at 3.30pm followed immediately by the promotion match that kicks off at 6.00pm.
Interspersed between the Asian Five Nations Division I and Division II Tournaments are four regional competitions involving the remaining 12 Asian Unions taking part in the inaugural HSBC Asian Five Nations Series 2008.
The first of these competitions takes place in Guam featuring Guam, Brunei and the Philippines from 28 June to 5 July 2008. The second Regional Competition will be played in Jakarta, Indonesia hosted by the Indonesian Rugby Football Union in mid-July 2008. The third regional competition will be hosted in Qatar and features Mongolia, Macau and Qatar while the fourth and final competition will be held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan amongst Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Iran in September 2008.
Division I by ranking
Rankings based on results at the 2007 Asian Nations Series:
1. Sri Lanka
2. China
3. Singapore
4. Chinese Taipei
Division II by ranking
Rankings based on results at the 2007 Asian Nations Series:
1. Malaysia
2. Thailand
3. India
4. Pakistan
Host Unions:
Division I Tournament - Chinese Taipei
Division II Tournament - Thailand
Dates:
Division I: November 4 - 9 2008
Division II: June 10 - 15 2008
Format:
Division I: Semi Finals, Final, Third Place Play-off
Division II: Semi Finals, Final, Third Place Play-off
Division II Match Schedule:
11 June 2008
Match 1: Malaysia (1st seed) v Pakistan (4th seed)
Match 2: Thailand (2nd seed) v India (3rd seed)
15 June 2008
Loser Match 1 v Loser Match 2
Winner Match 1 v Winner Match 2
Promotion & Relegation:
Last placed Top 5 Union relegated to Div. 1 in 2009. Winner Div. I promoted to Top 5 in 2009. Last place Div. I team relegated to Div. II in 2009; Div. II winner promoted to Div. I in 2009.
HSBC Asian Five Nations 2008
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