The Asia Rugby Emirates Women’s Championship 2026 (AREWC) second fixture pits the winners of the last six Championships against the runner-up for the past two years, as Japan will look to secure the title on Tuesday, 6th May, against Hong Kong China at the Almaty Sport Complex.
Feature Photo Credit – Asia Rugby
The Sakura Fifteen were comfortable winners in their opening match against Kazakhstan, although their goal kicking was poor with only 2/12 conversions, they were fluid in attack and had a dominant set piece and inflicted a lot of damage from their rolling mauls off their attacking lineouts.
Captain Moe Tsukui leads the side again from scrumhalf, and she had plenty of willing, strong ball carriers in the opening game, among the forwards and her centres. The back three of Japan were also dangerous with the ball in hand, and both wings and the full back scored tries, with right wing Rinka Matsuda scoring a first-half hat-trick – all three will start again.
There is a debut for starting fly-half Sawa Harada, while Sara Takahashi could earn her first cap off the bench.
Both Acting Head Coach Toshizumi Kitagawa and captain Moe Tsukui said after their opening win that there are areas to work on before the HKCR match
Japan defeated HKCR 63-5 in the 2025 AREWC.
Photo Credit- JRFU – Japan Sakura 15 vs HKCR – AREWC 2025
Hong Kong China said pre-tournament they have clear goals for this AREWC as they build towards WXV and have their eyes on qualifying for a second Women’s Rugby World Cup. The squad they have assembled has a lot of fresh faces, and there are still plenty of attacking threats and a stable pack. But without the likes of regulars Natasha Olson-Thorne, Jess Ho, Chong Ka Yan and others in the backs, the new backline will need to defend well and create opportunities.
The starting Sakura 15 front row has a combined 7 test caps between them, and the HKCR forwards are experienced, so the scrum and set piece will be key areas to watch in this contest.
Hong Kong China co-captain Kea Herewini, who will earn her 9th cap, told Rugby Asia 247: “I think a majority of the girls are excited to get over to Kazakhstan and to put the hard work into fruition and into game mode. It has been a really cool build-up and preparation.
It has been awesome to see so many of the younger girls step up, and we don’t have the Sevens girls for this campaign, so it has had a different feel, but the experienced players and the younger girls have really stepped up and shown what it is about and that rugby is not eros, but we do it because we love it and play it for a reason. So I am excited, and hopefully we can get the job done.”
The other co-captain, Abigail Chan, will earn her 5th cap for HKCR, and she added of the challenge ahead, “Our focus is to hit the ground running in Kazakhstan. The whole squad had put in heavy running blocks and high-performance loading to ensure we exceed the physicality we brought to the pitch last year.
For the Japan game, they remain the benchmark in Asia, so we want to close the gap and, if we play well, pull off a win. The goal is to win and put in performances we are proud of.
We have several new players who will earn their first Test caps, and they need to get caps in a high-performance environment and build the depth we need for the coming season.”
You can read more in our HKCR colab article and tournament preview.
RESULT: Japan 71-12 Hong Kong China
Japan Sakura 15s Squad vs Hong Kong China – AREWC 2026 Match#2
You can see more from the JRFU here.
Hong Kong China Squad vs Japan – AREWC 2026 Match#2
The side is co-captained by Kea Herewini and Abigail Chan.
HKCR have selected 8 potential debut players with 5 starting: Kirstie Stevenson, Chung Sabrina, Fu Tiffany Hiu San, Isobel Littlehales, Li Tse Ting in the run-on team, and Za Xiao Hui, Jenna Potgieter, and Lauren Knowler among the reserves.
Match Permutations
- Japan are currently ranked 11th in the world, Hong Kong China are 16th
- More TBC
Match Officials Japan vs HKCR AREWC 2026
- Match Referee – Christabelle Lim (SRU)
- AR – Leow Wai Liang & Adeline Chew (SRU)
- TMO – Just Wang (SRU)
How To Watch Asia Rugby Emirates Women’s Championship 2026
All of the matches will be broadcast via Asia Rugby socials and RugbyPassTV for international audiences.
You can see the highlights of the Sakiura 15s victory over Kazakhstan here:
Asian Rugby News 2026
- AREWC 2026 Match Preview: Japan vs Kazakhstan.
- Asia Rugby Emirates Women’s Championship 2026 Preview – Team Guide
- Asian International Rugby Tournaments 2026.
- Hong Kong China Men’s XV Head To South America for July World Rugby Nations Cup 2026 Fixtures.
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