Hong Kong national rugby league team
| Team information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Thunder | |||||
| Governing body | Hong Kong Rugby League | |||||
| Region | Asia Pacific | |||||
| Head coach | Matthew Jones | |||||
| Captain | Jason Chung Kan Yip | |||||
| Most caps | Toby Lei (8) | |||||
| Top try-scorer | Ben Ryan (5) | |||||
| Top point-scorer | Richard Lindsay (30) | |||||
| IRL ranking | 48th | |||||
| Uniforms | ||||||
| ||||||
| Team results | ||||||
| First international | ||||||
| Hong Kong 22–24 Japan (Kowloon, Hong Kong; 4 November 2017) | ||||||
| Biggest win | ||||||
| Philippines 20–34 Hong Kong (Pasig, Philippines; 1 December 2024) | ||||||
| Biggest defeat | ||||||
| Hong Kong 6–62 Poland (St Mary's Stadium, Australia; 4 October 2018) | ||||||
| World Cup | ||||||
| Appearances | 0 | |||||
The Hong Kong national rugby league team represents Hong Kong in the sport of rugby league.
Hong Kong is ranked 48th in the world, as of July 2025.[1]
History
The Hong Kong Rugby League (HKRL) was formed in December 2014, with the first official rugby league matches in Hong Kong being played in 2015[2] and the inaugural Hong Kong Super League being contested in 2017.[3]
Hong Kong made its Test debut in November 2017, losing to Japan in Kowloon.[4] Hong Kong plays Japan for a trophy called the East Asia Cup.
Ben Ryan scored the first try for Hong Kong during their debut international against Japan.
Hong Kong was included in the RLIF world rankings for the first time in December 2017.[5]
The COVID-19 pandemic distrupted the conduct of rugby league in Hong Kong. The national team returned for the 2024 East Asia Cup after six years of hiatus.[6][7]
Current squad
Squad selected for 2024 East Asia Cup
- Andrew Welling[8][9]
- Au Chi Wai
- Blake Atherton
- Callum Man[10][11][12]
- Conan Freeman
- Dan Chui
- Gus Spence
- Doug O’Donnell
- Jason Yip
- Kenta Brown
- Matthew Jones
- Nelson Chan
- Tommy Lee
- Toby Lei
- Tommy Wong
- Hogan Toomalatai
IRL Rankings
| Official rankings as of November 2025 | |||
| Rank | Change | Team | Pts % |
| 1 | Australia | 100 | |
| 2 | New Zealand | 79 | |
| 3 | England | 72 | |
| 4 | 1 | Samoa | 56 |
| 5 | 1 | Tonga | 52 |
| 6 | Papua New Guinea | 45 | |
| 7 | Fiji | 33 | |
| 8 | France | 23 | |
| 9 | 1 | Cook Islands | 23 |
| 10 | 1 | Serbia | 23 |
| 11 | 2 | Netherlands | 22 |
| 12 | 3 | Ukraine | 20 |
| 13 | 1 | Wales | 18 |
| 14 | 4 | Ireland | 16 |
| 15 | 1 | Greece | 15 |
| 16 | 3 | Malta | 14 |
| 17 | Italy | 11 | |
| 18 | 2 | Jamaica | 8 |
| 19 | United States | 7 | |
| 20 | 5 | Poland | 7 |
| 21 | 5 | Lebanon | 7 |
| 22 | 5 | Norway | 6 |
| 23 | 3 | Germany | 6 |
| 24 | 3 | Czech Republic | 6 |
| 25 | 2 | Chile | 6 |
| 26 | 2 | South Africa | 5 |
| 27 | 3 | Philippines | 5 |
| 28 | 6 | Scotland | 5 |
| 29 | Brazil | 4 | |
| 30 | 1 | Canada | 4 |
| 31 | 1 | Kenya | 3 |
| 32 | 2 | Morocco | 3 |
| 33 | North Macedonia | 3 | |
| 34 | 1 | Argentina | 2 |
| 35 | 3 | Montenegro | 2 |
| 36 | Albania | 1 | |
| 37 | 3 | Turkey | 1 |
| 38 | 1 | Bulgaria | 1 |
| 39 | 1 | Ghana | 1 |
| 40 | 1 | Nigeria | 1 |
| 41 | 3 | Colombia | 0 |
| 42 | 1 | Cameroon | 0 |
| 43 | 1 | Japan | 0 |
| 44 | 1 | Spain | 0 |
| 45 | 1 | Russia | 0 |
| 46 | 1 | El Salvador | 0 |
| 47 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0 | |
| 48 | Hong Kong | 0 | |
| 49 | Solomon Islands | 0 | |
| 50 | Vanuatu | 0 | |
| 51 | Hungary | 0 | |
| 52 | Latvia | 0 | |
| 53 | Denmark | 0 | |
| 54 | Belgium | 0 | |
| 55 | Estonia | 0 | |
| 56 | Sweden | 0 | |
| 57 | Niue | 0 | |
| Complete rankings at www.internationalrugbyleague.com | |||
References
- ^ "IRL - World Rankings". International Rugby League. Archived from the original on 29 July 2025. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
- ^ "Hong Kong Rugby League launched". Asia Pacific Rugby League Confederation. 15 December 2014. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
- ^ "HKRL announce inaugural Super League competition". Asia Pacific Rugby League Confederation. 9 May 2017. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
- ^ "Brave Hong Kong lose narrowly against Japan in historic encounter". Asia Pacific Rugby League Confederation. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
- ^ "PNG climbs to 10th place in World Rugby League Ranking". Papua New Guinea Today. 12 December 2017.
- ^ "Inaugural Asian Championships to open new frontier for game". National Rugby League. 13 October 2025. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
- ^ "East Asia Cup 2024: Hong Kong 14, Japan 24". BC magazine. 14 October 2024. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
- ^ "Andrew Welling". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
- ^ "HK Residents XIII 2017 Squad announced". Hong Kong Rugby League. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
- ^ "Alumnus makes international rugby league debut for Hong Kong". Loughborough University. 17 December 2024. Archived from the original on 8 July 2025. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
- ^ Haines, Oliver (25 October 2024). "Callum Man: From Kennet School to Hong Kong Rugby League". Newbury Today. Archived from the original on 6 March 2025. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
- ^ "Callum Man". Rugby League Project.