A 30-man Men’s HKCR squad has been named as they set off for the World Rugby Nations Cup 2026 in South America, with the team set to depart on Saturday, 20 June.
Before reaching South America to compete in the inaugural Nations Cup, where the Asian Rugby World Cup 2027 debutants will face Samoa, Chile, and Uruguay, the squad travels to New Zealand and are due to play the Waikato XV in a warm-up game on 24 June.
All of these fixtures are part of Hong Kong China’s road towards competing in the Rugby World Cup in 2027.
Josh Hrstich captains the squad, and Hong Kong China Rugby head coach, Logan Asplin, said of the opposition, “Three test matches that are going to be physically tougher than any test these players have played before.
In Samoa, you are performing against a proud nation with World Cup quarter-final exposure, and a team ranked in the teens; Uruguay is ranked even higher. All three of these teams have World Cup experience for at least one, if not more, campaigns; it is going to be tough for us from an experience piece, from a physicality piece.
We are realistic in that; we are working around managing expectations and understanding that this is part of a big picture. We are at the start of that World Cup journey.”
The Head Coach added, “I am happy with the level of content we have around our game. We have performance objectives and KPIs; we have set eight benchmarks that we know are expected to play the game at this level. There are measurable expressions of how hard it will be, but it is achievable. It is also realistic that we are probably not going to achieve all of those in every single game, but the team is coming through, and we are ready. Growing through exposure like this is critical.”
HKCR Select XV played two matches against a Japan XV, losing the opening game heavily, before turning things around and winning the second game. The Test side also fielded several new caps in retaining their AREMC 2026 with wins over Sri Lanka and Korea.
Photo Credit – HKCR
New Caps On Tour for HKCR
The tour squad selected included the addition of three players who are yet to debut: Lachlan Doheny (former Australian Schools & U18s and NSW Waratahs U18S now with Kowloon), James Rivers (who has played in the MLR before returning this past season to HK with HK Scottish RFC), and Isaac Campbell-Wu (former England U19s and HKCR U20 – now at Valley RFC).
Asplin said of the overall selections: “A big part of our selection for Japan was around the group in contention for South America, and guys put their hands up in both games. It is always easy to look at a game you won versus one you lost and say the first was better, but there were significant performances in both games.
There were also parts of game two where we got more right. We did well in the second game to match Japan’s game speed and doubled the number of turnovers they had from game one to two. Those were significant steps around areas that we had emphasised.
The players selected are players we see in the pipeline to play a World Cup. It is what we think is right, right now. There are also guys that have not been selected that are in the mix as well, and guys out with injuries. There are players in the group under big performance pressure also, with guys returning from injury or otherwise becoming qualified,” added Asplin.
HKCR Tour Schedule & Nations Cup 2026 Fixtures
- Tour Friendly – Wednesday 24th June – 18:00 Albert Park, Te Awamutu, NZ – Waikato XV vs HKCR Men’s XV
- 4 July 2026 – Samoa vs Hong Kong China – 15:00 – Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Pradanos, Santiago, Chile
- 11 July 2026 – Chile vs Hong Kong China – 18:00 – Estadio Sausalito, Viña del Mar, Chile
- 18 July 2026 – Uruguay vs Hong Kong China – 14:00 – Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, Uruguay
Hong Kong China Rugby Nations Cup Squad for World Rugby Nations Cup 2026
The HKCR squad is comprised mostly of those who travelled to Japan, with five additions including three forwards in overseas-based hooker Alexander Post, James Holmes, and Calum Scott and two backs with Jack Combes returning from injury and HKCR Sevens co-captain Seb Brien joining the camp for the Nations Cup.
Key players missing through injury include centre Ben Axten-Burrett, prop Callum McFeat-Smith, sevens squad crossover star Callum McCullough, winger Guy Spanton and overseas-based player Nathan DeThierry.
Forwards: Josh HRSTICH (Captain); Sunia FAMEITAU; Rory CINNAMOND; James HOLMES; Calum SCOTT; Alexander POST; Harry BARON; Zacc CINNAMOND; Keelan CHAPMAN; Max MURPHY; Lachlan DOHENY*; James RIVERS*; Kyle SULLIVAN; Tyler MCNUTT; Dana FOURIE; Pierce MACKINLAY-WEST; James SAWYER.
Backs: Jack COMBES; CHUI Wai Lap, Eric; Brendon NELL; Joseph BARKER; Matteo AVITABILE; Isaac CAMPBELL-WU*; Tom HILL; Marcus RAMAGE; Max THRELKELD; Harry SAYERS; Seb BRIEN; Paul ALTIER; Matt WORLEY.
*Players in line to make potential HKCR debut.
HKCR Men’s XV News
- Hong Kong China Seal 7th Straight AREMC Title with 45-9 Win Over Korea.
- Asian International Rugby Tournaments 2026.
- Understanding The World Rugby Nations Cup 2026.
- Match Official Appointments For 2026 Nations Championship & Nations Cup.
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