There is still no confirmed list from Asia Rugby for the international tournaments in 2026, but several unions are also involved in World Rugby tournaments, including the new WXV format, Nations Cup and Nations Championship – we look at the Asian International Rugby Tournaments 2026.
Updated January 19 2026
There also remains a question mark over the Asia Rugby tournaments due to its debt situation, suspension from World Rugby Council, and a lack of faith from some unions that the regional governing body will go ahead and organise the tournaments in 2026.
HSBC SVNS 3 Dubai 2026
The standalone HSBC SVNS 3 Dubai 2026 event takes place from 17-18 January on Pitch 2 at The Sevens Stadium and will feature eight men’s and eight women’s teams competing for promotion to HSBC SVNS 2, including the Thai women and Hong Kong China men from Asia.
- Venue: The Sevens Stadium, Dubai, UAE
- Date: 17-18 January 2026
SEA 7s 2026
The annual tournament, which precedes the HSBC SVNS Singapore, takes place much earlier in the year than usual, but a number of unions committed to the tournament at the SEARF meeting held in December 2025.
SEA 7s is an open invitational tournament for SEA Rugby Unions, and is organised by the Singapore Rugby Union.
The countries potentially involved are:
- Laos – Women & Men
- Singapore – Women & Men
- Indonesian – Women & Men
- Malaysia – Women & Men
- Thailand – Women & Men
- Philippines – Men
- Cambodia – Men
- Vietnam – Women
- Brunei – Men
The SEA 7s Finals (31 January 2026) will be held at the National Stadium, with the pool stages usually played at Jurong West.
- Venue: Jurong West and National Stadium, Singapore
- Date: 30-31st January 2026
HSBC SVNS Singapore 2026
HSBC SVNS Singapore 2026 takes the top 7s teams in the world to the National Stadium from 31 January and 1 February.
You can see more about the pools here. The Japanese women are the only Asian representation on the Series.
Both Nate Hirayama and Ruby Tui are believed to be tournament ambassadors.
- Venue: National Stadium, Singapore
- Date: 31st January – 1st February 2026
SEARF Women’s Championship XVs 2026
The inaugural SEARF Women’s 15s Championship (the women’s equivalent of the Unions Cup) will be played in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with four teams involved: the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
There will be semifinals on the 11th Feb with the final placement matches on Saturday, 14th February 2026.
11 Feb 2026 | Wednesday
- 14:00: Singapore vs Malaysia
- 16:00: Philippines vs Indonesia
14 Feb 2026 | Saturday
- 14:00: Loser Match 1 vs Loser Match 2
- 16:00: Winner Match 1 vs Winner Match 2
This is a big move for the region in an attempt to get regular 15s rugby for the women’s national teams.
- Venue: Padang Astaka, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
- Date: 11-15 February 2026
SVNS World Championship – Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens
The Hong Kong Sevens will be celebrating its 50th anniversary, so expect a big event at Kai Tak Stadium. The event is the first of three SVNS World Championship rounds, which will feature 12 Women’s and 12 Men’s teams.
The Melrose Claymore Challenge should also take place, including the HKCR 7s teams and invited teams.
- Venue: Kai Tak Stadium, Hong Kong
- Date: 17–19 Apr 2026
Photo Credit – HKCR
Unions Cup 2026
Thailand will be hosting the Men’s Union Cup in 2026, which again is expected to expand. Seven nations have confirmed their participation: Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Guam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Taiwan.
The Philippines is the defending champion. Hong Kong might field its Hong Kong Dragons, bringing the total to eight teams.
The first round will be divided into two groups, A and B, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals to determine the finalists.
- Venue: Bangkok, Thailand
- Date: TBC July 2026
Photo Credit – Mr Wu
Asia Rugby Emirates Men’s & Women’s Championships 2026
There is currently no confirmed news from Asia Rugby on when or whether they will go ahead in 2026 but some unions have started to post potential dates for the ARMC 2026.
June 14 2026: Korea vs Sri Lanka, Incheon
June 21 2026: Sri Lanka vs Hong Kong China – Colombo
July 3 2026: UAE vs Sri Lanka – Dubai, UAE
- Venue: Various
- Date: TBC 2026
Asia Rugby Men’s Division 1 15s 2026
It has been suggested that India, Qatar, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia would compete for the Division 1 title, but again this highlights the issues with Asia Rugby, as no reason was provided for why these four teams would compete in the place of others.
- Venue: TBC
- Date: TBC June-July 2026
World Rugby U20 Championship 2026
More details need to be announced by World Rugby, but Japan is one of the teams participating in the World Rugby U20 Championship, which will return to Georgia for the 16th edition of the tournament.
- Venue: TBC, Georgia
- Date: TBC 2026
Nations Championship 2026
Japan is the only Asian side included in the Nations Championship 2026:
- Round One (Saturday, July 4) – Japan v Italy
- Round Two (Saturday, July 11) – Japan v Ireland
- Round Three (Saturday, July 18) – Japan v France
- Round Four (6-8 November) – Wales v Japan
- Round Five (13-15 November) – England v Japan
- Round Six (21 November) – Scotland v Japan
The inaugural Finals Weekend of the 2026 season is scheduled to take place over three consecutive days in London from 26-29 November 2026.
- Venue: Various TBC
- Date: TBC July & November 2026
World Rugby Nations Cup 2026
Hong Kong China is included in the new Nations Cup tournament – the format means each team will face all six opponents from the opposite pool. Each team will play three matches in July and three in November 2026.
Hong Kong China will have matches against Canada, the USA, Chile, Tonga, Samoa, and Uruguay.
- Venue: TBC
- Date: TBC July & November 2026
WXV Global Series 2026
Both Japan Sakura 15 and Hong Kong China will be competing in the WXV 2026, although much is still to be announced. The expected timeframe will be from September to October 2026.
- Top 12 teams to compete in a home-and-away touring model (includes Japan)
- Teams 13-18 will compete at a single destination, funded by World Rugby (Includes HKCR)
- Venue: TBC
- Date: TBC September-October 2026
Asia Rugby Emirates U18 Sevens 2026
TBC
- Venue: TBC, China
- Date: August 2026
Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series 7s 2026
China and Colombo (Sri Lanka) should be hosting the two legs, much like in 2025, but it depends on the situation with Asia Rugby. If it goes ahead, it is also to be confirmed if it will be the same format as in 2025, with 12 women’s and 12 men’s teams.
Possible Dates and Venues:
Leg 1: China – September 5-6, 2026
Leg 2: Colombo, Sri Lanka – October 17-18, 2026
- Venue: TBC
- Date: TBC – Possibly September-October 2026
Photo Credit – Asia Rugby
Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Trophy 7s 2026
More details are TBC.
- Venue: TBC
- Date: October 2026
Asian Games 2026 – Rugby 7s
The 2026 Asian Games, officially the 20th edition, will take place in Aichi & Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4, 2026. The final confirmed list of participating teams is still TBC.
- Venue: Nagoya (Paloma Mizuho Rugby Stadium), Japan
- Date: TBC 2026
2026 World Deaf Rugby Sevens Championship
Japan will host the 2026 World Deaf Rugby Sevens Championship, which will be the third such event to take place, and the Women’s and Men’s competitions are expected to be in October or November 2026.
- Venue: TBC, Tokyo, Japan
- Date: October 31st (Sat) – November 3rd 2026
Asia Rugby U20 7s 2026
Another tournament to be confirmed, but Malaysia Rugby announced this as provisionally to be held in November 2026.
TBC
- Venue: TBC, India
- Date: November 2026
Asia Rugby U19 15s Championship 2026
The Sri Lanka Rugby Union confirmed it was awarded the right to host the tournament, and they posted the following fixtures and information:
December 15, 2026
M1 – Korea vs Chinese Taipei
M2 – Sri Lanka vs Hong Kong China
December 19, 2026
Loser M1 vs M2
Winner M1 vs M2
- Venue: Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Date: December, 2026
2026 Rugby Tournaments
- World Rugby Issues Asia Rugby a Yellow Card – Evidence Suggests It Should be a Red.
- The Best Social 2026 Rugby Tournaments In Asia.
- Guam To Join the Expanded Unions Cup from 2026.
- Japan Deaf Rugby Union To Host 2026 World Deaf Rugby Sevens Championship.
Trending Now
