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Men’s Asian Sevens Series – Day 1

Asian champions Japan and all the other big guns moved smoothly into the knockout stages of the first leg of the Asian Rugby Football Union’s Asian Sevens Series in Hong Kong on Saturday.

Asia’s only representative on the Sevens World Series Japan underlined their status as the top team in the region hammering the United Arab Emirates, 51-0, and Malaysia, 28-0, to top Pool A.

Other top seeds South Korea, Sri Lanka and hosts Hong Kong also remained unbeaten on the opening day of the first leg of the Asian Sevens Series, which teams are using as a build-up to next month’s Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.

Japan coach Tomohiro Segawa was particularly pleased with his rock-solid defence which helped the reigning Asian champions to become the only seeded team to keep a clean slate on day one.

“No one scored against us and I’m very happy with our defence which is a key area in sevens,” Segawa said. “I’m also pleased with our new players who seemed to fit in quite well. This series will be a good experience for them.”

Japan fielded four debutants as they look towards building depth for their first full season on the Sevens World Series beginning in October, as well as the Olympics. Japan will meet China in the cup quarterfinal on Sunday.

Arch-rivals Hong Kong, who played in all four Cup finals in the Asian Sevens Series against Japan last season, easily defeated Kazakhstan 38-5 but faced a tougher time against the Philippines before eventually emerging winners, 24-0.

“We came out to win two games and accomplished that,” said Hong Kong coach Gareth Baber.

“We controlled possession well and I’m happy with the way our younger players who had their first hit-outs went. They didn’t look out of place. They were a bit nervy at times, which is understandable, but they played their part to make sure we got two from two.”

Teenager Michael Coverdale and Jack Capon made winning debuts for Hong Kong, who will face Singapore in the Cup quarterfinals. The winner of this game will take on the winner of the match between Sri Lanka and Malaysia in the semi-finals.

Sri Lanka started slowly with a hard-fought 17-5 victory over China before raising the tempo with a 40-12 rout of Chinese-Taipei, scoring 35 points in the first half.

“We had a good day. We stuck to our game plan which was to move the ball wide,” said Sri Lanka captain Fazil Marija.

Sri Lanka, coached by former Fiji captain Setefano Cakau, finished third behind Japan and Hong Kong last season and Marija admitted both teams will once again provide the main obstacle for the islanders.

“They are both physical sides and if we meet them, we will have to keep contact to a minimum and move the ball away from those areas. If we can spread the ball wide, I’m confident we can beat them,” Marija said. But first-up for Sri Lanka will be Malaysia.

With an eye on the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea have brought a young team to the first leg in Hong Kong and coach Chung Hyun Suk was happy after his team emerged with wins over Singapore, 50-0, and Thailand, 35-10.

“We have a mix of young and experienced players and this was the first opportunity for them to play together and I’m pleased with the way they performed,” said Chung.

Entry to Sunday play at the Hong Kong Football Club is free.

Additional reporting, photo courtesy of HKRFU

Asian Sevens Series – 23-24 August 2014

Hong Kong 53 Singapore 5 – Women’s Asian 4 Nations: 24 May 2014

Kazakhstan was crowned Asian 15s champions after they trounced Japan 49-17 to remain unbeaten in the four-team Asian Women’s Rugby Championship at Aberdeen Stadium on Saturday.

Hosts Hong Kong, who started the tournament as the fourth seeds, finished runners-up after hammering Singapore 53-5 in their last match. Hong Kong, who had also beaten Japan (15-14) earlier in the tournament, lost to Kazakhstan 13-10 in their decisive clash.

Hat-tricks from flyhalf Rose Fong and winger Natasha Olsen-Thorne propelled the home team to victory as Hong Kong proved far too strong for Singapore dotting down nine tries in a one-sided rout.

“I’m pretty happy and we are getting closer to where we want to be, but as a coach, you always want more from the players,” said Hong Kong coach Chris Garvey. “Today was the closest that we have been to getting where I want this group to be. Credit to the girls, two of whom got hat-tricks and showed a couple of individual moments of brilliance, but the team effort has allowed those individuals to shine,” Garvey said.

Garvey and Hong Kong will look back and reflect on the narrow loss to Kazakhstan in their opener which in the end prevented them from being crowned Asian champions. “Overall I’m very pleased. If we are being honest with ourselves we never thought we would get anything out of the Kazakhstan match and we thought the Japan match would be extremely tough but the girls have surpassed their own expectation.

“We set out to get third place but finished runners-up which is fantastic,” Garvey added. Hong Kong captain Christy Cheng Ka-chi added: “This tournament has given us a lot of confidence and we can see ourselves capable of being Asia No.1 in the future.”

Japan finished third with Singapore propping up the rest.

Hong Kong 15 Japan 14 – Women’s Asian 4 Nations: 21 May 2014

A last-gasp penalty from fly-half Lai Pou Fan helped Hong Kong pull off a thrilling 15-14 victory over Japan in the Asian Women’s 4 Nations at Aberdeen Stadium last night.

Lai, who had earlier missed converting a second-half try from fullback Aggie Poon Pak Yan that would have leveled scores at 14-14, more than made up for that miss as she coolly slotted over the winning penalty with the final kick of the match to give the hosts a scrappy yet welcome victory in the four-team tournament. While top seeds Kazakhstan remained unbeaten after hammering Singapore 68-0 in the first match of the day.

“I thought we played better in our first game against Kazakhstan than we did today, but for long periods of the game we stuck to our game plan and got rewards from that,” said Hong Kong coach Chris Garvey. “I think if we had been a little more patient at times and had a little more trust in our game, then the result may have even been a little less nervy for our management and the fans today. But credit to our girls, in previous games and years, they have crumbled. But today they showed a little more guts and fight, and a whole lot of spirit,” Garvey added.

Hong Kong opened the scoring when inside centre Rose Fong beat her opposite number with a barnstorming run to score in the fifth minute. Lau converted and Hong Kong led 7-0. Japan came back strongly through the impressive No.8 Mami Okada who had scored a hat-trick against Singapore earlier in the tournament. Okada powered her way over for a try from close range from the back of a maul as Japan hit back and went into halftime with the scores level on 7-7.

Japanese centre Ayako Tanaka completed a fine piece of driving play by the pack to score a try and give her team the lead for the first time in the match with winger Ai Tasaka adding her second conversion to make the score 14-7. But Hong Kong, who had lost narrowly to Kazakhstan in their opening match 13-10, never gave up, and it was left to the dangerous Aggie Poon to round off a breathtaking move by the backs after the forwards had punched it up from a lineout to narrow the gap to 14-12. Lau’s last-minute heroics then earned Hong Kong a deserving win.

“Too many mistakes cost us the match,” said disappointed Japan coach Goshi Arimizu. “We played well but made too many mistakes and Hong Kong did better in the second half. Their scrum put us under pressure. We now must look to Kazakhstan and try and finish off well. They beat us last time we played, so this time we play to avenge that loss,” Arimizu added.

The final set of games in the Women’s Asian 4 Nations is on 24 May when Hong Kong take on Singapore (k/o 15:00) and Kazakhstan play Japan (k/o 17:00) at Aberdeen Stadium.

Asian Women’s Four Nations
Where: Aberdeen Stadium, Hong Kong
How Much: Free
More info: www.hkrfu.com

Asian Women’s Four Nations Championship: 18-24 May, 2014

Hong Kong aiming high at the Asian Women’s Four Nations Championship 2014 which takes place at Aberdeen Stadium from the 18-24 May. “As hosts, Hong Kong need a top three finish to secure its future of playing against the best in the region and further developing its own game” said head coach Chris Garvey.

The four-team round-robin tournament is the region’s premier women’s 15s competition and features Asia’s number one women’s fifteens side Kazakhstan and second and third seeds Japan and Singapore, it will provide a formidable challenge for the Hong Kong squad. “The more times we pit ourselves against the best in Asia the better for our own game,” said Garvey who continued “While our premier women’s league is good, there is no substitute for playing against the best. To achieve this target, we will have to make sure we finish in the top three in the Asian Four Nations,”

“These are the same opponents we faced in the World Cup qualifiers last year. We fielded an inexperienced team then as none of our sevens squad was involved as they were preparing for the Hong Kong Women’s Sevens. We lost to Singapore on that occasion and we will be hoping to make amends this time. That game will be our final, but we also hope to surprise a few people when we take on Kazakhstan and Japan,” Garvey said.

Gai Wu flanker Christy Cheng Ka-chi will lead a squad which has a settled look about it with more than half of them being part of the first generation of fully professional players who are enrolled at the HKSI in the Rugby Sevens programme. Police prop Clara Cheng Cheuk-yui and Gai Wu second-rower Stephanie Ching Tsz-yung look set to make their Hong Kong debuts during the competition.

Garvey, a PE teacher at Kellett School, paid tribute to the squad, most of them part-timers who devoted themselves to a strenuous build-up. “We had an extended squad in training and it gave me the chance to see a number of new players. We have now picked what we believe are our best combinations and our aim is to see how far we have come and test ourselves against the likes of Kazakhstan,” Garvey said.

Hong Kong will face a stern test meeting Asian champions Kazakhstan on May 18, followed by Japan (May 21) and Singapore (May 24). Kazakhstan, who qualified for the World Cup last year, will present a strong challenge up-front while Japan’s fast backs will offer a different challenge.

“It is good that we will face two different styles before we take on Singapore. It will be fantastic preparation but we are not just focusing on Singapore. We want to make an impact against the other two teams as well,” Garvey said. “We have struggled in the past against them but I believe the gap is closing and with the return of all our sevens players, I’m confident we can push them,” he added.

The Asian Women’s Four Nations championships will be held at Aberdeen Stadium on Sunday (May 18), Wednesday (May 21) and Saturday (May 24). Kick off times are 15.00 and 17.00 for the round robin competition and admission is free.

Hong Kong Squad for the Asian Women’s Four Nations:
CHAN Hoi Ping Emmy (Gai Wu), CHAN Leong Sze Royce (HKFC), CHENG Cheuk Yui (Police), CHENG Ka Chi Christy (captain) (Gai Wu), CHENG Tsz Ting (Gai Wu), CHING Tsz Yung (Gai Wu), FONG, Rose Margaret Siu-Lan (CWB), GORDON, Christine (Valley), HO Hoi Lam (Gai Wu), IAFETA, Elizabeth (Valley), KWONG Sau Yan (Tai Po Dragons), LAI Pou Fan (DeA), LAU Nga Wun (Gai Wu), LEE Ka Shun (Gai Wu), LEE Allison (HKFC), LI Nim Yan Melody Blessing (Gai Wu), Nam Ka Man (DeA), NG Suet Ying (Kowloon), OLSON-THORNE, Natasha Shangwe (DeA), POON Pak Yan (Gai Wu), SCHRODER, Elizabeth Mai (DeA), SEURE, Amelie (Valley), SHAM Wai Sum (Gai Wu), TSANG, Wing Lam (DeA), WONG Yuen Shan (DeA), YUEN, Lok Yee (Kowloon)

Asian Women’s Four Nations,

May 18: Japan v Singapore (k/o 15:00); Hong Kong v Kazakhstan (k/o 17:00)

May 21: Kazakhstan v Singapore (k/o 15:00); Hong Kong v Japan (k/o 17:00)

May 24: Hong Kong v Singapore (k/o 15:00); Kazakhstan v Japan (k/o 17:00)

Where: Aberdeen Stadium, Hong Kong
How Much: Free
More info: www.hkrfu.com