Japan Women and Hong Kong China Men Retain Top Spot in ARESS 2026 Leg 1

At the conclusion of 72 Rugby 7s matches and 26+ hours of 7s rugby at the Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series (ARESS) 2026 Leg 1 in Suzhou, China, the Japanese women and Hong Kong China men started off the season with well-deserved title defences.

Photo Credit – Asia Rugby (if you are looking for more photos, we post all weekend across our social platforms like Instagram, Facebook & X).

Truth be told, across the weekend there were not that many shocks. The two champions looked a class above the rest of their respective fields, albeit the China women looked to have grown in the second year of their rebuild. Thailand and Hong Kong China women continued their close and tense rivalry; the Thais pipped HKCR to 3rd overall after having lost in pool play.

On the Men’s side, Sri Lanka were the biggest losers compared to last season, and more would have been expected from this considering they are on a full-time programme this season – they finished 7th after being placed third last year. Korea were much improved, and they and China will look to battle it out for third.

The two days of action were unfortunately once again played at a fantastic venue, but with a sparse crowd in attendance, the players had to overcome extreme heat on the opening day and torrential rain on the second day.

Finals Action – Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens 2026 Leg 1

Womens 7s ARESS 2026

Cup Final: Japan 24-7 China

Photo Credit – Asia Rugby

China scored first to lead 7-0, and the team had shown all week how far they have come in the past 12 months. They also have new Japanese S&C Coach Hitoshi Ipponsugi to help with their improved conditioning (he spent the past 2 seasons with the Thai women and previously as Head of Athletic Performance at the Blue Bulls in SA under Jake White), and their defence was immense – they had not conceded a single point heading into the final.

But Sakura 7as have the experience, and Yume Hirano levelled the score. Mei Ohtani got the 2nd try as they led 14-7 at halftime. Seika Ohashi scored the Japanese 3rd try and Wakana Akita a 4th in the second half to secure the win to start their title defence with top honours.

China co-captains Yue Sun and Xinrong Dou were among a handful in the team who had an excellent weekend.

Photo Credit – Asia Rugby

3rd place final: Thailand 17-12 HKCR

After Hong Kong China had defeated the Thais in pool play 5-0, they started well and raced out to a 12-0 lead. But these two continue to serve up nailbiters, and like last season, Thailand came back the better side late in the contest.

They equalled the scores to force the game into golden point extra time, where they completed the comeback with a 17-12 win to place third. We dont know the tournament permutations, but head-to-head wins could well come into separating these two teams at the end of the second leg.

Gabby Rivers had an excellent all-round weekend for HKCR, as did several of her teammates, while the Thailand team (some crucial scores this weekend from the likes of Dion Akwaja), were without one of their most experienced players, but they pushed Japan in the semi-final and will be happy with third in this leg

Both teams will likely be competing for bronze at the Asian Games too.

Photo Credit – Asia Rugby

5th place final: Kazakhstan 17-12 India

India recorded their third consecutive 6th place finish at the top level and showed they belong here. For Kazakhstan, 5th is an accurate assessment of where they are in Asia and have been for a few seasons, but they dont seem to have closed the gap on the top four. They had heavy losses to both China and Thailand this weekend.

Photo Credit – Asia Rugby

7th place final: UAE 22-5 Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan did really well to finish 8th in their first tournament at this level after being promoted from the Trophy Series. They ran out of steam at the end, but they look like they will secure their status at this level under new Head Coach David Dakuitoga and with a very young team and limited resources.

UAE will be more than happy with a 7th place finish as they also had new caps in the mix and young players exposed to this level in Asia.

Photo Credit – Asia Rugby

For the bottom four teams, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Iran, the fight is on to avoid the relegation drop. Malaysia and Singapore were not consistent enough and battled throughout but will want to improve. They were all denied a final game, with weather forcing their final matches to be called off and awarded as draws.

Men’s 7s ARESS 2026

Photo Credit – Asia Rugby

Japan scored first in the final as these two renewed their rivalry, but the defending champions continued their undefeated streak in Asia as three second-half tries secured top spot; Callum McCullough, Julien Bourron, and Liam Herbert scored for Hong Kong China in the final.

Hong Kong China have a strong crop of young players coming through and will be happy with the return of Max Denmark. Experienced players like Liam Herbert were outstanding.

Both teams had been excellent in defence and ruthless in attack all weekend, but HKCR’s class showed in the second half as their bench proved to be vital. We expect both will be at it again at the Asian Games and in the second ARESS leg to compete for gold.

HKCR men’s Head Coach Jevon Groves said, “If Hong Kong China were on the other side of this result, it would make us that much more determined to come back and play again. So we must strive to get better, even in success; other teams will have more preparation from now to then, and they will all be coming after us, so we have to be prepared and take our game to another level still.”

Of Liam Herbert, he added, “Liam was fantastic. He was running on fumes at the end, but his influence on the game was obvious. We know he has the engine to do that. We think of Liam as a 14-minute player; he is one of the best players that has ever been in this programme. It means a lot to him, and I’m really pleased with how he played in the final; he was the difference maker.”

Japan Men’s 7s Head Coach Phil Greening said via the JRFU:

“The team prepared well for the China tour and showed excellent performance in the pool stage, displaying highly focused defence. Three new players who have grown throughout the Sevens tournament made their debut and proved their abilities with outstanding play.

The players went into the final with confidence, but a lack of precision under pressure was the team’s downfall. It was a painful blow that we couldn’t capitalise on our chances to take the lead and our momentum, but the players fully demonstrated the “Japanese DNA” throughout the tournament.”

Photo Credit – Asia Rugby

An excellent game as Korea took it to golden point extra time with a try after the hooter to make it 19-19.  China scored first to win and claimed bronze at home – they had been solid all weekend, and these two produced some great rugby and tense matches.

There were question marks over Korea as they had little doemsic 7s, but they grew as the weekend went on and they showed resilience in coming back from deficits, and this was the second game they forced into extra time, after having defeated UAE in the quarterfinal.

Photo Credit – Asia Rugby

5th place final: Thailand 17-14 UAE 

Thailand, who claimed 5th overall, reached their top 6 goal, and the introduction of Ben Paltridge and Doh Mooh P’Kaw made a massive difference to the team.

UAE Co-captains Niko Volavola & Emosi Ratuvecanaua, as well as speedster Mohammad Ali Bandari, were key to the team this weekend, but it was a good squad effort.

Photo Credit – Asia Rugby

Sri Lanka will be disappointed to end 7th but ended on a high after losses to some of the top teams. Malaysia look comfortably above some of the teams below them, but a 19-point losing margin to Thailand, who they beat in April, raises questions about their progress as they only won one game all weekend.

The sides placed from 9-12; Singapore, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and India know they will be playing for tier 1 status next leg, and all the teams except India also have the Asian Games to get battle-hardened.

Photo Credit – Asia Rugby

Final Standings – ARESS 2026 Leg 1

Women

1. Japan
2. China
3. Thailand
4. Hong Kong China
5. Kazakhstan
6. India 
7. UAE 
8. Uzbekistan
9. Malaysia
10. Singapore
11. Sri Lanka
12. Iran

Men

1. Hong Kong China
2. Japan
3. China
4. Korea
5. Thailand
6. UAE
7. Sri Lanka
8. Malaysia
9. Singapore
10. Kazakhstan
11. Uzbekistan
12. India

The second and final round takes place in Colombo from October 17-18,  after the Asian Games Rugby 7s in Japan.

If the permutations are the same as last season, only the top Men’s team and the third-placed Women’s team (as Japan and China are already in SVNS 1 and 2 respectively) will proceed to WXV 3. The bottom two women’s and men’s teams would be relegated.

Asian 7s Rugby News 2026

• Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series 2026 Leg 1 Suzhou Preview.
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• Asia Rugby 7s 2026 National Team Tournament Dates & Venues Guide.
• Ultimate Sevens Announces Franchise Head Coaches & Player Pool.