Hong Kong China Look To End First Half Of Nations Cup 2026 On a High Against Uruguay

rugbyasia247 Posted On July 17, 2026

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Hong Kong China Look To End First Half Of Nations Cup 2026 On a High Against Uruguay

Hong Kong China play Uruguay at Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, in Uruguay on 18 July 2026, with both sides looking for their first win in the Nations Cup 2026.

Feature Photo Credit – Hong Kong China

The South American side are ranked 17th in the world and drew 38-38 with Romania and lost to Georgia 34-41 in another high-scoring game in the opening round. Hong Kong China, ranked 24th, were well beaten by 19-69 Samoa in their opening game and lost to Chile 17-38 in the second round.

These two sides have only ever played once, which was in 2014, and Uruguay won 28-3. Los Teros have a good record over their previous 10 Tests, which include 6 wins and a draw, but in their most recent 5 Tests they have lost twice and drawn.

They defeated and lost to Chile in 2025 in two close games, and the Chileans beat Hong Kong China last weekend. Those two games against Los Condores allowed Uruguay to qualify for their sixth Men’s Rugby World Cup after winning the Sudaméricano 2025 final on aggregate against Chile.

Photo Credit – World Rugby

Uruguay Hooker Joaquin Myszka (who starts again) scored a hat-trick of tries in only his second start in that high-scoring draw with Romania, but their scrum stats are not great in the Nations Cup and have been the least efficient across the two rounds. They, like Hong Kong China, have struggled to keep XV players on the field in this tournament and have had 3 players in the bin in both games so far, so Head Coach Rodolfo Ambrosio will want to see an improvement as they chase a win.

Hong Kong China have lost three of their past five Tests, and in the Nations Cup, have conceded more than 100 points (104) after two rounds, and they have conceded the most tries (16). A total of 19 penalties, which included four yellow cards and a red card against Chile, made life very difficult.

Even though Lachlan Doheny had two yellow cards in the loss to Chile, he is available to play in this match after a Foul Play Review Committee deemed his red card sufficient sanction.

Head Coach Logan Asplin has made a few changes to the side which lost to Chile. Keegan Chapman starts in the front row instead of Zach Cinnamond, while James Rivers starts in the second row for the first time after his debut last week.

Doheny starts in the back row alongside captain Josh Hrstich and Pierce McKinlay-West, and there is no Tyler McNutt, who looked to have picked up a knock.

Among the backline, Matteo Avitabile starts at flyhalf, and Seb Brien and Tommy Hill come in for their first starts in the Nations Cup. The impressive Paul Altier shifts from fullback to wing, and Matt Worley starts in the 15 jersey.

Photo Credit – Giovanni Quintrel

Match Permutations

Uruguay can not improve their ranking if they win, unless other results this weekend go their way too.
Hong Kong China will climb above a beaten Romania if they can record a first-ever win over Uruguay. If they win by a margin more than 15 points, then Hong Kong China will also go ahead of Belgium to equal their all-time high of 21st.
Hong Kong China could end this phase of the Nations Cup as the lowest-ranked team – in 25th – if they lose by more than 15 points and Canada v Zimbabwe ends in a draw.

All of the Nations Cup fixtures and scores can be seen here.