The Asian Rugby Football Union was allotted one place in the 1999 Rugby World Cup by direct qualification (Asia 1) and one place in the repechage tournament. Eight teams participated in the qualification tournament for Asia which was held in three stages. The first two stages (Rounds 1 and 2) were played in 1997 and the last stage (Round 3) was played in 1998.
The three lowest ranked sides played a single round robin tournament (drawn for home or away), with top placed team progressing to the next round and the other two teams dropping out. Rounds two was played in a similar fashion – the three lowest ranked remaining sides (i.e. the winner of the previous round and the next two lowest ranked teams) played a single round robin tournament (drawn for home or away).
The final stage changed the pattern in that the top two teams from round three progressed to round four, and all matches were played in Singapore. A four team single round robin was played and Japan secured their (Asia 1) qualification for RWC 1999 as the top placed side, with korea in second place progressing to the repechage. [1] [2]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sri Lanka | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 30 | +18 | 6 |
| 2 |  Thailand | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 41 | −10 | 4 |
| 3 |  Singapore | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 34 | −8 | 2 |
| Date | Team #1 | Score | Team #2 | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 February 1997 | Singapore | 11–16 | Thailand | Singapore |
| 15 February 1997 | Thailand | 15–30 | Sri Lanka | Bangkok, Thailand |
| 19 April 1997 | Sri Lanka | 18–15 | Singapore | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Chinese Taipei | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 40 | +42 | 6 |
| 2 | Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 64 | 46 | +18 | 4 |
| 3 |  Malaysia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 28 | 88 | −60 | 2 |
| Date | Team #1 | Score | Team #2 | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 November 1997 | Malaysia | 15–37 | Sri Lanka | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| 20 December 1997 | Chinese Taipei | 51–13 | Malaysia | Taipei, Republic of China |
| 17 January 1998 | Sri Lanka | 27–31 | Chinese Taipei | Bangkok, Thailand |
All round 3 games were held in Singapore.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Japan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 221 | 25 | +196 | 9 |
| 2 |  South Korea | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 104 | 81 | +23 | 5 |
| 3 | Chinese Taipei | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 57 | 227 | −170 | 5 |
| 4 |  Hong Kong | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 39 | 88 | −49 | 5 |
| Date | Team #1 | Score | Team No. 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 October 1998 | South Korea | 12–40 | Japan |
| 24 October 1998 | Chinese Taipei | 30–12 | Hong Kong |
| 27 October 1998 | Japan | 134–6 | Chinese Taipei |
| 27 October 1998 | Hong Kong | 20–11 | South Korea |
| 31 October 1998 | Chinese Taipei | 21–81 | South Korea |
| 31 October 1998 | Hong Kong | 7–47 | Japan |
Japan qualified for RWC 1999, South Korea qualified for repechage.
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