Hong Kong China Rugby Men’s XV Squads Confirmed for AREMC 2026 Opener & Japan Select XV Tour

The Hong Kong China Rugby Men’s XVs sides for both the Asia Rugby Emirates Men’s Championship 2026 opening fixture and the Japan tour, which will see them play the Japan Select XV twice, have been confirmed.

Feature Photo Credit – HKCR

HKCR Head Coach Logan Asplin said, “This is a side we know well, and they’ve set a high standard. For us, this tour is about showing clear growth – staying competitive for longer, executing under pressure, and really challenging ourselves against quality opposition. We have made strong strides physically as a group; now it is about transferring that into consistent performances on the pitch.”

HKCR Men’s XV Select Tour to Japan 2026

Hong Kong will play the Japan Select team in Japan on 22 and 29 May, which will be key matches as they prepare for the upcoming Nations Trophy matches in South America and their Rugby World Cup debut in 2027.

The matches will see Hong Kong China compete against a Japanese side similar to that which visited Hong Kong in October 2025 in the first XVs match played in Kai Tak Stadium.

A 30-player travelling group (including Charles Higson-Smith and Dana Fourie, who will join after the AREMC game in Sri Lanka) has been named for Japan.

• Match 1 – Japan Select vs Hong Kong China Men (Fri 22 May, Oita Sports Park Krasas Rugby Field, Oita) 5PM KO
• Match 2  – Japan Select vs Hong Kong China Men (Fri 29 May, Japan Base, Fukuoka) 10:30 KO

The travelling squad for the Japan Tour will be confirmed next week, with broadcast details to follow.

Following the Japan tour, a squad will go on to play a fixture against Waikato in New Zealand before the Nations Cup in South America in July. The schedule at the Nations Cup in July will change the composition of the final 30-man group named for the summer, with the team needing greater positional depth given the travel distance and intensity of match schedules.

Hong Kong China will face off against RWC 2027 pool-mates Chile for the first time in nearly two years at the Nations Cup, as well as Samoa and Uruguay.

• 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

Photo Credit – HKCR – Harry Sayers

HKCR Head of Technical Rugby Andrew Douglas said, “We need games. In the two years leading up to qualifying for the Rugby World Cup, we only played one team (Chile) ranked higher than us in the world.

In the next two years we won’t play anyone ranked lower than us. We are entering a really important phase now, where performance, resilience, and adaptability are being tested week to week. Facing strong, higher-ranked teams in quick succession is exactly the kind of exposure this group needs,” added Andrew Douglas.

• Kyle SULLIVAN is the most capped player in the squad with 28, followed by Ben AXTEN-BURRETT (23), and captain Joshua HRSTICH with 20.
• Some of the players who are not included and play overseas are Nathan DE THIERRY and Alex Post.
• Out of the players who regularly compete in the HKCR Men’s 7s team, Harry SAYERS and Matteo AVITABILE are included.

HKCR XV Tour Squad vs Japan Select (May 2026)

Josh HRSTICH (C); Tom HILL (vice-captain); Sunia FAMEITAU; Zacceus CINNAMOND; Callum MCFEAT-SMITH; Rory CINNAMOND; Keelan CHAPMAN; Harry BARON; Max MURPHY; Lachlan DOHENY; James RIVERS; Kyle SULLIVAN; Tyler McNUTT; Pierce MACKINLAY-WEST; James SAWYER; Jude HARDING; Brendon NELL;  Dana FOURIE*; Charles HIGSON-SMITH*; Jack BARTLETT; Joseph BARKER; Matteo AVITABILE; Isaac CAMPBELL-WU; Max THRELKELD; Matt WORLEY; CHUI Wai Lap; Marcus RAMAGE; Harry SAYERS, Guy SPANTON, Paul ALTIER

*will join the Japan Tour after the ARC match in Sri Lanka

Asia Rugby Emirates Men’s Championship 2026 HKCR Squad

HKCR previously announced that USRC Tigers Club Coaching Officer Nigel Hotham has stepped into the role as Head Coach of the Men’s XVs AREMC squad.

HKCR will be sending an inexperienced international team to try and claim the Asia Rugby Championship for a 7th straight time. Only 5 players from the contracted Rugby World Cup training squad have been seconded to the Hong Kong Select team for the opening fixture away in Sri Lanka, and two will join the team in Japan after the Sri Lanka match

The AREMC squad will play Sri Lanka and Korea in a shortened championship and will feature many debutants in the squad, with some players set to join the team in Japan. 17 in the 23-man squad will potentially make their debut.

The Asia Rugby Championship gets underway with HKCR playing Sri Lanka on Sunday, 24 May 2026, in Colombo, before they face Korea at home on 7 June.

HKCR will have more than 50 elite men’s fifteens athletes in action in two different countries over the next three weekends, and Asplin said, “These are big opportunities for every player in the squad. We have worked hard to build greater depth across the programme and competition for places is driving standards every day in training. That is essential if we are going to succeed at the next level.”

The New Zealander, who was previously the HKFC Men’s Head Coach, explained, “We do not get many chances to play matches at this level, so there’s real hunger to perform and earn places in the group moving forward. Playing the same opposition twice gives us, as coaches, a very clear measure. We will know straight away where we have improved and what we need to keep working on.”

AREMC 2026 Schedule (as of 10th May 2026)

• Sunday 24 May 2026: Sri Lanka vs Hong Kong China – Racecourse Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka – KO 15:00
• Sunday 7 June 2026: Hong Kong China vs Korea – Hong Kong – HKFC, KO 16:30 – Tickets will be available soon via HKCR.
• Saturday 13 June 2026: Korea vs Sri Lanka – Namdong Asiad Rugby Stadium, Incheon, Korea – KO 15:00

HKCR XV AREMC Travelling Squad vs Sri Lanka (May 2026)

David BENNETT*; Oliver CLARKE*; Thomas CONCU*; Dana FOURIE*; James HOLMES; Glenn HUI*; Patrick JENKINSON; Joseph KNIGHT*; Struan MAIN*; NG Siu Lung*; Connor O’BYRNE*; Dean ROSSOUW*; TANG Man Chun; Huw ALEXANDER*; Anthony COEBERGH*; Charles HIGSON SMITH; Barnaby HORBERRY*; Emanuel LAI*; Dylan McCANN; Alexander MOSES*; Oliver PYLE*; Dean SQUIRE*; Dylan WHITE

*Potential debutant

Asian Tournament News 2026

• Hong Kong China Men’s XV Head To South America for July World Rugby Nations Cup 2026 Fixtures.
• Understanding The World Rugby Nations Cup 2026.
• Asian International Rugby Tournaments 2026.
• JAPAN XV 2026 Squad Announced