Asia Rugby Championship 2017 – Round 5: South Korea v Hong Kong
Date: Saturday, 27 May 2017
Venue: Yesan Stadium, Chungnam, South Korea
Kick-off: 12:07
In week five action in the Asia Rugby Championship 2017, South Korea host Hong Kong at the Yesan Stadium in Chungnam on Saturday, 27 May 2017. The game was originally slated for the Namdong Asiad Rugby Field in Incheon, but the venue is being used for the FIFA U20s World Cup.
Japan have the title in the bag with 19 points from a possible 20 from their four games and so South Korea and Hong Kong will battle it out for second place in Incheon and the return game in Hong Kong the following weekend.
Hong Kong have been in good form this season holding Japan 29-17 in Tokyo and then 16-0 in Hong Kong. Added to this is the fact that Hong Kong won both home and away legs over the Koreans last year to see them start as favourites to take runner-up status for another year.
South Korea, however, are an unpredictable side that play with a lot of passion and at home, they will be hard to beat. The Koreans are back from a recent training camp based in the Waikato region of New Zealand and this should have them ready and eager to go.
South Korea (TBC): 1- Na Kwan Young, 2- Kim Jib, 3- Kim Gwang Sik, 4- Yang Dae Young, 5- Han Geong Yu, 6- Kim Hyun Soo, 7- Kim Jeong Min (c), 8- Lee Yong Seung, 9- Shin Ki Cheol, 10- Ryu Jae Hyuk, 11- Jang Yong Heung, 12- Moon Jung Ho, 13- Kim Sung Soo, 14- Jeong Yeon Sik and 15- Lee Jae Bok. Reserves: 16- Lim Joon Hui, 17- Kim Sung Tae, 18- Gang Tae Hyun, 19- Shin Da Hyeon, 20- Jung Hyo Jin, 21- Kim Sung Hyun, 22- Kim Gwang Min and 23- Jang Jung Min. Coach: John Walters (NZL).
Hong Kong: 1- Ben Higgins, 2- Ben Roberts (c), 3- Dylan Rogers, 4- James Cunningham, 5- Adrian Griffiths, 6- Nick Hewson, 7- Matt Lamming, 8- Thomas Lamboley, 9- Cado Lee Ka-To, 10- Matt Rosslee, 11- Alastair Maclay, 12- Lex Kaleca Rauca, 13- Tyler Spitz, 14- Salom Yiu Kam Shing and 15- Jamie Hood. Reserves: 16- John Markley, 17- Angus Dixon, 18- Alex Ng, 19- Kyle Sullivan, 20- Tobby Fenn, 21- Charles Higson-Smith, 22- Robbie Keith and 23- Ben Rimene. Coach: Leigh Jones (Wales).
Asia Rugby Championship 2017 Fixtures and Results
| Round | Date | Team | Score | Team | Kick-off | Venue |
| 1 | Saturday 22 April 2017 | South Korea | 29-47 | Japan | 12:07 | Namdong Asiad Rugby Field, Incheon, South Korea |
| 2 | Saturday 29 April 2017 | Japan | 80-10 | South Korea | 14:07 | Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo |
| 3 | Saturday 06 May 2017 | Japan | 29-17 | Hong Kong | 14:07 | Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo |
| 4 | Saturday 13 May 2017 | Hong Kong | 0-16 | Japan | 16:07 | Hong Kong Football Club Stadium, Hong Kong |
| 5 | Saturday 27 May 2017 | South Korea | – | Hong Kong | 12:07 | Yesan Stadium, Chungnam, South Korea |
| 6 | Saturday 03 June 2017 | Hong Kong | – | South Korea | 16:07 | Hong Kong Football Club Stadium, Hong Kong |
ARC 2017 Table
| Team | P | W | L | F | A | +- | Pts |
| Japan | 4 | 4 | 0 | 172 | 56 | 116 | 19 |
| South Korea | 2 | 0 | 2 | 39 | 127 | -88 | 1 |
| Hong Kong | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 45 | -28 | 0 |
Points system: four points for a win, two points for a draw, one bonus point for scoring four or more tries and one bonus point for losing by seven points or less.