China to face Philippines in Asia Div 1 final

​Report and photo: Asian Rugby

Hosts Philippines narrowly overcame India 32-27 to set up a final against China in the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship Division 1.

In an enthralling match, the Philippines held on despite India scoring four tries in an impressive outing.

Happy Denuyo, Maia Sobejana (2), Jheewel Idea, Riclaire Martinez and Janine Jamieson were all on the scoreboard for the Philippines who lead 15-10 at half-time.

Philippines hooker Ada Milby, also a member of World Rugby Council, was pleased with her side’s performance.

“I was so proud at how the girls dug deep in the match,” explained Milby, who suffered a broken nose after five minutes but completed 80 minutes.

“India were an amazing opponent and they have really improved over the last 12 months. China looked good against Singapore so Saturday’s final is likely to be a thriller.

“We hope to be on the winning side as we then get an opportunity to continue on our Women’s Rugby World Cup pathway.”

India will now face Singapore aiming for their first win on Saturday ahead of the final where China await the hosts having beaten defending champions Singapore 59-7 in their first Test since 2011.

Both India and Singapore have now officially been ruled out of qualification for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021, with China and the Philippines now with an opportunity to win Division 1 and continue on the pathway.

The winner of the competition will then face Kazakhstan in a play-off for a place in next year’s Asia Rugby Women’s Championship, from which the winner will qualify for the marquee event in New Zealand.

The matches were streamed live on Asia Rugby’s Facebook page and viewed by more than 30,000 people.

Match videos

Teams

Singapore:27. Jackie Osborn; 2. Mei Giet Koh; 4. Mery Ong; 23. Chen Jiajia; 8. Anggit Fernanda; 21. Rachel Wang Yun; 7. Yue Li Ang; 3. Annabel Woo Xue Ni; 9. Esther Phua Lu En; 19. Wong Yilin; 15. Denise Lim Zhi Qing; 16. Huab Arra Heloise Castro; 13. Daphne Lai Fen-ting; 14. Min Han Tse; 11. Ong Liyana Ilyas; Bob Liu Yong Cai; Muhammad Zaki Bin Mahmood; Mohamed Ashraf Nasser; Nada Binte Ahmad Khalid

China:1. Zhou Xinyue; 2. Luxue Wang; 3. Huihui Zhang; 4. Ma Ming; 5. Chenjie Ge; 6. Xin Wang; 7. Wanting Zhang; 8. Yuanyuan Lu; 9. Han Xing; 10. Chen Ming; 11. Weiyan Wang; 12. Yan Zhou; 13. Xiao Wang; 14. Chen Yuqian; 15. Zhou Zheng; Yu Pengcheng; Li Sheng; Shi Yan; Wen Songli

Philippines:1. Isabella Nepomuceno; 2. Ada Milby; 3. Nona Belle Tega; 4. Helena Indigne; 5. Jane Francisco; 6. Katrina Andrews; 7. Nicole Kovanen; 8. Sylvia Tudoc; 9. Angella San Juan; 10. Aiumi Ono; 11. Aldee Denuyo; 12. Janine Jami; 13. Rassiel Sales; 14. Maia Malbenne Sobejana; 15. Leanor Boroy; Joyce Lalaine; Andrew George; Fetalai -; Tara Louise

India:1. Namita Namita; 2. Neha Neha; 3. Sangita Bera; 4. Ramneek Ramneek; 5. Lachmi Oraon; 6. Shikha Yadav; 7. Priya Priya; 8. Vahbiz Bharucha; 9. Sumitra Nayak; 10. Meerarani Hembram; 11. Sweety Kumari; 12. Neha Pardeshi; 13. Priya Bansal; 14. Sweta Shahi; 15. Hupi Mahji