Hong Kong set off for Spain today as preparations continue for the World Cup in August. Coach Jo Hull’s 26-woman squad will play two matches, the first a warm-up game on 30 May and the second an official test match on 3 June.
The tour comes 18 months after Hong Kong’s first Spanish visit, which at the time was the national team’s first tour outside of Asia. The squad includes 14 returning members from that tour. Hong Kong lost both matches, giving Hull an important benchmark against which to gauge her side’s development ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in July.
“Our first tour to Spain was a real eye-opener for the team to play at that level against a World Cup calibre team. We chose Spain for that reason. They’re a mid-tier World Cup team, they aren’t in our pool and they will definitely give us a good match. They play a sevens-style game but also are strong in contact and in the offload. They’re very similar to what we can expect from the teams in our pool at the World Cup,” said Hull.
The squad includes 14 forwards and 12 backs with five of the squad in line to make their Hong Kong senior debuts: Agnes Chan Tsz-ching, Eunice Lai Ming Yan, Tsang Sin Yan, Pun Wai Yan and Laurel Chor Lik Fung.
Spain are an experienced side, regularly competing in European competition and frequently playing teams from the Women’s Six Nations competition. They edged Scotland to qualify for the Women’s Rugby World Cup.
“We are under no illusions ahead of this tour,” said Hull, “Spain have a mature programme that has been running for a long time now and is clearly successful in both sevens and fifteens. We know that they will come at us hard, which is absolutely what we want out of this tour.”
The coaching team have some clear objectives for the Tour: “The biggest thing is to continue to implement what we have been working on in training, especially our efforts to play a higher-tempo game. We managed that a bit against Fiji and Japan in the World Cup qualifiers last December and are looking for the team to make strides in this area in Spain.
“We’ve been working hard on our fitness and our efficiency at the set piece and that is what we will be putting to the test in Spain.”
With some key players left out of the Tour, including sevens captain Christy Cheng Ka-chi and hard-tackling centre Adrienne Garvey, Hull noted that the selection for Spain is another important opportunity to look at the players in the wider training squad.
“We’re using Spain as another opportunity to look at several players to see what they can offer. Across the squad, we’re looking for those multi-functional players who are able to play more than one position to get the best players on the pitch at the same time.”
For Hull, the tour provides an excellent opportunity to prepare for the even bigger challenges that await at the 12-team World Cup where Hong Kong is pooled with Canada, New Zealand and Wales.
“The biggest thing for us is to get to the World Cup having been able to say that we’ve done everything we could in terms of our build-up, both in games and training, with a focus on quality and not just quantity.
“We’ll continue to assess as we go, with an aim of trying to stretch our players as much as we can. We aren’t expecting or demanding a complete performance by any means. Spain is another step on our journey to the World Cup,” added Hull.
Hong Kong Squad for Spain Tour
Chow Mei Nam (Captain), Royce Chan Leong Sze, Chan Tsz Ching, Cheng Ching To, Cheung Shuk Han, Ho Hoi Lam, Lai Ming Yan, Lau Nga Wun, Lee Ka Shun, Pun Wai Yan, Amelie Seure, Winnie Siu Wing Ni, Karen So Hoi Ting, Tsnag Sin Yan, Chong Ka Yan, Laurel Chor Lik Fung, Jessica Ho Wai On, Rose Hopewell-Fong Siu Lan, Kwong Sau Ran, Lee Tsz Ting, Mak Ho Yee, Natasha Olson-Thorne, Poon Pak Yan, Rebecca Thompson, Colleen Tjosvold, Lindsay Varty.
Additional reporting and images: HKRugby
