Japan Win in Uruguay, Hong Kong Third

Japan defeated Uruguay 5-0 in an unforgettable final at Montevideo’s Estadio Charrúa, bringing to an end the second tournament on the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series in South America. Hong Kong beat Chile 12-7 to clinch third place.

After 22 minutes of rugby where both sides cancelled each other out, Japan captain Chihito Matsui finally managed to break the deadlock when he scored in the second half of sudden-death extra-time.

By reaching the final, though, Uruguay secured a place in the top eight in the overall standings and will now compete in the final play-off tournament for a spot in the World Rugby Sevens Series, replacing the bottom-placed core team in the World Series in the following season.

Montevideo champions Japan finished top of the standings on 39 points from a possible 44, after following their bronze medal finish from the first tournament with gold in the second of the South American legs, while Hong Kong’s consistency in reaching the podium on both occasions – second place in Chile was followed third place in Montevideo – was rewarded with the runners-up spot.

Viña del Mar champions Germany beat Italy in the fifth-place play-off and ended up in third spot overall, followed by Chile, Uruguay, Tonga, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

World Rugby has yet to confirm the third and final round of the men’s World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series, which was due to be held in Hong Kong in April.

Breathtaking Final

The final was a high tempo, end-to-end affair but with both defences standing firm in the face of relentless pressure.

Japan had the better of the clear-cut opportunities and could have opened the scoring in the first half of normal time had it not been for Benjamín Amaya’s timely ankle-tap and a handling error from Kasushi Hano when he was five metres from the try-line.

Then, another piece of brilliant defensive work by Diego García stopped Kazushi Hano when it seemed the speedster was in the clear with fifty metres to run.

Uruguay’s best chance to break the deadlock came with 90 seconds of normal time left to play when Kameli Raravou Soejima was sin-binned but they were unable to hammer home their numerical advantage and the scoreline remained at 0-0.

Another scoreless first half of sudden-death extra-time followed before Japan somehow stepped up a gear to finally find a way through, two quickly-taken tap penalties causing disarray in the Uruguayan defence and resulting in the match-winning try for captain Matsui to score the winning try.

South America and Asia for Two Spots

Both semi-finals were South American-Asian encounters with Japan prevailing against Chile and Uruguay were too good for Hong Kong.

Chile, who had lost inspirational captain Felipe Brangier to a knee injury, scored first but then fell away to conceded five tries to rampant Japan who ran out comfortable 31-10 winners.

In the second semi-final, Uruguay’s smart kicking game, deployed by captain Felipe Etcheverry, twice led to tries against shell-shocked Hong Kong, the beaten finalists in the opening tournament.

First Baltazar Amaya crossed on the left-hand side and then Mateo Viñals went over on the opposite flank as Los Teros Sevens won 12-0.

Eight Turns to Four

Chile were a surprise winner in the opening quarter-final, beating Germany in an intense game that seemed to be heading for sudden death when, seconds from the end, Tim Lichtenberg’s unconverted try drew the scores level at 5-5. However, the Viña del Mar champions kicked the restart out on the full. Patience was the key for Chile as they attacked, non-stop, for nearly two minutes until the crack in the German defence appeared and Agustín Planella gave his team the win.

Japan had no trouble in beating Jamaica 32-0 despite an unaccustomed edgy first half and a spirited performance from the Caribbean side. They were more composed in the second half, though, and scored four tries.

A brilliant pass under huge pressure from experienced campaigner, Guillermo Lijtenstein, created the opening try for Uruguay in their quarter-final against Tonga and they went on to add three more tries to win 27-7 and confirm their place in the semi-finals.

To join them in the top four, Hong Kong had to play the waiting game. Trailing Italy by two points with 33 seconds left to play, they recovered possession from a penalty and Max Denmark drew two defenders to put replacement Jamie Hood in for the winning try. An Italian win would have put them among the top eight in the final rankings.

View Montevideo Results >> 

Hong Kong Sevens (Touring Squad): World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series Montevideo:

Max Woodward (Captain); Ben Rimene; Raef Morrison; Michael Coverdale; Hugo Stiles; Cado Lee Ka-to; Jamie Hood; Jack Neville; Alex Mcqueen; Liam Herbert; Russell Webb; Max Denmark; Sebastian Brien; Yiu Kam-shing; Kane Boucaut; Toby Fenn.  

Additional reporting and images: HKrugby, World Rugby

Hong Kong Beaten by Germany in Sevens Challenger Series Final

Hong Kong advanced to the final of the opening tournament in the two-stop World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series in Chile, before losing 10-0 to Germany. The results keep Hong Kong on track in their bid to qualify for a full-time spot on the World Rugby Sevens Series. 

Germany beat Japan 12-5 in their semi final, while Hong Kong overcame a tough ask from hosts Chile, working their way back from their first deficit of the tournament, 14 points down midway through the first half to win 17-14.

Salom Yiu put Hong Kong on the board shortly before the break with Raef Morrison and Kane Boucaut scoring in the second half to push Hong Kong past the hometown favourites. Earlier in the day, Hong Kong edged by Uganda 10-7 thanks to Jack Neville tries on either side of the interval.

A battered and bruised Hong Kong disappointed in the final, losing 10-0 to the Germans, and adding another chapter to the burgeoning rivalry between the two developing rugby nations at both sevens and fifteens.

It was a bittersweet performance for coach Paul John who was proud of his team’s efforts this week: “Overall, we are pleased with our progress. We finished second and reached the final, which is one of our goals at every tournament, but we suffered a second loss in a final, which is frustrating.

“It was not a great final. I thought it was very flat and we didn’t play our best. We started very poorly and fell off some tackles which helped them at key moments.”

Germany scored their first try shortly before the end of an open first half with both sides having several scoring chances. Penalties and aggressive German defence derailed Hong Kong’s early opportunities keeping them scoreless into the second stanza. Germany pushed their lead to 10-0 after nine minutes and Hong Kong were unable to close the gap down the stretch.

“It is funny, we would have taken that result beforehand if you offered it, but the boys are disappointed with the finish. Still, we are right in the mix now to finish near the top of the two tournaments. Coming in we needed a top eight finish, but our goal was to finish in the top two in both tournaments and we have now done that in the first,” John added.

The squad will travel today to Montevideo, Uruguay where they will take part in the finale next weekend with the same 16 teams.

Rest and recovery are at the top of John’s mind.

“There are some battered and bruised bodies out there after playing six games in two days. Normally, we play five matches in the Asian series, so this is something that we have not done in a while, but no one else has either really. Japan is used to it, but I think we are the only two sides with that experience of back-to-back tourneys with such a huge prize at the end

“The biggest thing is to keep the squad as fresh as we can,” said John, who has the luxury of travelling with 16 players to assess before naming the squad at the end of the week.

“We will look at certain parts of our game of course but it s all about recovery now and having the freshest possible squad come Saturday morning in Montevideo,” John concluded.

During The World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series match at Sausalito Stadium on Feb 16, 2020 in Vina del mar, Chile.
Hong Kong Sevens (Touring Squad): World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series

Max Woodward (Captain); Ben Rimene; Raef Morrison; Michael Coverdale; Hugo Stiles; Cado Lee Ka-to; Jamie Hood; Jack Neville; Alex Mcqueen; Liam Herbert; Russell Webb; Max Denmark; Sebastian Brien; Yiu Kam-shing; Kane Boucaut; Toby Fenn

Additional reporting and images: HKrugby, World Rugby

Hong Kong Men’s Seven in Chile for Sevens Challenger Series

The Hong Kong men’s sevens squad is in Santiago Chile to compete in the new World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series.

Head coach Paul John has included all 12 of the team that qualified for the 2020 Olympics repechage this June. Experienced campaigners Max Woodward, Ben Rimene, Michael Coverdale, Cado Lee, Jamie Hood, Salom Yiu and Alex McQueen are joined by emerging stars Max Denmark, Hugo Stiles, Seb Brien and Liam Herbert from the Incheon campaign.

The squad also includes Raef Morrison, who missed out on the Olympic qualifier with a training injury shortly before the team’s departure last November. Influential playmaker Jack Neville, and grafting forwards Kane Boucaut and Toby Fenn also come into the squad.

The 16-team opener in Mar del Vina, Chile features eight of the sides participating in last year’s men’s qualifier at the Hong Kong Sevens in hosts Chile, Hong Kong, Germany, Jamaica, Tonga, Uganda, Uruguay and Zimbabwe. Seven of the teams participating in this Challenger Series will also compete at June’s Olympic repechage in France.

After a 40-hour transit to Chile, the team has focused on rest and recovery, before ramping up for Saturday’s kick-off. The ease-in period is even more important given that five of the players took part in the domestic league (15s) Grand Final last Saturday before departing on Sunday.

“The boys seem pretty good,” said John from Mar del Vina.

“Still some aches from the weekend games and a few guys waiting to prove their fitness. We have spent a lot of time getting them physically recovered and ready after the trip and have had a couple of training sessions so far, which have been very competitive,” said John.

John believes his side are well prepared and have not been put off by the postponement of the Hong Kong Sevens to 16-18 October while they were away in South America.

“It’s business as usual. Qualifying for the World Series is one of our top aims and these tournaments will go a massive way towards that. We can only assume we have to win and go as hard as we can, which is nothing different from our usual approach.

“The opposition is very good and these two stand-alone tournaments are effectively a mini World Series swing so it’s a good challenge for us. We have to prepare well, play well and take our opportunities when they come. Our focus can only be on what is in front of us now.”

“We just need to take it day by day and top the group on day one and get a good draw for the quarter finals,” he added.

The winners of Pool B will advance to meet the runners-up in Pool C (Germany, Uganda, Italy and Paraguay) in the quarterfinals on Sunday 

It is an interesting group for Hong Kong with familiar foes Papua New Guinea and Jamaica, whom Hong Kong beat at the Chester Sevens last fall, and first time opponents Colombia.

“Papua New Guinea and Jamaica are always difficult. Colombia is the unknown really and are almost at home. When it’s like that, you really have to be on top of your game. But as always it is about us performing as we can. We have to believe in ourselves and execute what we are good at” said John.

“We need to make sure our own game is right. The way it was in Hong Kong last year, when our defence was excellent and we won some very close games and progressed to the final.”

The World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series consists of two tournaments, this weekend’s opener in Mar del Vina, Chile (15-16 February), and next weekend’s finale in Uruguay (22-23 February)

Hong Kong Match Schedule: Mar del Vina Day One

 Saturday 15 Feb. 2020 (All times are HK)

Hong Kong v Colombia (23.09)

Hong Kong v Papua New Guinea (02.15, Feb 16)

Hong Kong v Jamaica (05.31, Feb 16)

Hong Kong Sevens (Touring Squad): World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series

Max Woodward (Captain); Ben Rimene; Raef Morrison; Michael Coverdale; Hugo Stiles; Cado Lee Ka-to; Jamie Hood; Jack Neville; Alex Mcqueen; Liam Herbert; Russell Webb; Max Denmark; Sebastian Brien; Yiu Kam-shing; Kane Boucaut; Toby Fenn

Additional reporting and images: HKRugby, World Rugby

 

Sevens Challenger Series Launches

The match schedule and pools have been drawn for the inaugural men’s tournament on the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series, which will take place in Viña del Mar, Chile, on 15-16 February, 2020.

Sixteen countries will compete across two match days in the first of two Sevens Challenger Series tournaments which will take place in Chile and Uruguay in February.

The new series has been launched by World Rugby to expand rugby sevens growth across the globe and to offer teams quality competition.

Hosts Chile are drawn in Pool D and will face Brazil, Mexico and Zimbabwe, while hosts of the second round of competition, Uruguay will be joined by Japan, Portugal and Tonga in Pool A.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong, Colombia, Jamaica and Papua New Guinea make up Pool B with Germany, Italy, Paraguay and Uganda completing the Pool C line-up.

Teams will travel to Montevideo, Uruguay, for the second round of the Sevens Challenger Series on 22-23 February before the top eight teams progress to the final play-off tournament at the Hong Kong Sevens on 3-5 April, 2020 where they will compete for a spot on the World Rugby Sevens Series 2021.

The promoted team will replace the bottom placed core team in the World Series rewarding the winners with an opportunity to play against the world’s best.

“We are incredibly excited at the opportunities that lie ahead for the players and unions participating in the inaugural World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series tournament in Chile,” commented World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont.

“The Sevens Challenger Series will provide a solid foundation for the emerging talent on the international rugby sevens scene as these individuals set their sights on the prospect of competing on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and we look forward to seeing them in action.”

World Rugby Vice-Chairman and President of Rugby Americas, Agustín Pichot added: “The World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series will be a huge driver in developing rugby sevens within South America, a region where there are many passionate players and supporters of the game.

“I am delighted that this exciting new series is kicking off in South America. It is a huge opportunity for both Chile and Uruguay, who will be tremendous hosts and excellent advocates of this new and exciting competition.”

Teams who will compete in the 2020 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Portugal, Tonga, Uganda, Uruguay, Zimbabwe.

Additional reporting and images: World Rugby

 

Hong Kong Retain Asia Men’s Rugby Championship

Hong Kong successfully defended their Asia Men’s Rugby Champions title beating South Korea 64-3 at Hong Kong Football Club.

A day of superb individual performances at the Hong Kong Football Club saw the hosts secure a bonus point, and a 26-0 lead, after just 20 minutes.

Hong Kong were on the front foot from the kick-off, exerting enough pressure on the Korean defence to put fullback Jack Neville over for the game’s first try after 10 minutes. Wing Seb Brien and centre Ben Axten-Burrett added tries in the next ten minutes before Neville bagged a first half brace to push Hong Kong’s lead to 26-0.

Starved of both space and ball, South Korea could only muster a penalty in reply deep in the half. A red card for a dangerous tackle on Harry Sayers left Korea a man down for the remainder, creating space for a Tyler Spitz try late to bring the total to 31-3 at the break.

The second half was more of the same with Hong Kong entertaining the home crowd with four more tries.

Fly half Matt Rosslee started the scoring shortly after the re-start, tiptoeing down the line before breaking in behind the centre defence to push the score to 38-3 after he converted his own effort.

The forwards muscled in on the action with tries from Callum McCullough, who scored a brace in the second half, including a 60-metre solo effort that saw the big man swerving and dummying the defence beautifully.

McCullough, one of the finds of the ARC campaign, was joined by another new cap on the score sheet in the second half when Fai Solomona crossed the whitewash, showing some superior conditioning to finish off another long-range Hong Kong try.

Ben Axten-Burrett served up that try and capped a fine individual performance with a battering try of his own moments later when the forwards demolished the understrength Korean pack on their line to produce another in a day-long series of fine attacking platforms. Axten-Burrett shoulder charged his way through two defenders for an emphatic finish.

McCullough’s loping effort, with hooker Alexander Post in eager support served as the perfect capping for a day when Hong Kong scored nine tries, running their last two match total to 20, to remain Asian champions.

Hong Kong’s bonus point win sees them finish on a perfect 20 of 20 possible points with South Korea on ten and Malaysia on one.

While it took Hong Kong a half-century to claim its first ever Asia Rugby title, a second convincing run against the region’s top contenders sets an exciting stage for the return of Japan to the competition in 2020.

Hong Kong v South Korea (Hong Kong Football Club, 29 June)

1. Ben Higgins, 2. Alex Post, 3. Grant Kemp, 4. Fin Field, 5. Kyle Sullivan, 6. James Cunningham, 7. Callum Mccullough, 8. Kane Boucaut, 9. Liam Slatem (Captain), 10. Matt Rosslee, 11. Harry Sayers, 12. Ben Axten-Burrett, 13. Tyler Spitz 14. Seb Brien, 15. Jack Neville,
Reserves: 16. Callum Mcfeat Smith 17. Mitch Andrews, 18. Faizal Solomona, 19. Craig Lodge, 20. Sam Tsoi, 21. Jamie Lauder, 22. Lewis Warer, 23, Rob Keith

Additional reporting and images HKRU, Tiger Super Sports

Hong Kong Thrash Malaysia 71-0 in Kuala Lumpur

Hong Kong stayed on track to retain the Asia Rugby Championship with a clinical 71-0 whitewash of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.

After a positive performance last week, Malaysia’s negative tactics at home were a surprise, but seemingly from the outset the hosts planned to frustrate Hong Kong. That plan failed, with the visitors leading 33-0 at the break having secured a bonus point for scoring four with minutes left in the opening stanza.

Hong Kong added lineout dominance to its scrum superiority from last week’s reverse fixture, frustrating the Malaysian attack on multiple levels. Hong Kong also dominated possession, but unlike last week, converted it into points with a 10-try haul.

The reigning Asian Champions made their intent clear from the kick-off, forcing the Malaysians back deep into their own twenty-two where their defence repelled the initial engagements, but eventually conceded one too many professional fouls with the referee awarding a penalty try in just the 6th minute, handing Hong Kong a 7-0 advantage.

In the 12th minute, Malaysia’s cynical play was again penalised with a sin bin, putting them under further pressure. Given all of Hong Kong’s early possession, the scoreboard looked frustratingly similar to that from last week at Hong Kong Football Club, where the hosts could not convert opportunities into points.

Unlike that fixture, Hong Kong maintained its discipline and composure and the relentless pressure soon forced the floodgates open with visitors scoring three more first-half tries:

Wing Harry Sayers pushed Hong Kong’s lead to 14-0 after scoring untouched from an attacking scrum in the 19th minute. Five minutes later, captain Liam Slatem added a good line break to get behind the Malaysian defence and produced a well-timed outlet pass to the onrushing Tyler Spitz with the pugnacious centre flashing the final 35 metres for another try. Matt Rosslee’s conversion was wide but Hong Kong had extended its lead to 19-0.

Paul Altier converted another attacking opportunity seconds later, benefiting from a line break sparked by fly half Jack Neville, for the bonus point try as Hong Kong pushed its lead to 33-0 with 40 minutes of action left.

The second half proved more of the same as Hong Kong exorcised its frustrations from a fortnight ago, with seven tries down the stretch.

Slatem started the action with a typical sniping try after the forwards continued to plague the Malaysian lineout in the second half, stealing their third throw-in of the game on the Malaysian line with Slatem darting in to touch the bouncing ball down over the line.

A nice solo effort from Altier saw the current Hong Kong U20 captain, playing alongside his co-captain Sam Tsoi tonight, convert a 60-metre break for his brace, before No.8 Kane Boucaut burrowed over for his first try moments later as Hong Kong pushed its lead to 52-nil.

Sayers, another player capped for the first time in this year’s Asia Rugby Championship, collected his brace in the 67th minute finishing off a broken attacking play as the Malaysian defence capitulated down the stretch. Jack Neville and Lewis Warner added tries in the final quarter with Matt Rosslee converting seven of nine on the day to give Hong Kong the 71-0 win.

Slatem credited the win to a more experienced selection this weekend and a more professional outlook saying, “Last week, we played a young side and Malaysia really brought it, which was great for the young guys to get that experience and Malaysia really brought it. This week we really worked hard in our preparation and I think that experience in the squad and that little bit more professionalism got us over the line.

“Now we need to reset, get our recovery on point and do our homework on Korea and hopefully get a result next Saturday,” said the captain.

Hong Kong Squad V Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, 22 June):

1. Ben Higgins, 2. Alex Post, 3. Grant Kemp, 4. Fin Field, 5. Kyle Sullivan, 6. Callum Mccullough, 7. James Cunningham, 8. Kane Boucaut, 9. Liam Slatem (C), 10. Jack Neville, 11. Conor Hartley, 12. Matt Rosslee, 13. Tyler Spitz, 14. Harry Sayers, 15. Paul Altier
Reserves: 16. Mitch Andrews, 17. Dan Barlow, 18. Faisal Solomona, 19.Sam Tsoi, 20. Cris Pierrepont, 21. Jamie Lauder, 22. Benjamin Axten-Burrett, 23. Lewis Warner

Additional reporting and images HKRU, Tiger Super Sports