Unions Cup is an annual men's rugby union competition involving national and representative teams from Asia. The competition was established in 2024 and was initially contested by Singapore, Thailand and Chinese Taipei. The Philippines joined the competition in 2025.
History 2024 The inaugural Unions Cup was held in Singapore from 29 June to 5 July 2024. It was contested by Singapore, Thailand and Chinese Taipei in a round-robin format.
Singapore defeated Thailand 30–8 in the opening match. Thailand then defeated Chinese Taipei 18–12, before Chinese Taipei defeated Singapore 19–16 in the final match of the tournament.
Singapore won the inaugural competition on points difference after all three teams finished with one win and one loss.
2025 The 2025 edition was held in Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei, on 9 and 12 July. Four teams participated: Singapore, the Philippines, Chinese Taipei and Thailand. The tournament consisted of two semi-finals followed by a third-place match and a final.
The Philippines defeated Singapore 37–20 in the first semi-final, while Thailand defeated Chinese Taipei 20–19 in the second.
In the third-place match, Chinese Taipei defeated Singapore 27–22. The Philippines then defeated Thailand 23–6 in the final to win the tournament at their first appearance.
2026 The 2026 edition was held in Thailand from 12 to 18 July and expanded to eight teams. The participating teams were the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, Guam, Laos and the Asian Barbarians.
The opening matches saw the Philippines defeat Laos 74–0, Singapore defeat the Asian Barbarians 21–19, Malaysia defeat Thailand 30–27, and Chinese Taipei defeat Guam 45–14.
In the Cup semi-finals, the Philippines defeated Singapore 33–10 and Malaysia defeated Chinese Taipei 42–29. In the placement semi-finals, the Asian Barbarians defeated Laos 71–20 and Thailand defeated Guam 21–20.
In the finals, Guam defeated Laos 85–12 to finish seventh, Thailand defeated the Asian Barbarians 27–20 to finish fifth, and Chinese Taipei defeated Singapore 47–22 to finish third. In the final, the Philippines defeated Malaysia 39–18 to retain the title.
Results
2024
The inaugural tournament was played as a round-robin competition in Singapore.
Date Phase Team Result Team Venue 29 June 2024 Round-robin Singapore 30–8 Thailand Jurong West Stadium, Singapore 2 July 2024 Round-robin Thailand 18–12 Chinese Taipei Jurong West Stadium, Singapore 5 July 2024 Round-robin Singapore 16–19 Chinese Taipei Jurong West Stadium, Singapore
Singapore won the tournament on points difference after all three teams finished with one win and one loss.
2025
The tournament was expanded to four teams and played in Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei. The competition used a knockout format.
Date Phase Team Result Team Venue 9 July 2025 Semi-final Philippines 37–20 Singapore Kaohsiung National Stadium, Kaohsiung 9 July 2025 Semi-final Chinese Taipei 19–20 Thailand Kaohsiung National Stadium, Kaohsiung 12 July 2025 Third-place match Chinese Taipei 27–22 Singapore Kaohsiung National Stadium, Kaohsiung 12 July 2025 Final Philippines 23–6 Thailand Kaohsiung National Stadium, Kaohsiung
Champions: Philippines
2026
The 2026 tournament was expanded to eight teams and was played in Bangkok, Thailand. The teams were divided into two pools, with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the Cup semi-finals.
Date Phase Team Result Team Venue 12 July 2026 Pool stage Philippines 74–0 Laos Navaminda Kasatriyadhiraj Royal Air Force Academy, Bangkok 12 July 2026 Pool stage Singapore 21–19 Asian Barbarians Navaminda Kasatriyadhiraj Royal Air Force Academy, Bangkok 12 July 2026 Pool stage Thailand 27–30 Malaysia Armed Forces Development Command, Bangkok 12 July 2026 Pool stage Chinese Taipei 45–14 Guam Armed Forces Development Command, Bangkok 15 July 2026 Placement semi-final Laos 20–71 Asian Barbarians Navaminda Kasatriyadhiraj Royal Air Force Academy, Bangkok 15 July 2026 Placement semi-final Guam 20–21 Thailand Armed Forces Development Command, Bangkok 15 July 2026 Cup semi-final Philippines 33–10 Singapore Navaminda Kasatriyadhiraj Royal Air Force Academy, Bangkok 15 July 2026 Cup semi-final Chinese Taipei 29–42 Malaysia Armed Forces Development Command, Bangkok 18 July 2026 7th-place match Laos 12–85 Guam Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organisation Stadium, Nonthaburi 18 July 2026 5th-place match Asian Barbarians 20–27 Thailand Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organisation Stadium, Nonthaburi 18 July 2026 Third-place match Singapore 22–47 Chinese Taipei Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organisation Stadium, Nonthaburi 18 July 2026 Final Philippines 39–18 Malaysia Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organisation Stadium, Nonthaburi
Champions: Philippines
See also
Asia Rugby Rugby union in Asia Philippines national rugby union team Singapore national rugby union team Thailand national rugby union team Chinese Taipei national rugby union team
References