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Hong Kong Unbeaten at Asian Sevens Day One

Hong Kong looked the class of the men’s competition, as they advanced to the cup semi-finals finishing day one undefeated and without conceding a point against their pool B opponents, beating Malaysia 36-0, Chinese Taipei 47-0 and Sri Lanka 22-0. They’ll face South Korea at 13:34.

A solid first day ended with the a highly convincing win over second seeds Sri Lanka. Hong Kong’s line speed and defensive effort were good, putting every Sri Lankan possession under severe pressure while keeping Sri Lanka’s dangerous pace men penned deep in their half.

Hong Kong jumped out to 15-0 first half lead after tries from Ryan Meacheam, Leigh Jones and Alex McQueen. Tom McQueen added the final try at the end of regulation to put Hong Kong home 22-0.

Coach Gareth Baber was pleased with his side’s first foray in the region in 2016, saying: “I’m very happy with our performance. You never quite know where you are going into a new season, so it was nice to firstly come up and build on our games throughout the day and, even better, to be put under pressure by a good Sri Lanka team but still come out ahead.

“We were really brave against Sri Lanka. We were aggressive and accurate and deserved that victory. If we can reach that level again tomorrow there is no reason why we can’t progress further,” Baber added.

Hong Kong’s attack was on song as the side posted 105 points on the day – by far the best in the tournament with Sri Lanka and South Korea trailing on 83 and 82 points respectively, but Baber was also pleased with the side’s defensive effort.

“Great to have that clean sheet at the end of the day. Our defence is something we pride ourselves on and I think it says something about the attitude of the group. It’s great to score tries and entertain, but if you can prevent the opposition from building pressure and not allow them areas to dominate, it makes a big statement and I thought we showed that attitude tonight,” Baber added.

Hong Kong will need more of the same in tomorrow’s match to bypass a fast and physical South Korea. “Korea are a good team,” said Baber. “We know them well and they have a very good outfit here this weekend. They are physical and fast but we are playing at a good level and I’m sure that they will be looking over their shoulders as well at us.”

“The players know what is ahead of them and what we need to do. We’ll go about that the way we always do. We have a system and a way we want to play and we had the right attitude today,” Baber said.

China were the surprise finishers at the top of Pool A after beating Japan 12-10 in their season opener before edging South Korea 19-17 in their final pool match. China will play Sri Lanka in tomorrow’s first cup semi-final.

Japan featured a side full of unseasoned university talent this weekend as they opted to give a well-deserved rest to their first-choice seven after finishing in fourth place at the Rio Olympics.

The inexperience showed as Japan was routed to the Plate competition where they will play Chinese Taipei. The early glitch could make Japan’s title defence that much harder as Hong Kong found out to their detriment last season when they fell to the Plate in the opener in Qingdao. Singapore and Malaysia will feature in a cross-Causeway clash in the other Plate semi final.

Asia Rugby Sevens Series
Date: 2-3 September, 2016
Venue: HK Football Club
Tickets: Free
More info: public entry via Happy Valley infield, via the tunnel near the HK Racing Museum
Live stream: http://www.youtube.com/c/AsiaRugbylive/live

Additional reporting and photo: HKRU

Anna Richards Picks Experienced Women’s Squad

Two years ago, at the first ever hosting of an Asia Rugby Sevens Series event in Hong Kong, the HK women’s team beat Japan in the semi-finals to reach their first ever Cup final, losing there to China 38-7.

Women’s Sevens coach Anna Richards is hoping to capitalise on home field advantage again as the ARW7s opens today at the HK Football Club. Richards has picked an experienced side for this week’s competition with the objective of going one step further at team’s home event and lifting the trophy..

“Marky (Komar, Women’s Sevens assistant coach), and I are very happy with the make-up of the side. We had almost everyone to choose from and we chose the side we thought would get us a win in the first leg,” said Richards as the squad trained. The squad has a familiar feel to it with captain Christy Cheng Ka-chi once again leading from the front while Aggie Poon Pak-yan and Natasha Olson-Thorne will provide a potent force out wide.

Hong Kong are the second seeds in Pool A tomorrow behind Japan and ahead of Singapore and Guam. Pool B features China, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Sri Lanka.

While Hong Kong beat Japan in their last outing at the HK Women’s Rugby Sevens in March, Richards says the stakes have grown for all the teams in the intervening months and expects a stiffer challenge from the Asian champions tomorrow who will be looking to improve on their disappointing Olympics where they finished tenth.

“We’re six months down the track from that win, and Japan have brought their top side here this weekend. They are no longer a core team on the international series so like all the teams here they will need to finish in the top two in the Asian Series to gain entry to the Women’s World Series qualifiers. I see a lot of their top girls in their squad for this weekend, which is what we want. It’s always good to play Japan no matter what and we want to face their best.”

A strong day one will be essential and Richards is pleased that the opportunity will come in front of a friendly audience. “It is always nice to start a competition like this at home. It is only our third tournament of the year so the girls are excited. We have done a lot of training, but haven’t played in a lot of tournaments. The girls are keen to get out there. They love to play in Hong Kong in front of their families,” said Richards.

A positive start is a priority for Richards who recalled that Hong Kong’s impressive finish in 2014 was nearly derailed by a sluggish start. “In 2014 we had a poor first day. We just snuck into the semis on goal difference as we drew with Thailand. Then on day two we had a great win over Japan but didn’t do so well against China in the final.

“That was the first time the girls had won silver, but I would like to emulate last year’s Season opener in Qingdao when we played really well to win our first Cup on the Series.” Hong Kong beat China convincingly in the final 24-15 in Qingdao to claim their first ever Asia Rugby Sevens Series event title. “Qingdao was really a watershed moment for the girls and I would like to carry on from there,” said Richards.

The Asian Sevens Series serves a qualifier for the global qualification tournament for the Women’s World Sevens Series with invites handed out to the top two finishers.

Hong Kong Women’s Sevens Squad (Asia Rugby Sevens Series – Hong Kong): Cheng Ka-Chi, Christy (Captain); Natasha Olson-Thorne (Vice Captain); Nam Ka-Man; Candy Cheng Tsz-Ting; Aggie Poon Pak-Yan; Sham Wai-Sum; Colleen Tjosvold; Kwong Sau-Yan; Li Nim-Yan, Melody; Chong Ka-Yan, Adrienne Garvey, Yuen Lok-Yee.

Additional reporting and photo: HKRU

Women’s XV Squad for Asian Championship Annouced

Hong Kong Women’s XV will play a home and away series against Japan to settle the 2016 Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) after perennial contenders Kazakhstan withdrew from the competition. The tests will be played before the respective Hong Kong v Japan men’s fixtures with the women opening their campaign at home at 1:30pm this Saturday (7 May) at HK Football Club – entry is free, so head down and cheer on our talented women.

Coach Jo Hull yesterday announced her debut squad of 28 players for the ARC campaign, which will include the two matches versus Japan and a game against Singapore on 14 May. With Kazakhstan’s withdrawal, Hong Kong’s tour of Spain last December – the first and hopefully not last ever tour for the Women’s XV outside of Asia – looks even more vital in hindsight.

Hull agreed that that opportunity will now prove even more useful than initially expected, saying, “I think now is when we’re going to see the pay-off from the Spain Tour. We have pretty much been working non-stop since we came back with the group and the players have had time to reflect on the tour and the physicality and skill level required in the elite women’s game. The last few months have been focusing on implementing what we have been working on since Spain.”

Hull has placed a premium on experience in the squad with 18 of the players coming from the Spain Tour. Of the ten not present in Spain, five come in from the sevens programme in experienced campaigners Christine Gordon, Lai Pou Fan and Lindsay Varty, and up and comers Nam Ka Man and Lee Tsz Ting. Those five join several of their fellow HKSI elite athletes in the ARC squad, with 13 of the 28 players coming from the sevens set-up including captain Natasha Olson-Thorne.

Also returning to the squad after a lengthy recovery from injury is the influential Rose Fong Siu-Lan, a top class player who will be a massive addition to the side. “Rose has been working really hard and it is great to have her back,” said Hull, who previously coached Fong in the United Kingdom. “She is a quality fly-half who can help direct our game on the pitch. Saturday will be her first test match since her injury and I know that she is really looking forward to returning.”

Reflecting the dominance of recent Premiership seasons, the majority of the squad come from Gai Wu Falcons and league title and grand champion winners Valley, with 12 and six players respectively in the final 28. USRC Tigers have six representatives followed by Kowloon and Hong Kong Football Club with two each. Gai Wu No.8 Chow Mei Nam will captain the squad with Valley’s Adrienne Garvey as vice-captain, reprising their roles from Spain.

Hull continued “Our back row is a real strength. Our tight five, while not overly experienced in numbers of caps, has really improved in their fitness and in mastering the unique skillsets required for their positions while our backs are hugely experienced and have some real pace.”

Hull is particularly excited about the new culture developing around the team since the Spain tour. “We’ve seen a huge improvement in the work the team has put into their strength and conditioning, something which has been helped by our access to the facilities at the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi).

“With the recent tests in Spain, this year’s inaugural Super Series competition, the growing competitiveness of the Premiership and the facilities at THEi, I would say that this is the best and most intense build-up the Hong Kong Women’s XV have ever had ahead of a competition. The training centre at THEi is a fantastic resource and has not only enhanced our performance but helped focus the environment within and around the team,” Hull added.

“We target to take two from two against Japan, but we fully respect what they bring to the table and we don’t say that lightly. We haven’t beaten Japan for a long time, although we have come close on recent occasions. We know Japan will be supremely fit and ferocious in the contact area. The key for us is how we match that physicality and how we manage the game beyond the set piece. We want the players to express themselves. The team are getting much better at playing what is in-front of them and playing with innovation and we want them to feed off the occasion and the opportunity to play Japan at home.”

Hong Kong Women’s Squad for the Asia Rugby Championship 2016:
Chow Mei Nam (captain), Adrienne Garvey (vice-captain), Natasha Olson-Thorne, Rose Fong Siu Lan, Colleen Tjosvold, Li Nim Yan, Karen So Hoi Ting,Amelie Seure, Chan Ka Yan, Cheng Ching To, Christine Gordon, Claire Forster, Ku Hoi Ying, Tammy Lau Nga Wun, Winnie Siu Wing Ni, Cheng Tsz Ting, Chong Ka Yan, Mak Ho Yee, Poon Pak Yan, Sharon Tsang Shin Yuen, Lee Tsz Ting, Nam Ka Man,Cheung Shuk Han

Hong Kong Rugby Union and Pieter Schats Plead Not Guilty

The trial of the Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU) and it’s Chairman Pieter Schats on Criminal Defamation reached the plea stage at Eastern Magistrates Court on 22 April, 2016 with the charges in the private prosecution read out to the defendants:

The charges read out were:

Information has been laid THAT YOU, Hong Kong Rugby Union a limited company registered in Hong Kong did on the 25 September, 2015 in Hong Kong deliberately and maliciously published, in the form of the article annexed here, defamatory libel knowing it to be false and factually inaccurate in breach of Section 5 of the Defamation Ordinance, Cap 21 of the Laws of Hong Kong.

The article in the form of a letter written by the Chairman of the Hong Kong Rugby Union on the letterhead of the HK Rugby Union (HKRU) was published to “All of our friends at World and Asia Rugby, Hong Kong Rugby Union Past Chairmen and Vice Presidents, Board of Directors, Hong Kong Rugby Club Chairmen and the Hong Kong Rugby and Sporting Community. It was also published on the HKRU’s website www.hkrugby.com under the title “Note from HKRU Chairman Pieter Schats.”

On or before the 23 September, 2015 the Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU) – the organisation responsible for the running and management of the sport of Rugby Union in Hong Kong – did approve and implement a new rule imposing ethnic Chinese player quotas on teams playing rugby in Hong Kong.

The HKRU on the 23 September, 2015 published on it’s website and caused to be published in the SCMP a news release entitled “Significant changes made to Hong Kong Rugby Union Domestic League structure”. Part of the text of that news release was: The modified Championship Club structure sees that league now highly focused on serving as an entry point and breeding ground for Chinese players, with all teams required to include a minimum of 14 ethnic Chinese players in each match day squad.”

Simon Durrant, the editor and publisher of bc magazine for 21 years wrote an article about the introduction of active racial discrimination, via ethnic quotas, into HK Rugby. According to Chapter 602 The Racial Discrimination Ordinance this is illegal in Hong Kong. The article entitled Active Racial Discrimination in HK Men’s Rugby was published on www.bcmagazine.net on the 24 September, 2015.

The HKRU letter dated 25 September, 2015 in full and specifically but not limited to paragraphs 3,4,5 is defamatory, disparaging and factually untrue. It besmirches and stains the integrity and reputation of Simon Durrant as a journalist and the factual accuracy of his article and in doing so the reputation and integrity of bc magazine – where Simon Durrant often recognised in public as ‘Mr bc’ has been the Owner, Publisher and Editor of bc magazine for over 21 years. Contrary to Section 5 of the Defamation Ordinance, Chapter 21

The HKRU representative Mr Schats pleaded not guilty

Information has been laid THAT YOU, Pieter Lodewijk Schats as Chairman of the Hong Kong Rugby Union on the 25 September, 2015 in Hong Kong deliberately and maliciously published, in the form of the article annexed here, defamatory libel knowing it to be false and factually inaccurate in breach of Section 5 of the Defamation Ordinance, Cap 21 of the Laws of Hong Kong.

The article is in the form of a letter written by Pieter Schats, Chairman of the Hong Kong Rugby Union on the letterhead of the HK Rugby Union was published to “All of our friends at World and Asia Rugby, Hong Kong Rugby Union Past Chairmen and Vice Presidents, Board of Directors, Hong Kong Rugby Club Chairmen and the Hong Kong Rugby and Sporting Community. It was also published on the HKRU’s website www.hkrugby.com under the title “Note from HKRU Chairman Pieter Schats.”

Pieter Schats letter dated 25 September, 2015 in full and specifically but not limited to paragraphs 3,4,5 is defamatory, disparaging and factually untrue. It besmirches and stains the integrity and reputation of Simon Durrant as a journalist and the factual accuracy of his article and in doing so the reputation and integrity of bc magazine – where Simon Durrant often recognised in public as ‘Mr bc’ has been the Owner, Publisher and Editor of bc magazine for over 21 years. Contrary to Section 5 of the Defamation Ordinance, Chapter 21

Mr Pieter Lodewijk Schats pleaded not guilty.

SCMP article Hong Kong rugby to revamp domestic leagues in effort to strengthen national team - with ethnic quota rule intordution highlighted — SCMP article “Hong Kong rugby to revamp domestic leagues in effort to strengthen national team” with ethnic quota rule introduction highlighted.

The cases centre around the Hong Kong Rugby Union’s introduction of Ethnic Quotas to local rugby in September 2015 – as announced by the HKRU in a 23 September news release on their website and also published in the SCMP (linked here) on the 22 and 23 September.

The HKRU website version (linked here) was quickly amended after Simon Durrant’s article (linked here) that ethnic quotas and racial discrimination are illegal in Hong Kong was published on the 24 September.

A day later on the 25 September Mr Schats published a note to the global rugby community (linked here) which according to Mr Durrant is defamatory and factually inaccurate.

Both cases were adjourned for three weeks.

Women’s Rugby Sevens Teams Announced

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2015/HK-Sevens-2015-Friday/i-SgZZ4xr

Women’s rugby in Hong Kong has been going from strength to strength in recent years and this has been reflected in the national 15s and 7s team results; highlighted by the 7s team winning their first ever Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Series tournament in Qingdao last September.

So it’s more than a little disappointing that the male dominated hierarchy of the HKRU continue to remain so blind to the attractions of women’s rugby, especially in an Olympic year when Hong Kong are still in with a chance of a place in Rio. With women’s rugby 7s expanding fast globally that only ten teams, down from twelve in recent year’s, will take part in the 19th Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens (HKWRS) is depressing.

bc has supported the Women’s 7s since its inception and know that teams want to come to play, and the national side needs the experience of playing teams outside Asia, but cite costs as the main problem in attending the tournament. The HKRU is awash with cash but the men in charge remain too cheap to, and blind to the benefits of, financially supporting the expansion and improvement of the HKWRS. The nine countries, from four continents joining Hong Kong are: Argentina, China, France, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Tournament Director Ruth Mitchell and former Hong Kong captain said of the announcement “I’m excited at how the tournament has progressed over the years. Hong Kong is the longest established women’s sevens tournament in the world and we have had 38 international teams participate over the past 19 years. This year, for the first time, all of the teams have played in the tournament before, so we can expect a high standard of play and with plenty of Asian teams involved, the rivalry is sure to be intense,”

Of the participating teams, France, Kenya and Japan have already qualified for the Rio Summer Games in August, where rugby 7s will make it’s debut at the Olympics. France and Japan are also participating on the Women’s Sevens Series this season with France in fourth place in the standings and Japan eleventh of the 12 core teams. Both teams have figured in recent HKWRS Cup finals. Japan lost to Canada, 19-12, last year while France was beat by Canada, 24-0, in 2014.

Argentina, China, Kazakhstan and Hong Kong will compete in the Olympic repechage tournament in Dublin in June, making the HKWRS an important preparation event for the final stage of Olympic qualification. The winner in Dublin will be the 12th and final team to qualify for the Women’s Rugby Sevens competition at the Rio Games.

As always, Asia is well represented with the hosts Hong Kong, China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka and Thailand all taking part. Japan and China finished first and second in Asia last season with Hong Kong hot on their heels in third place in the region.

Hong Kong Women’s Sevens coach Anna Richards commented on the field assembled saying, “There is a good range of teams this year with sides from Africa, Europe and South America, alongside the top teams from Asia. It’s always good to get a chance to play against teams with different styles then those we see in the region and it will be helpful for us as prepare for the Olympic qualifier in Ireland where there will be 16 teams from all over the world.”

Last year, Hong Kong, after beating beat Samoa in the quarterfinal, narrowly missed out on reaching their first cup final losing the semi 10-5 to Japan. Another close result went against the hosts when they lost the third place play-off to the Netherlands, 14-7. It was Hong Kong’s best ever performance in the HKWRS and set the stage for a strong run in the Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens series later in the year.

“We got on a roll last year with a great start on the opening day when we beat China and Kazakhstan. Those performances gave us the self-belief we needed to go out and compete both on day two and later in the year on the Asian series. We will need another fast start this year so a lot will be riding on what pool we are drawn in as we need to finish either first or second in our group to advance to the cup,” Richards said. The tournament draw for the HKWRS will be held alongside the Hong Kong Sevens draw on Monday, 14 March.

Complicating matters for Richards is a lack of warm-up events for the women’s team ahead of the HKWRS: “Last year we had two tournaments in the build up to the sevens, but this year we don’t have any. We’ve been training really hard and are working closely with the Sports Science team at the Hong Kong Sports Institute, but I know the girls are excited about the prospect of our first tournament action since November last year.”

Richards has had to get creative to accentuate the build-up campaign. The sevens training squad will play a series of training games against a touring side from Princeton University on March 16.

Richards, a former New Zealand international, has also negotiated with the New Zealand Rugby Union to organise a group of New Zealand Sevens development players who the HKRU are flying up to Hong Kong, where they will mix with top local players in a Barbarians format, for a two-day training camp at the Hong Kong Sports Institute on March 19 and 20.

The HKWRS tournament in on Thursday and Friday, (7-8 April) with the opening day’s action at Kings Park in Kowloon. Day Two will be held at the Hong Kong Football Club (8 April) with the final again being held beneath the lights at the HK Stadium as a main focus of the opening day of the Hong Kong Sevens.

Hong Kong Women’s Seven Tough Day in Tokyo

The Hong Kong Women’s Seven had a tough day in Tokyo, losing crucial matches to Japan (5-27) and Kazakhstan (5-29) in the first day of the final stage of the Asia Rugby Olympic qualifiers. The competition’s format, which has all six participating teams in a single pool, sees day two’s finals placings determined directly by pool results.

Japan and Kazakhstan, the winners and runners-up in the opening leg of the Olympic qualifier held in Hong Kong, emerged undefeated from day one. Those results will likely put the finals beyond reach for Hong Kong, barring an upset in the final pool round tomorrow when Japan and Kazakhstan play the fifth and sixth seeds Guam and Sri Lanka respectively, before playing each other in the last pool match ahead of the finals.

On present form, that match could preview the final, which Kazakhstan would need to win to keep their hopes of a direct Olympic berth alive.

China also struggled on day one, dropping its opening match to Japan 7-20 before losing to Kazakhstan 14-0, further damping Hong Kong’s hopes as China were the only other side outside of the leaders capable of shaking up the standings.

Slow starts were the problem for Hong Kong. That trend started in the opening match when Guam dominated possession and territory against the third seeds overall for nearly the entire first half. Late first half tries from captain Christy Cheng Ka Chi and vice captain Natasha Olson-Thorne righted the ship and set the platform for the final half when Aggie Poon Pak Yan, Stephanie Cuvelier, Amelie Seure and Chong Ka Yan all scored. Poon added three conversions with Lai Pou Fan adding one.

Another slow start proved lethal against Kazakhstan who mounted their finest performance of the season with a 29-5 win. With size and pace across the side, Kazakhstan put on a display, suffocating Hong Kong of any possession and scoring three tries before the break to take a 19-0 lead.

Kazakhstan maintained the pressure in the second half, scoring twice after the break, but most of their work came in defence of the lead, with Hong Kong having the lion’s share of possession. Late in the match Hong Kong began to string together consistent and structured phase play that rattled the Kazakh defence. Hong Kong scored a consolation try at the hooter with Amelie Seure finishing off a good period of offensive pressure with her second try of the day.

Hong Kong dropped its final match of the day to Japan but played its best rugby. After going down 5-0 early on, Aggie Poon Pak Yan leveled the scores after capitalizing on broken play to score in the corner. Japan’s second try came from a well-worked move at the base of a scrum that outfoxed the Hong Kong defence putting Mifuyu Koide over untouched. Hong Kong conceded a third try late in the half after having a player down with injury for the last minute leaving them outnumbered.

The Sakura Sevens were superb in defence in the second half keeping Hong Kong off the board while adding two more tries to win convincingly.

Hong Kong will play China and Sri Lanka in the final pool rounds tomorrow.

Hong Kong Women Aim for Olympic Qualification in Tokyo

The Hong Kong Women’s Sevens squad departed today for Tokyo, Japan where they will play in this weekend’s second leg of Asia Rugby’s Olympic qualification tournament. At the end of which one women’s team from Asia will automatically qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro after the completion of the tournament on 29 November.

After winning this year’s opening Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Series tournament in Qingdao China, what once looked like a goal for 2020 is now a real – albeit slim – possibility for the 2016 after Hong Kong finished third in the opening leg of the two-stage qualifier at the Hong Kong Stadium on 7-8 November.

The women’s seven finished that tournament with a four win and two loss record – with losses coming against the eventual finalists Japan and Kazakhstan – but dispatched pre-tournament favourites China twice, including a 12-7 win in the third place play-off.

The result leaves Hong Kong needing an outright win in Tokyo, but also dependent upon the two finalists from the first leg not reaching this weekend’s cup match.Should either opponent reach the final in Tokyo they will have done enough to book their ticket to Rio on overall points across the series.

If Hong Kong win in Tokyo and Japan and Kazakhstan fail to reach the final, tie-breakers will come into effect. First up will be the head-to-head results between the two tied teams across the two Olympic qualifier events. If three teams are tied at the end of play on Sunday, point differentials across the series will be the deciding factor.

Hong Kong must win and win well this weekend. The hometown heroes have the advantage of heading to Japan with an unchanged side including flying winner Aggie Poon Pak Yan, who has been the revelation of the series.

Poon again proved that she is the deadliest finisher in Asian women’s rugby, leading all players with eight tries in Hong Kong earlier this month. Those totals bring her remarkable season tally to 25 tries and 24 conversions over the qualifier and two Asian sevens events so far in 2015, for a combined 173 points.

Hong Kong will need Poon to be on song once again as the team looks to make an all-out push for a historic Olympic berth. Squad veterans in captain Christy Cheng Ka Chi, vice captain Natasha Olson-Thorne and Candy Cheng Tsz Ting will also need to peak at the opportune moment to give Hong Kong any chance of success.

The Tokyo qualifier will again see six teams competing in a single pool, round-robin competition. Hong Kong will face Japan, Kazakhstan, China, Sri Lanka and Guam. Hong Kong will open in Tokyo against Guam, whom they blanked 29-0 earlier this month but it is the last two matches on day one that will determine Hong Kong’s chances as they face Kazakhstan and Japan in the closing ties on Saturday. Both sides beat Hong Kong in the first qualifier, with Japan handing the hosts a 36-0 whitewash to end day one at the HK Stadium – that match coming on the heels of Hong Kong’s highly physical 5-0 victory over China.

Coach Anna Richards commented on the squad’s performance from the opening leg, saying, “We were up-and-down unfortunately, but we still have a mathematical chance. It will be a tough one and we must now win it all this weekend.”

In Tokyo, Hong Kong will need to take matters into their own hands and hand Japan and Kazakhstan early losses to prevent them from reaching the final. Hong Kong’s opening pool match on day two is against China in a potential trap game after Hong Kong gained the upper hand on China in recent tournaments.

China, perhaps the most disappointing performer after many expected them to be Asia’s representatives in Rio, will kick off the second leg against Japan in the first match in Tokyo, a tie that could help upset the formbook and set the stage for a weekend of hoped for surprises.
After looking imperious in the opening leg, Japan will enter the tournament as the heavy favourites particularly as they enjoy a rare opportunity to play in front of their home fans. Japan’s women’s sevens have never played an Asia Rugby tournament at home.

Led by the inspirational Chiharu Nakamura, Japan will be intent on joining their men’s counterparts, who secured the Olympic berth earlier this month after coming back from a 10-point first half deficit to beat Hong Kong 24-10 in the final, next year in Rio.

Hong Kong Squad for Olympic Qualifier – Japan Leg
Cheng Ka Chi Christy (Captain), Natasha Olson-Thorne (vice Captain), Amelie Seure, Cheng Tsz Ting, Chong Ka Yan, Kwong Sau Yan, Lai Pou Fan, Lindsay Varty, Nam Ka Man, Poon Pak Yan Aggie, Sham Wai Sum, Stephanie Cuvelier.

Olympic Games Rugby 7s Qualifier Day 1

An empty HK Stadium reverberated to the screams of the $100million relaid grass pitch as it was torn to shreds during the first day of the Asia Rugby 7s Rio Qualifier.

Hong Kong’s women comfortably won their first two games, but were completely outplayed by Japan in the day’s final pool game. Tomorrow’s first pool game against Kazakhstan will decide who plays Japan in the final for a spot at the Olympics.