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Women’s Rugby World Cup: The Story So Far

As the start of the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup looms large, bc takes a stroll down memory lane to the seven previous editions of the Cup for a feel of the historical stage Hong Kong are about to grace.

Hong Kong will become the 19th nation to grace the showpiece of the women’s game, while only defending champions England, USA, France and Canada can lay claim to being part of every edition.

Ireland 2017 will be the eighth chapter in a Women’s Rugby World Cup story that began in Wales in April 1991 when USA were crowned the inaugural champions after defeating England 19-6 defeat in the final.

The 2014 Cup was broadcast to a record 167 countries and the 2017 tournament is expected to have an even greater reach and be the most competitive tournament to date.

Women’s Rugby World Cup 1991

Twelve teams took part in the inaugural tournament. Hosts Wales, Canada, England, France, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, USA and the USSR with the teams split into four pools of three.

England, France, New Zealand and USA progressed to the semi-finals, but it was there that the challenges of Les Bleues and the Black Ferns ended.

England led 6-3 at the break in the final at Cardiff Arms Park after Gill Burns converted a penalty try, but nothing could stop USA from claiming the country’s first – and last – major trophy since the men’s team
won Olympic gold in 1924, as they reeled off 16 points without reply.

Host nation: Wales
Dates: 6-14 April, 1991

Pool 1 – New Zealand, Canada, Wales
Pool 2 – France, Sweden, Japan
Pool 3 – USA, Netherlands, USSR
Pool 4 – England, Spain, Italy

Semi-finals
New Zealand 0-7 USA
England 13-0 France

Final
USA 19-6 England

Women’s Rugby World Cup 1994

To avoid clashing with the men’s Rugby World Cup as the inaugural tournament had done in 1991, the second edition of the women’s event came just three years later in Edinburgh with Kazakhstan, Ireland and hosts Scotland making their debuts.

Amsterdam had been due to host, but when the Dutch pulled out Scotland stepped in with just three months to go and even fielded a Scottish Students side to compensate for Spain’s withdrawal and keep the 12-team line-up.

It was evident from early on that the 1991 finalists were again the teams to beat as USA and England duly cruised to another title decider. This time, however, England exacted revenge in a hugely entertaining contest, winning 38-23 with flanker Gill Burns, centre Jacquie Edwards and full-back Jane Mitchell scoring tries and captain Karen Almond kicking 13 points

Host nation: Scotland
Dates: 11-24 April, 1994

Pool A – USA, Sweden, Japan
Pool B – England, Scotland, Russia
Pool C – France, Ireland, Scottish Students
Pool D – Canada, Wales, Kazakhstan

Semi-finals
USA 56-15 Wales
England 18-6 France

Final
England 38-23 USA

Women’s Rugby World Cup 1998

Four years after originally intended, Amsterdam did host a 16-team tournament which saw first appearances for Germany and Australia and the returns of New Zealand and Spain after missing the 1994 event.

New Zealand, led by their inspirational hooker Farah Palmer, quickly emerged as the biggest threat to previous winners USA and England as the trio were joined in the last four by Canada.

Defending champions England had been ruthless in the pool stages, as had the Black Ferns with a record 134-6 defeat of Germany, to produce the semi-final everyone wanted to see. It was a one-sided affair, though, with the 44-11 win a sign of the domination New Zealand were beginning.

USA swept aside Canada equally impressively in the other semi-final but had no answer in the title decider, Vanessa Cootes scoring four of New Zealand’s eight tries in a 44-12 victory to ensure a third champion in as many tournaments.

Host nation: Netherlands
Dates: 1-16 May, 1998

Pool A – England, Canada, Netherlands, Sweden
Pool B – USA, Spain, Wales, Russia
Pool C – New Zealand, Scotland, Italy, Germany
Pool D – France, Australia, Kazakhstan, Ireland

Semi-finals
USA 46-6 Canada
England 11-44 New Zealand

Final
New Zealand 44-12 USA

Women’s Rugby World Cup 2002

Spain were the next hosts of a tournament that would set new standards of excellence in terms of skill and fitness. Samoa enjoyed a dream debut with a 22-0 win over Ireland, but England and New Zealand appeared destined for the final.

The Olympic Stadium in Barcelona provided a fitting backdrop for a final screened live in the middle of the night in New Zealand. The 8,000 crowd in the stands were treated to a blend of tactical awareness, gritty forward play and attacking rugby as the Black Ferns successfully defended their crown with a 19-9 victory, Monique Hirovanaa and Cheryl Waaka scoring the tries in the title decider.

Host nation: Spain
Dates: 12-26 May, 2002

Pool A – New Zealand, Australia, Wales, Germany
Pool B – France, USA, Kazakhstan, Netherlands
Pool C – England, Spain, Italy, Japan
Pool D – Canada, Scotland, Samoa, Ireland

Semi-finals
New Zealand 30-0 France
Canada 10-53 England

Final
England 9-19 New Zealand

Women’s Rugby World Cup 2006

WRWC 2006 broke new ground as the first tournament held outside of Europe, South Africa making their debut in Canada as the bar was raised once more by the 12 teams. It was the usual suspects in the semi-finals, though, with France and Canada unable to prevent another New Zealand-England final.

New Zealand’s backs had taken women’s rugby onto a new level with the triumvirate of Amiria Marsh, Stephanie Mortimer and Claire Richardson in particular impressive throughout. The final was another close affair, only settled when Marsh scored in the dying minutes for a 25-17 win to give Black Ferns captain Palmer the perfect send-off.

Host nation: Canada
Dates: 31 August-17 September, 2006

Pool A – New Zealand, Spain, Kazakhstan
Pool B – England, Australia, Ireland
Pool C – France, USA, South Africa
Pool D – Canada, Scotland, Samoa

Semi-finals
New Zealand 40-10 France
Canada 6-10 England

Final
England 17-25 New Zealand

Women’s Rugby World Cup 2010

England welcomed the world in 2010 and invested heavily in preparations, hoping to avoid a third successive final loss to New Zealand. There were some upsets along the way with Ireland beating USA and South Africa edging Wales, while Australia made the semi-finals for the first time.

The final, played before a packed Twickenham Stoop, was a nail-biting affair and one that went right down to the wire. New Zealand had three yellow cards, but with one converted try apiece it was Kelly Brazier’s penalty that proved the difference and secured a fourth successive crown.

Host nation: England
Dates: 20 August to 5 September, 2010

Pool A – New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Wales
Pool B – England, Ireland, USA, Kazakhstan
Pool C – France, Canada, Scotland, Sweden

Semi-finals
New Zealand 45-7 France
England 15-0 Australia

Final
New Zealand 13-10 England

Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014

The last edition of the Women’s Rugby World Cup was played in the French capital and saw one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s history as Ireland ended New Zealand’s 20-match unbeaten run on the WRWC stage with a 17-14 victory, one which meant the Black Ferns missed out on the semi-finals for the first time.

Ireland joined hosts France, England and Canada in the semi-finals with a first-time finalist guaranteed. Canada became only the fourth side to reach the final after a wonder try from Magali Harvey against hosts France, but it was England who were crowned champions, 20 years on from their last triumph, after a 21-9 win. Full-back Danielle Waterman scored the opening try with Emily Scarratt kicking three penalties before the centre converted her own try five minutes from time to seal the win.

Host nation: France
Dates: 27 July-19 August, 2014

Pool A – England, Canada, Spain, Samoa
Pool B – Ireland, New Zealand, USA, Kazakhstan
Pool C – France, Australia, Wales, South Africa

Semi-finals
Ireland 7-40 England
France 16-18 Canada

Final
England 21-9 Canada

Additional reporting and images: World Rugby

Team China Victorious in Return of the Legends

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Team China: Misaya, WeiXiao, CaoMei, Fzzf and Ruo beat Team Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwan: Toyz, GodJJ, Lilballz, MiSTakE
and Stanley in the Return of the Legends final at the e-sports Festival. The Return of the Legends tournament, featuring 20 former professional league players, was the sold-out highlight of Hong Kong’s first e-sports festival.

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And They’re Off…

Hong Kong’s women rugby players depart for the Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland. The tournament runs from the 9-24 August with the pool matches played in Dublin, while the knockout games and final are in Belfast.

Coach Jo Hull’s side under Captain Chow Mei-nam will make their Pool A debut against Canada (9 Aug), before taking on the New Zealand All Blacks (13 Aug) and Wales (17 Aug).

Winger Aggie Poon posts a team selfie from the airport.

bc magazine will have full coverage of the tournament

Hong Kong Squad for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017:

Forwards: CHOW Mei-nam (captain); CHAN Ka-yan; CHAN Leong-sze, Royce; CHAN Tsz-ching, Agnes; CHENG Ka-chi, Christy; CHEUNG Shuk-Han, Jasmine; Christine GORDON; LAU Nga-wun, Tammy; LEE Ka-shun; PUN Wai-yan; Amelie SEURE; SIU Wing-ni, Winnie; SO Hoi-ting, Karen; TSANG Sin-yan; WONG Yuen-shan.

Backs: Adrienne GARVEY (vice captain); CHONG Ka-yan; CHOR Lik-fung, Laurel; Kelsie BOUTTLE; HO Wai-on, Jessica; Rose HOPEWELL-FONG Siu-lan; LAU Sze-wa; LEE Tsz-ting; MAK Ho-yee, Chloe; Natasha OLSON-THORNE; POON Pak-yan, Aggie; Colleen TJOSVOLD; Lindsay VARTY.

Photos: copyright their respective owners

Hong Kong’s Team Scallywag Announce Volvo Ocean Race Crew

Hong Kong’s first ever Volvo Ocean Race entry Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag have announced their crew for the upcoming 2017-18 edition. Led by skipper David Witt, it features a mix of rookies and veterans, including a winner from 2014-15, a history-making navigator back for his sixth edition and local sailor Tiger Mok,.

Australian Luke Parkinson, who won the trophy as a rookie onboard Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing last edition, will race as part of skipper Witt’s crew – and he is joined by navigator Steve Hayles, who returns to the event after almost a decade.

“I’m delighted to have a crew of guys I’ve known for a long time – they’re all great sailors, and we’ve done a lot of miles together over the years” said Witt

Hayles made his debut as a 20-year-old onboard Reebok/Dolphin & Youth in 1993-94 – and still holds the title as the youngest ever navigator to compete in the history of the event. He went on to make it five consecutive races over 15 years, onboard Silk Cut in 1997-98, Team Tyco in 2001-02, Ericsson in 2005-06 and Green Dragon in 2008-09.

Also named in Witt’s squad are New Zealand’s Mark Fullerton, who raced with Brunel in the 2005-06 edition, Briton John Fisher, Hong Kong’s Tiger Mok and Australian trio David Mann, Alex Gough and Ben Piggott.

“Steve Hayles is the best navigator I’ve ever sailed with, and Luke Parkinson comes with bags of Volvo Ocean 65 experience. That’s one of the areas where we’re a little bit light, so he’s a big asset to us and brings a lot to the team.”

“We want to create a team ethos where everyone can reach their potential in whatever their role is – and to do that, you’ve got to trust and respect each other 100%,” Witt added.

“We’re all a team and want to succeed in a team, but we recognise that part of our role is to promote and let everyone be as good as they can in an individual role in the team without ego or conflict.”

“Tiger (Mok) is Hong Kong born and bred, and he’s a great sailor,” continued Witt. “He will race some legs – and he’s also the backup navigator, so will do a lot of onshore navigation and work closely with Steve (Hayles). Having him onboard will help to build the profile of the sport in the region, and encourage kids in Hong Kong to see that there’s a real future in offshore sailing.”

Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag had their first taste of competitive Volvo Ocean 65 action in the opening stage of Leg Zero, the Cowes “Round the Island Race” where they finished last – and now prepare to tackle the Rolex Fastnet Race, starting on 6 August.

Witt added: “We’ve finished with our squad selection for now, but the only thing that’s up in the air with us is whether we need to take more crew on the boat or not. Right now, we’re playing catch up a little bit with all of the idiosyncrasies of the boat. We still think we’re on the right track going with minimal crew – but we’re still open, and that could change as the race draws nearer.”

Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag
David Witt (skipper, AUS), Steve Hales (GBR), Luke Parkinson (AUS), Mark Fullerton (NZ), Alex Gough (AUS), Ben Piggott (AUS), David Mann (AUS), John Fisher (UK), Tiger Mok (Hong Kong).
On Board Reporter: Konrad Frost (GBR).

Additional reporting: Volvo Ocean Race, Jonno Turner.
Images: Copyright their respective owners.

Modern Heroines Set For World Cup Challenge

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The 9th December 2016 will live long in local rugby history, on a sensational night at King’s Park Hong Kong’s women rugby players beat Fiji 45-7 to effectively secure a place at the Women’s Rugby World Cup. Today after seven grueling months of training the 28, mostly amateur players, who will make that trip to Ireland to compete in the World Cup next month were announced.

The Hong Kong squad will depart on 4 August – head to airport to cheer them off – for Dublin, where they will play 2013 runners-up Canada (7 August), four-time champions New Zealand (13 August) and Wales (17 August), before heading to Belfast for the semi-finals, final and the placing matches.

“We are going to use every woman in the squad in Ireland, and that is a key to our larger goal and mission: to ensure that our first World Cup appearance isn’t our last,” said national coach Jo Hull.

“Qualification for the World Cup is a good start, but our objectives transcend wins and losses,” continued Hull “We also want to change the perception of the women’s game in Hong Kong and to show how tough you have to be, how dedicated and how resilient you have to be – rather than giving in or walking away when it gets tough.”

The squad features a healthy mix of experience and potential, as Hull looks to leverage the Rugby World Cup as a transformative event for the women’s game locally – where it’s been under-funded and often viewed by the male dominated HKRU hierarchy as an irrelevance.

“We have gone with our experience and some of our more physical players that can withstand the challenge of a World Cup, but we are really excited to see the number of young players who have raised their hands during the campaign,” Hull added, singling out emerging players like scrumhalf Chloe Mak, flyhalf Lee Tsz-ting, flanker Agnes Chan and 18-year old centre Kelsie Bouttle.

“These players have really come into their own and are improving every game. We have rewarded that potential and it is a fantastic opportunity for them to shine,” said Hull.

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Lock Chow Mei-nam captain’s the squad and the 29-year old physical education teacher is relishing the opportunity ahead for both herself and her side.

“My ambition is to be a world-class lock and the World Cup will provide a stage for me to try and achieve that. By the end of the tournament, I want the other teams to know about Hong Kong Rugby and respect us. That’s my main goal, earning that respect on the pitch.” Chow vowed.

Chow is joined by a core of experienced campaigners, particularly in the forwards, where former captain Royce Chan selection offers her a fitting highlight for Chan’s 13 years of endeavour in support of the women’s game.

Amelie Seure, Christy Cheng Ka-chi and Christine Gordon offer experience in the pack, alongside relative newcomers in flanker Agnes Chan and lock Chan Ka-yan.

“We have gone with some players that we know can get us out of trouble in a game,” confirmed Hull. “For a World Cup you need that balance, you have to have a team. It isn’t just about the players, the combinations have to work, on and off the pitch, to carry the team through those three weeks.”

“We have also given opportunities to some X-factor players. If they get things right, players like Agnes [Chan], Kelsie [Bouttle] and Rosie [Rose Hopewell-Fong] can help us break down defences. These players also help us have a multi-functional squad, with players that are comfortable playing in more than one position.”

“We are confident that we have that strength in depth we are going to need to take on three world-class teams in the space of two weeks,” Hull concluded.

The backline is anchored by vice captain and centre Adrienne Garvey, as well as experienced fly-half/fullback Rose Hopewell-Fong and sevens squad members Natasha Olson-Thorne (centre/wing), Aggie Poon Pak-yan and Colleen Tjosvold in the back three.

The emerging players among the backs are young scrumhalves 22-year old Chloe Mak, Ho-yee and 25-year old Jessica Ho Wai-on, while Lindsay Varty adds experience at the pivot. 21-year old ‘BB’ Lee Tsz-ting has been included at fly-half and will hope to add to her eight caps.

The youngest player in the squad is 18-year old centre Kelsie Bouttle who impressed in her first season of Premiership rugby and won her first cap last month.

“It’s been an eye opener for me to be involved and a great motivator to develop my rugby. The World Cup will be an incredible experience,” said Bouttle. “It’s good to be included because I am still young and hopefully have a long way to go in my rugby, so I will be in a position to share that experience and transfer my knowledge to other young players.”

While several of the squad are full-time athletes from the HKRU sevens programme at the HK Sports Institute, the majority are amateurs, who have put it massive amounts of time throughout the campaign to train.

“These are not professional players, but they train professionally,” said Hull. “They are doctors, teachers, social workers and students, and they deserve praise and respect for the commitment they have shown.”

This is Hull’s third World Cup “The opportunity to bring my own squad to the World Cup is a tremendous honour, especially with this group of players. I feel a lot of responsibility because of it.

“I’m looking forward to that buzz and excitement that surrounds a World Cup. I know from my own experience that this will be the most amazing three weeks of their sporting lives and to be able to lead them through that is a privilege,” said Hull.

HKRU Squad for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017:

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Hong-Kong-Womens-Rugby-Team/i-nJjrGMZ

Additional reporting and images: HKRugby

Sevens Ticket Prices Increase

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After last year forcing children to pay adult prices for their tickets. Those prices have gone up as the Hong Kong Rugby Union announced that tickets will increased by $50/day, approximately 8%.

Not that the general public can buy them anymore, but from 2018 a three-day ticket – except HK rugby are not calling them tickets anymore they’ve been rebranded as “event packages” – costs $1950, up from $1,800 in 2017.

There’s so much guff verbiage and faux justifications within the HKRU release announcing the price increase that you’d swear they’ve been taking lessons from Trump.

The guff includes that fans at the stadium have to pay more so that other people can watch the Sevens for free “HKRU is also expending significant funds to share the excitement of the Sevens with the wider community, with its free admission fan zones in Chater Garden and Lee Gardens”.

I wonder what the sponsors and suppliers who paid HKRU massive sums to have their brands linked to the Sevens and have a presence at those two locations think about that fiction.

The HKRU claims the Sevens are “still excellent value” but there was a lot less actual rugby played at the 2017 Sevens than in years past – so fans of rugby are being shafted twice… paying more for a lot less.

Robbie McRobbie, Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Rugby Union states that “We have an obligation to generate as much revenue as possible from the tournament to support the growth of the game in Hong Kong.”

This from an organisation that is quite probably the richest rugby union in the world and has according to a recent annual return assets of well over $250 million.

The Sevens will still sell out because it’s a unique event and can trade on it’s name and reputation for years to come, but the atmosphere at recent events is not what it used to be and the fans disquiet and sense of being milked increases every year.

What the HKRU and World Rugby fail to understand is that fans do go to watch the rugby. The non-stop run of games throughout the day keeps fan energy high. Now with big gaps in the rugby, the atmosphere and energy sags. We don’t need bands with awful sound systems playing 5 songs. The energy from the rugby drives the Sevens fan experience which powers the rugby… More rugby, more women’s rugby and less of the insipid distractions.

Hong Kong Sevens
Date: 6-8 April 2018
Venue: Hong Kong Stadium
Tickets: $1,950.

Japan Retain Asian Crown With 60-19 Victory

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Japan retained the Asia Women’s Rugby Championship title easily beating Hong Kong 60-19 at Kings Park to complete a two game sweep. The home side made too many individual errors and gifted points to the Sakura with missed tackles galore.

Hong Kong coach Jo Hull tried hard to put a positive spin on her side’s last competitive match before the Women’s World Cup in Dublin next month. “It was another disappointing result, and obviously we aren’t happy with that, but there was some positives compared to last week’s loss in Japan,” said Hull.

“Our defence was good for parts of the game, as was our commitment and physicality in the contact area. Our performance at the breakdown was good and I think we improved in the set piece and were carrying the ball a bit better than last week.”

“At times we were building good momentum in our attack, but there were some real individual errors that cost us quite dearly. We are disappointed, but at the same time we needed that game,because the next time we play it will be against Canada at the World Cup,” added Hull.

Japan centre Riho Kurogi opened the scoring, converting her own try as visitor’s size and speed came to the fore. Further tries to fullback Ai Tasaka, second rower Aoi Mimura and Captain Seina Saito pushed the score out to 24-0 after 30 minutes.

One-on-one tackling is still a massive problem area for Hong Kong with players outright missing tackles or just not being strong enough in the tackle to bring the player down. There was an improvement on last week at the breakdown, but this was largely achieved by having more players in and around the breakdown – which left space out wide which Japan consistently exploited.

The home team struggled to gel on attack in the opening stages with the interchange between scrumhalf Ho Mak-yee and fly-half Rose Hopewell-Fong an issue early on. Consistently though Hong Kong contrived to put themselves under pressure. All too often with the ball around the half-way line and the backs angled deep. The passing was slow, to players who were static and within seconds from looking to be on the attack the ball was back inside the HK twenty-two and having to be kicked away…

Captain Chow Mei-nam put Hong Kong on the board in the 30th minute, finishing off a solid patch of play by crashing over the line from second phase ball, after Hong Kong won an attacking line-out on Japan’s five-metres. Winger Aggie Poon Pak-yan added a difficult conversion from along the right touchline, 24-7.

But Hong Kong failed to push on from their score, defending poorly to allow Japan to add another try shortly before half-time, 31-7.

In the second half, scrumhalf Sham Wai-sum came on to good effect, helping to inject some fluidity into the attack. Winger Chong Ka-yan capped that early momentum by opening up the Japanese defence in the 42nd minute to score the host’s second try which Hopewell-Fong’s converted, 31-14.

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Tries to Takano and winger Honoka Tsutsumi pushed the score along to 43-14, effectively ending the contest. Although Maki Takano’s 56th minute yellow card for repeated infringement allowed the veteran Sham to exploit the extra space as she darted over for a try in the right corner in the 58th minute. Poon missed the touchline conversion, leaving Hong Kong trailing 38-19.

Japan confirmed their superiority with tries to Sachiko Kato, Yumeno Noda and Yuki Oyokawa in the final 20 minutes to secure a comfortable victory 60-19, and claim a second straight Asian title.

The loss left Hull with much to think about ahead of next month’s World Cup. “Full credit to Japan, they played very well and are coming along nicely. They are always clinical but today they were very accurate and played at good pace. I think they will do well at the World Cup,and we hope they do, as we are all representing Asia at the end of the day.”

“For us, we have a good idea of our squad selection for the World Cup and today and last week was about getting those players some game time.”

Hull singled out two up and coming young players in 21-year old flanker Agnes Chan Tsz-ching and 18-year old centre Kelsie Bouttle. “Agnes played well, as did Kelsie. That was the second cap for both of them and I think we have a couple of exciting young players coming through there,” said Hull.

“We’ve identified what is working well and what isn’t, and we aren’t going to change what we are doing. We will keep emphasizing the things that are important to us. We’ve been working hard on our game and our fitness and now we need to start transferring that to actual matches.”

“Over the next few weeks, we just need to try and improve in those little areas that are holding us back. We just need to keep believing in ourselves and keep working on what we can control,” said Hull.

Hong Kong are pooled with Canada, runners-up at the last World Cup, as well as four-time champions New Zealand and Wales in the Women’s Rugby Cup which starts in Dublin, Ireland on the 9 August, 2017.

Additional reporting and images: HKRugby

Hong Kong Search for Self Respect

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After last week’s comprehensive 58-0 defeat in Japan, coach Jo Hull has named an experienced starting XV for the home leg of the Asia Rugby Championship against Japan at King’s Park.

“This is a crucial hit-out absolutely,” said Hull. “This is our last international before the World Cup and whether we win or lose, we want to perform the way we know we can. Last week was about getting players game time and looking at some new combinations, but this week we have gone with an experienced squad.”

“It is an experienced group, but it is also a performance group; a lot of these senior players have been performing to standards throughout the build-up, not just in games but in training. It will be good to have players like Christy [flanker Cheng Ka-chi] and Natasha [centre Natasha Olson-Thorne] back.”

Hull expects to need every bit of that experience with Japan, coming off a big win last week, likely to further bolster their squad with their own senior players.

“They will bring back some of their key players, as well. They have their own objectives building up to the World Cup and will come out even harder than last week,” Hull added. “We are prepared for that.”

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“It has been a massive re-focus week this week for us, and I’m proud of the level of accountability in the camp. We have worked a lot on eliminating the high number of individual errors from last week, even amongst the senior players; that has been a focus area, as well as the set piece.”

“We’ve had a good week of training and have been replicating a World Cup week where we will be looking to back up again for another big performance like we have to do in Ireland. But all of that doesn’t count for anything, it’s about putting it out on the pitch and the players are aware of that.”

“If they get their individual and team jobs right, we could have a special performance and that is our focus. If we get those things right, the results will follow,” Hull said.

Captain Chow Mei-nam leads an experienced group of forwards with the front row anchored by props Wong Yuen-shan and Lee Ka-shun with Karen So at hooker. Chow will assume her normal second row spot, partnering with Amelie Seure, who moves into the tight five to create room for Christine Gordon at No.8. Gordon will pair with sevens captain Cheng and Chan Tsz-ching at flanker.

Mak Ho-yee gets a run at scrumhalf and will combine with Rose Hopewell-Fong, who came of the bench last week to good effect, at fly-half. “Ho-yee can inject a bit of pace into the game which is something we are after,” said Hull.

Out wide, an all-sevens line-up of backs will also be keen to perform. Vice captain Adrienne Garvey will pair with Natasha Olson-Thorne in the centre with Aggie Poon Pak-yan and Chong Ka-yan on the wings and Colleen Tjosvold at full-back.

The bench has experience and depth with Royce Chan Leong-sze, Cheung Shuk-han, Lau Nga-wun and Pun Wai-yan as the front row reserves. Scrumhalf Sham Wai-sum, Lee Tsz-ting and Ivy Kwong Sau-yan as backs reserves, alongside Kelsie Bouttle, who has earned a second appearance after making her debut last weekend.

“Kelsie didn’t get much of an opportunity last week, so we wanted to give her another run. She brings a different dynamic to the centres for us, which is what we are after,” Hull added.

The match against Japan will offer the selectors a final opportunity to examine their charges in a match environment before naming the final 28-strong squad a week from Saturday at Kings Park.

Hong Kong v Japan
Womens Asia Rugby Championship
Date: 6pm, 15 July, 2017
Venue: King’s Park
Tickets: Free

Additional reporting: HK Rugby