FIJI WIN WXV GLOBAL SERIES CHALLENGER 2026; HKCR FINISH FOURTH

[HONG KONG, 26 September 2026]:  The inaugural World Rugby WXV Global Series Challenger ended this afternoon with Fiji coming from behind for a third time in the tournament to beat Netherlands, 20-17, and finish unbeaten at the KaI Tak Youth Sports Ground in Hong Kong. Hometown heroes Hong Kong China Rugby finished in fourth after a loss to a resurgent Samoa XV, 34-17. Due to a prolonged heat delay, today’s final match between Spain and Brazil was not played.

It was a disappointing finish to an otherwise promising performance for Hong Kong in the WXV Global Series Challenger 2026, with the team looking to add to a win over Brazil and a bonus point loss to Fiji in the opening rounds. 

The sting of the loss was felt more keenly with the match representing the final game for two HKCR legends in former captains Chow Mei Nam and Lee Ka Shun, who announced their retirements ahead of the match.  

Lee is HKCR’s most capped women’s fifteens representative. 

Chow is only a few caps off the lead and captained the squad at Hong Kong China’s first appearance at a Rugby World Cup in 2017. She capped a representative career that spanned over 15 seasons with a try in the 80th minute tonight for Hong Kong. 

Outside of Chow's fitting finale, Hong Kong were under pressure for most of the match as Samoa came charging out of the blocks to score twice in the opening six minutes for a 10-0 lead. 

Samoa were poised to add even more to their early outburst but were derailed by a yellow card for a high tackle on Lauren Knowler in the 11th minute. 

The player advantage helped Hong Kong stabilize matters, and the hosts were eventually able to mount some productive attacks, eventually crossing the whitewash from a driving maul off the lineout – which has been a deadly asset for the squad this entire tournament. 

The score came through Tanya Dhar, as it often has this tournament. Dhar’s finish was her fourth of the competition and pulled HKCR to within a try at 10-5 down. 

Samoa seized the momentum back through a powerful try from Linda Fiafia who dragged four tacklers across the line, pushing the score out to 17-5 after the conversion. 

Dhar added her second try of the half ten minutes later to claw Hong Kong back to 17-12 after the conversion from captain Lara Schats. The score was Dhar's fifth in the three games of the Global Challenger Series, and her seventh for the team dating back to the Asian championships in May. 

“I don't want to take full credit for those tries because it really is a team effort. The other forwards really do the dirty work for me. Honestly, it's such a privilege to represent Hong Kong. I had a couple of disappointments, maybe not delivering the way I wanted to in the past, and I'm glad over this tour that I was able to, thanks to my coaches and thanks to the other players, show what I'm capable of doing,” said Dhar after the match.

Her score left Hong Kong in a prime position to turn the tide in the second half but it was Samoa who were dominant in territory and possession as they added 17 unanswered points down the stretch before Chow Mei Nam’s finish in the 80th minute brought the final score to 34-17. 

“Credit to Samoa, they were a lot more physical than us today, especially around the fringes of the breakdown. We didn't adjust today. It happened early, and then it happened often and we didn't adjust quick enough or make a change there. Great effort from Samoa.

“Obviously today hurts, but it hurts because there was real belief in the group, not just internally, but we could feel it in terms of our support and in the stands. I’m really proud of the growth in the group so yeah, not getting that result today really hurts.

“I said to the girls they've put in a lot of hard work and it's shown in this tournament in terms of how good they can be, and they've just got to keep believing in that work and continue to move forwards with future tournaments that come up. If they continue to put the time in and really, sort of grow in that professionalism space, they're going to be a force on the world stage,” said HKCR lead coach Tumua Ioane.

That belief was apparent throughout the squad and infectious.

“In this tournament we've learnt what we're capable of, more than anything. If you saw us three months ago, I don't think you would have thought that we would even put up a fight against teams like this. The way we've come along, the work that Temua has done with us, and just the fight we show—like we're really a never say die team. We might not be the biggest, we might not be the fastest, but somehow we have a bunch of girls that are willing to put their body on the line and work for each other and we can get through a lot together,” Dhar added.

After a lengthy weather delay, the last two unbeaten teams, Fiji and The Netherlands, faced  off in the trophy decider. The match was worth the wait as Fiji and Netherlands threw everything into a physical battle, with Fiji coming from behind for a third straight match to eke out a late 20-17 win after an 80th minute penalty from flyhalf Varanisese Qoro gave them the win and the trophy.

Fiji top the table on 14 points with Netherlands on 10 after going 2-1. Spain and Brazil were awarded two points for the cancellations seeing Spain finish in third place on seven points. Hong Kong finished in fourth place on six points, followed by Samoa in fifth place on five points, and Brazil on 3 points.

As the centerpiece competition for teams ranked 13 to 18 in the women's international game, the WXV Global Series Challenger provides meaningful annual Test rugby and a clear pathway within the evolving global women's rugby calendar. Hong Kong provides a fitting backdrop for the Series, with the city boasting a proud rugby heritage and a reputation for hosting world-class international rugby events. 

The atmosphere has been electric across the first two rounds with over 8,000 cumulative spectators, an invaluable endorsement of World Rugby's wider ambition to grow the women's game and create more meaningful international competition opportunities.

The World Rugby WXV Challenger Hong Kong 2026 is proud of being an “M” Mark event that helps enhance the image of Hong Kong as Asia’s sports event capital. The “M” Mark awarded by the Major Sports Events Committee, symbolising intense, spectacular and signature event in the territory sports calendar.