The 2016 Asia Rugby Championship division tournaments refers to the divisions played within the annual international rugby union tournament for the Asian region. The Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) replaced the Asian Five Nations tournament in 2015. The main tournament is now contested by the top three teams in Asia. The other national teams in Asia compete in three divisions.
Contents
Teams
The teams involved in the division tournaments, with their world rankings prior to the competition in brackets:
Division 1
The Division 1 tournament was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. All times are Malaysia Time (UTC+8)
Malaysia won the Division 1 tournament giving them a promotion chance by playing a match against the third placers of the main tournament in a playoff dubbed as the Top 3 challenge. Malaysia did not choose to participate and will remain in Division 1 in the next edition.
Division 2
The Division 2 tournament was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. All times are Uzbekistan Time (UTC+5)
Division 3 West
The Division 3 West tournament will be held in Amman, Jordan. All times are Arabia Standard Time (UTC+3).
Syria were originally scheduled to compete, but withdrew early in the year. They were replaced by the UAE's developmental side, the Shaheen.
Division 3 West-Central
The Division 3 West-Central tournament will be held in Doha, Qatar. All times are Arabia Standard Time (UTC+3).
Division 3 East
The Division 3 East tournament will be held at Queen Sirikit Stadium in Khlong Luang District, Thailand. All times are Indochina Time (UTC+7).
With the withdrawl of Brunei and China, Division III East became a one-off final between Laos and Indonesia