Rugby League Asian Cup


The Rugby League Asian Cup was a rugby league football tournament for Asian nations that was held in 2012 and 2013. Both editions of the tournament featured the Philippines and Thailand playing each other once. It is run by the Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation and the Trophy itself was donated by the RLIF.

History

On October 21, 2012 the Philippines Tamaraws defeated the Thailand Stars to win the inaugural Rugby League Asian Cup. and on October 23, 2013 the Philippines again defeated Thailand at the second Asian Cup.

Trophy

On October 21, 2012, after beating Thailand in the Asian Cup final, Philippines captain Luke Srama was presented with the first Asian Cup trophy. Srama was also presented with a Friendship Cup as a good gesture between the two teams.

Format

The format of the inaugural Rugby League Asian Cup involved a one off match held in Bangkok between Thailand and the Philippines to decide the champion of the tournament.

Future

It is expected in the future editions of the Asian Cup that the Japan national rugby league team and Singapore will compete in the tournament. It is also hoped that other Asian nations will compete in the future. Japan has planned hosting the tournament in 2014

Results

Asian Cup summaries

Successful national teams

The Philippines is the only nation to have won the Asian Cup.
The following list, are all the teams that have competed in the Asian Cup tournament since its inception; the number of times they have appeared; their most recent appearance; consecutive appearances and their highest result:
NationNumber of appearancesFirst appearanceMost recent appearanceMost consecutive cupsBest result
2201220132Champion, 2012 and 2013
2201220132Runner-up, 2012 and 2013

Records and statistics

Overall Championships

As of the 2013 edition

Overall top 5 pointscorers

As of the 2012 edition
PointsScorers
16 Matt Srama
16 William Dreves
12 Kevin Gordon
12 Dennis Gordon
8 Luke Srama
8 Brett Clarke

Asian Cup winning captains and coaches

As of the 2013 edition
YearCaptainCoachTeam
2012Luke Srama Clayton Watene
2013Luke Srama Clayton Watene