The 2010 Asian Five Nations, known as the 2010 HSBC Asian 5 Nations due to its sponsorship by HSBC, was the third series of the Asian Five Nations, the flagship competition devised by the International Rugby Board (IRB) to develop rugby union in Asia. The top five teams took part in a round-robin competition held on five consecutive weekends between 24 April and 22 May 2010, with each match hosted by one of the participants. Four other divisions operating on a single-elimination basis also took place, with a system of promotion and relegation between the four divisions and the main tournament.
The main tournament was contested by the Arabian Gulf rugby union team, Hong Kong, Japan, Kazakhstan and South Korea. Japan maintained their unbeaten streak within the Asian Five Nations, winning the tournament for the third time in a row, with an average winning margin of over seventy points in their four games. As champions, they qualified for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. Kazakhstan, who placed second with two victories, qualified for the final place play-offs, where they were defeated by Uruguay. Hong Kong and the Arabian Gulf came third and fourth respectively, with two victories each, while Korea were relegated to Division One for the 2011 competition after failing to win a match.
Changes from 2009 Singapore has been replaced with Arabian Gulf, who earns promotion from Division 1.
Teams The teams involved, with their world rankings pre tournament, were:
Arabian Gulf (44) (39) (13) (26) (24)
Final Table ChampionsRelegated to Division One for 2011
Pos NationGames Points Table points Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Diff Tries Bonus Points Points1440032630+296504242420294173−7693133420265133−6872124 Arabian Gulf 420270128−6170105400465156−91933
Scoring System Win – 5 Points Draw – 3 Points Loss – 0 Points Bonus points for scoring four tries or for losing by no more than 7 points.
Fixtures HomeScore (Tries)AwayMatch InformationDateVenue 32–8 (4–1)24-Apr-2010Hong Kong FC Stadium, Hong Kong 43–28 (4–3) Arabian Gulf 24-Apr-2010National University Stadium, AlmatyArabian Gulf 16–9 (1–0)30-Apr-2010Bahrain Sports Club, Manama, Bahrain 13–71 (1–11)1-May-2010, Daegu 60–5 (10–1) Arabian Gulf 8-May-2010Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo 19–15 (2–0)8-May-2010Hong Kong FC Stadium, Hong KongArabian Gulf 21–19 (2–3)14-May-2010The Sevens, Dubai7–101 (1–15)15-May-2010Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo94–5 (14–1)22-May-2010Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo25–32 (4–4)22-May-2010Incheon Munhak Stadium, Incheon
NB: The Kazakhstan–Japan fixture was moved from Almaty to Tokyo. The Arabian Gulf–Korea match was the last Test for the Arabian Gulf team.
References
Division 1
External links Official Website ARFU