5 July 2012 by Wang Shao Ing
The Asian Women's 15s 2012 Div I (now renamed the Asian Women's Four Nations 2012) kicks off this evening in a division comprising China, Japan, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan.
This marks the return of the Asian Women's 15s last held in 2009 which also doubled as the Asian Qualifiers for the Women's Rugby World Cup 2010 between Japan, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan and Singapore. The Asian Women's 15s is the only regional tournament which Asian representative 15s sides may look forward to annually and has been run by the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) since 2006*.
That Asia women's rugby can now boast of having two divisions (Division 2 having recently taken place in Manila between Laos, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand just last month) is a testament to the growth of the game in the region. The new structure of promotion for the 1st placed in Division 2 and relegation for the 4th placed in Division 1 will also provide a clearer framework for the participating countries which has varied from year to year. More pertinently, it is a significant signal from ARFU on the continued emphasis on the full code of rugby union despite the flurry of activity surrounding entry of the sevens to the Olympics.
Of the 10 countries which have participated in the Asian Women's 15s, Japan and Kazakhstan have the longest histories in the 15 a-side code with each having first played tests in 1991 and 1994 respectively and both having competed in the Women's Rugby World Cup - Japan (1991, 1994, 2002) & Kazakhstan (1991, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010). They are followed closely by Hong Kong which played their first test in 1998.
For the reasons stated above, both Kazakhstan and Japan should be favorites for the this weekend at the Asian Women's Four Nations in Kunshan. However, the inclusion of China may throw up some surprises. Until now, China's ascendance has been limited to the Sevens variant and their previous participation in the Asian Women's 15s has been sporadic. At the ARFU Women's 15s development tournament in 2011, notwithstanding that the games were not full tests played under U20 laws, China showed that they were no slouches at the full code with emphatic wins over Laos, Philippines and Thailand despite the lack of any domestic 15s structures or experience.
An interesting weekend lies ahead as China, seeded fourth, face first seed Kazakhstan at 8pm after second seed Japan play Hong Kong at 6pm.
History of ARFU Women's 15s & Rankings
2006 (Kunming, China) - #1 China, #2 Hong Kong, #3 Thailand #4 Singapore
2007 (Kunming, China) - #1 Kazakhstan, #2 China, #3 Japan, #Singapore
2008 (Taraz, Kazakhstan) - #1 Kazakhstan, #2 Japan, #3 Uzbekistan, #4 Singapore, #5 Hong Kong, #6 Krgystan
2009 (Singapore) - #1 Kazakhstan, #2 Japan, #3 Hong Kong, #4 Singapore
2012 (Manila, Philippines) - Div II #1 Singapore, #2 Thailand, #3 Philippines, #4 Laos
*there are records of WRWC qualification matches in Asia between Hong Kong and Japan in 2000 and also with Kazakhstan and Thailand in 2005 but it is unclear if the 2005 qualification matches were considered part of the Asian Women's 15s.
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