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Mixed Fortunes At Asia Rugby Sevens Series Opener

Hong Kong enjoyed a relatively successful Asia Rugby Sevens Series opener, the first of three events on this year’s Series, with the men finishing second behind Japan and the women finishing fourth.

The men set up a re-match of the Asian Games final at Hong Kong Football Club after beating the Philippines 42-7 in the last pool match before dispatching Sri Lanka, 31-0, in the semi-final.

Hong Kong entered the final having posted 228 points while conceding just seven, leaving coach Paul John concerned that his side had not been tested enough entering the showcase match. Those concerns looked unfounded in the first half with Hong Kong turning over Japan from the kick-off, and dominating the opening possession and territory stakes.

Unfortunately for the hosts they couldn’t translate that pressure into points, with the score nil-all at the break.

The second half was a mirror image of the first, as Japan exerted its dominance in the evenly matched battle between Asia’s sevens superpowers. That dominance started from the opening kick-off with unforced errors proving crucial for Hong Kong, as a bobbled take by the defence led to Japan’s first try at the start of the half.

More errors led to more scoring opportunities for Japan, who capitalized accordingly, as they pitched the shutout against Hong Kong, 12-0.

“That was a good Japan side,” said a disappointed Paul John after the final. “I think they were better than the one we played two weeks ago at the Asian Games, but that doesn’t take away the fact that we played into their hands in the final a bit.

“We played into their hands by going straight at them really, which we didn’t do too much of at the Asian Games. We turned too much ball over in contact and it was our fault, first and foremost, for not securing that kick-off that led to their try.

“There was nothing in that game. We had two errors and conceded two tries. We weren’t making those errors at the start of the weekend, but we made them in the final, when the pressure was different.

“We just need to learn from it. We won two weeks ago and we can’t just expect to win again. The boys will be disappointed with how we performed in that last game,” John added.

The women’s seven reached the match many had tipped them for at the Asian Games, progressing to the third place final against Kazakhstan, bronze medalists in Jakarta, before bowing out.

Coach Kevin West called on his side to produce three consistent performances today and he largely got them, as Hong Kong extended its recent mastery over South Korea with a 34-0 pool stage win before mounting a brave fight against China in the semi finals, succumbing 19-14.

In the third place play-off, Hong Kong’s consistency and accuracy wavered, although that was partially forced by pressure generated from a very physical Kazakhstan team.

Hong Kong were on defence from the opening whistle, digging deep for a try-saving tackle in the first minute. Hong Kong survived Kazakhstan’s early forays and, assisted by a high first half penalty count against the visitors, were able to mount their first attack of the match.

The Kazakhstan defence was up to the challenge and were able to mount a strong counter-attack out wide with the burly forwards waiting on the wings using their long arms to good advantage by fending off Stephanie Chan’s tackle to score the opening try in the fourth minute.

Leading 7-0, Kazakhstan lengthened its advantage in the second half, with help from Hong Kong who over-cooked its re-start kick to give Kazakhstan possession off the bat. The visitors made Hong Kong pay by scoring a quick try to start the final stanza.

Hong Kong had a glimmer of hope after Kazakhstan were handed a yellow card with under three minutes remaining, but could not muster any attack with their numerical advantage. The hosts scored a consolation try through Aggie Poon in the corner with the visitors back at full strength, before Kazakhstan replied at the hooter to run out 14-5 winners.

West chalked up some of his side’s miscues to the strenuous route to the play-off this afternoon, through China and Kazakhstan, the two biggest sides in Asia.

“We got up a lot for that game against China and we got a lot of things right in that game. Against Kazakhstan, we weren’t as accurate and that could have been the impact of the physicality that they brought, which China also brought.”

Although disappointed with today’s results, West says his squad remains on track. “Our goal is still the same, to finish in the top three. We are fourth now and we are going to have to improve next time and continue to do so in the one after that,” he said.

West’s projections are borne up by Hong Kong’s recent results, as they climbed from fifth overall at the Asian Games to fourth this weekend and will be targeting a top three finish in Incheon. “I’m really pleased that the girls are coming together and showing great fight throughout these tournaments. For the first time, we are leaving a tournament for the first time with the girls knowing that they could have easily finished third or been in the final. That is a real step forward for us,” West added.

Japan maintained its hot hand in the women’s competition beating China for a second straight cup final 12-7. Kazakhstan won the bronze in the women’s competition while Sri Lanka took third in the men’s.

The top ranked finishers on this year’s series (excluding World Series qualified team Japan) will earn an invite as the 16th team at the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens in 2019, while the top two non-Japanese finishers will earn slots at the international World Rugby Sevens Series qualifier played as part of the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens in April for a shot to earn a full-time spot on the World Series.

The top women’s side on the series table when the dust settles – excluding World Series side China, will receive an invite to play at the 20190 Kitakyushu Sevens in Japan while the two highest ranked finishers outside of China will represent Asia at the women’s world series qualifiers in Hong Kong in early 2019.

Additional reporting and images: HK rugby

Asia Rugby Sevens Series: Hong Kong – Day One

Hong Kong’s men’s sevens team picked up where they left off as the Asian Games champions went undefeated on day one of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series in Hong Kong. The women did one better than their last outing in Jakarta, with an early and important 22-7 win over Thailand, who had ushered Hong Kong out of the medals at the Asian Games earlier this month.

Captain Natasha Olson-Thorne paced Hong Kong with a brace of tries in the first half against Thailand with forward Nam Ka-man adding a score in the opening salvo as Hong Kong led 17-0 at the break after a conversion from Stephanie Chan. Aggie Poon Pak-yan added a try to extend the lead to 22-0 before Thailand scored and converted at the final whistle.

The challenge mounted for Hong Kong in its final pool match of the day against top seeds and Asian Games champions Japan.

Hong Kong had a solid opening half, and while primarily playing behind the ball, managed to keep its defensive structures intact to limit Japan to a 7-0 lead after five minutes. Japan turned on the jets in the waning minutes of the half, and aided by a yellow card against Chan Tsz-ching in the sixth minute, added two more scores before the whistle as they took a 19-0 lead into the break.

Japan added a try to start the second half to push their lead to 24-0 before Hong Kong returned to full strength after the sin-bin. Poon clawed a try back for Hong Kong in the 13th minute with a great individual effort, creating space with an impressive fend, before sprinting 60-metres for the score. Poon’s conversion cut the deficit to 24-7 but a try at the hooter brought the final total to 31-7.

Hong Kong coach Kevin West said that unforced errors were ultimately the difference against Japan:

“They were small errors, but small things can turn games. We had two tackles against Japan where we reached with arms. If we had executed those with chop tackles like we did against Thailand earlier, the game would have been on a knife’s edge and could have gone either way.

“Those small things are hugely important and it comes down to a matter of consistency for us, and being consistent in our processes regardless of the opposition. But it’s a tournament and not one match. There’s still another game for us tomorrow in the pool and our goal is to beat Korea.

“We are after three quality performances together tomorrow; performances where we execute our processes every single time. If we can do that then the results will follow,” he added.

West was pleased to have had a chance to integrate returning campaigners Sham Wai-sum and Colleen Tjosvold into the squad after both missed out on the Asian Games. Their return, and the debut of Maggie Au Yeung Sin-yi, gives West a deep bench for tomorrow’s run.

“We were able to get everyone a run and they all added something today. Everyone is on the same page and has a clear idea of what we need to do and what we are trying to execute.

“Maggie looked very relaxed and is dealing with the occasion well. Every game she learns more and it’s so important for us to be building that depth. She’s one of three newer players along with Stephanie and Vivian [Chan], all of whom are performing, which is great for us,” said West.

The men cleared their opening hurdle against Malaysia with room to spare, running out 54-0 winners before coming up against a South Korean side absent of most of the names from its Asian Games squad and as such the result was never in question as Hong Kong ran out easy 61-0 winners.

At the end of the opening day, Hong Kong is atop the pool with a final match against the Philippines tomorrow to round out the preliminaries. But after an easier than expected first day, coach Paul John is wary of a potential banana skin match tomorrow.

“We knew when we saw the sides that turned up that they are different teams compared to the Asian Games. Korea is certainly different from that semi-final in Jakarta.”

“So we knew it would be a bit different this weekend, but tomorrow we play the Philippines and they look quite physical as they normally are. Sri Lanka look like they normally do and we could end up crossing over against them in the semi finals, while Japan have also brought a good side.”

John was pleased with the way his side maintained its form throughout the day despite the big margins.

“Sometimes you can try and force it against teams like that when there is no need, but I was pleased with the way the boys played. We didn’t take anyone lightly and scored over 100 points, but we haven’t been tested as much I would have liked, which is always a bit of a concern. This competition you go straight into knockout so you have to be ready, but we know what we need to do tomorrow,” John added.

The women’s last pool match is against South Korea at 11.06 on the 15 September, while the men will play the Philippines at 12.12.

Asia Rugby Sevens Series
Date: 14-15 September, 2018
Venue: HK Football Club
Tickets: tbc

Additional reporting and images: HK rugby

Hong Kong Win First Asia Rugby Championship!

Hong Kong won their first Asia Rugby Championship (ARC), since the inception of the new format in 2008, with a comprehensive 39-5 win over South Korea in the final game.

The win means Hong Kong have navigated the first hurdle in their bid to qualify for Rugby World Cup 2019 and progress to a home-and-away series with Oceania qualifiers Cook Islands at the end of June to decide the region’s entry into November’s international repechage stage.

An away win over Korea meant Hong Kong entered the game in a commanding position on the championship ladder only needing a losing bonus point to secure their first Asian title, but coach Leigh Jones was calling for more from his side.

“Only a win will do,” Jones said ahead of kick-off, and his squad delivered with a complete performance. Hong Kong had secured the title by half-time after collecting a bonus point for scoring four tries in the opening stanza as the hosts posted 31 points before the break.

Flyhalf Matt Rosslee opened the scoring with a penalty in the early stages as both sides settled into the encounter after a scrappy start. While unforced errors continued to plague the visitors, Hong Kong gathered momentum and confidence over a first forty minutes that saw the lion’s share of play in the Korean end.

Rosslee added the opening try in the twelfth minute, after centre Max Woodward folded the midfield defence with a thumping crash ball. Prop Dan Barlow drove the ball to the line in second phase play before setting a perfect platform for the backs with Rosslee diving across the whitewash beneath the posts. Rosslee’s conversion gave Hong Kong a 10-0 bumper before scrumhalf Liam Slatem widened the margin with the first of a brace of tries on the afternoon.

Showing great field vision and an instinctual feel for the attack, Slatem took a quick tap and run from a penalty to leave the Korean defence flat-footed and score in the right corner. Rosslee’s conversion was true as Hong Kong extended its lead to 17-0.

Salom Yiu Kam-shing added to South Korea’s misery moments later after the veteran winger perfectly judged his entry into the backline and accepted a nifty reverse pass to cross over unmolested. Rosslee maintained his perfect conversion record as Hong Kong pushed the lead to 24-0.

Korean prop Kang Taehyon was sent to the sinbin shortly thereafter for repeated infringements at the breakdown. With the man advantage, Hong Kong looked to have scored its fourth try of the half, but flanker Toby Fenn’s effort was disallowed by the television match official.

Slatem scored his second shortly thereafter, finishing off a beautiful piece of open play by Hong Kong with wing Conor Hartley showing some great hands to reel in a tough pass from Rosslee before slipping the ball to Slatem, who also juggled for control before collecting the ball at pace and darting over near the posts. Rosslee’s conversion was successful and Hong Kong took a 31-0 lead and their first Asian title into the sheds at half-time.

Hartley and Slatem were standouts in the Championship campaign, finishing as joint top try scorers with four each.

Korea returned to full strength early in the second half but another slow start saw them concede an opening penalty, which Rosslee slotted to push the lead to 34-0.

The Koreans notched their only points of the game off a scrum on Hong Kong’s 5-metre line as captain Lee Yongseung dragged several defenders over the line to avert the shutout. The conversion was unsuccessful and Hong Kong led 34-5.

A second yellow card to Korea further distorted the game, as did a series of injuries and head injury assessments, that contributed to a stop-start second half, with neither side being able to introduce any fluidity in the proceedings.

Scrumhalf Jamie Lauder eventually capped a fecund day for the home side with his try to close out the proceedings. Despite a largely forgettable second half, Hong Kong will take momentum from a near pristine opening act as they prepare for the Cook Islands in four weeks time.

“I think it was probably the most clinical first half I have seen in a very long time. Everything we did on the training field just turned up on the pitch and we went into half-time knowing the job was pretty much done,” said Jones.

“It was an outstanding performance and it speaks volumes about the attitude and preparations of the players and coaching staff this week,” Jones added.

Celebrations for a first Asian title will be short-lived as Hong Kong prepare to front up for the Cook Islands.

“First of all the guys will have a week off as it has been a tough old campaign,” said Jones. “We are a bit in the dark with the Cook Islands. We know very little about them, so we are going to have do our research now to see how to prepare for them,” he added.

The month-long layoff before the next game will help the rest of the squad get fit as well. “We had almost another full team sat in the stand who were injured today and hopefully another eight or ten of them will be ready for selection for the Cook Islands,” Jones noted. “Today we were down to the last man standing almost behind the scrum, so it will be nice to have a few selection headaches for the Cooks,” he added.

Hong Kong
15. Rob Keith, 14. Kam Shing Yiu, 13. Jack Neville, 12. Max Woodward, 11. Conor Hartley, 10. Matthew Rosslee, 9. Liam Slatem, 8. Thomas Lamboley, 7. Toby Fenn, 6. Nick Hewson, 5. Kyle Sullivan, 4. James Cunningham, 3. Dylan Rogers, 2. Ben Roberts, 1. Dan Barlow

South Korea
15. Jae Bok Lee, 14. Jeong Min Jang, 13. Seong Min Jang, 12. Seon Gu Kim 11. Nam Uk Kim, 10. Youn Hyung Oh, 9. Ki Cheol Shin 8. Yong Seung Lee (captain), 7. Injo Hwang, 6. Sung Kun Cha, 5. Jin Seok Lee 4. Seok Hwan Jang, 3. Taeh Yeon Kang, 2. Ji Hoon You, 1. Kwanyoung Na

Hong Kong Pound Malaysia 91-10 on Road to World Cup

Hong Kong put in a 13-try performance against Malaysia in their Asia Rugby Championship encounter at the Hong Kong Football Club to move one step closer to the Rugby World Cup 2019 repechage. The championship finale against South Korea is on 2 June.

Hong Kong coach Leigh Jones declared the teams intent before the match – and then his players delivered on the pitch. The 91-10 defeat of Malaysia sets the stage for Hong Kong to claim its first Asian title since 2008.

Ignoring a kickable penalty in the opening minute, Hong Kong opted to kick deep for an attacking line-out which led to the game’s first try as lock Jamie Pincott smashed over for the all important early score.

Tries flowed thick and fast after that as Hong Kong had secured a bonus point and scored five tries inside the first 20-minutes.

Winger Max Denmark also scored his first try for Hong Kong this afternoon, moments after Pincott’s effort, before Conor Hartley crossed over untouched for his first try of the game, taking a clean ball from Lauder off a Hong Kong scrum deep in Malaysian territory.

Hartley followed up his effort with his second try moments later, this time off a barnstorming run with the towering winger unstoppable in the open field. Hartley would add his third try to start the second half and late in the match set up Lauder’s second score with another punishing run and perfectly timed offload as Hong Kong piled the points on the board.

Captain Jamie Tsang added a first half try and Hong Kong were awarded a penalty try in the opening stanza after buckling Malaysia’s scrum on the visitors try-line.

Hong Kong scored seven tries in the first half with Ben Rimene converting five and fly half Matt Rosslee a sixth (there is no conversion attempt following a penalty try). Rimene maintained his perfect record in the second half, converting all of Hong Kong’s six tries after the break, as first Hartley then lock Jack Delaforce, reserve centre Jack Neville, reserve flanker Mike Parfitt, Lauder, and prop Adam Fullgrabe all crossed the try line in the final forty minutes.

Malaysia only mustered one telling attack in the first half and No.8 Etonia Saukuru finished well off the fringes of a scrum on the Hong Kong line. Late in the match, Malaysia added a penalty.

Hong Kong’s offensive display included four debutant: scrumhalf Henry Poon and forwards Ted Soppet, Chris Pierrepont and Ronan Donnelly and coach Leigh Jones was pleased with the result as it leaves South Korea with a mountain to climb in their hopes of advancing to the Rugby World Cup play-off stages.

“We stuck to it right to the end and our fitness levels were great,” said Jones. “It was always going to be a potentially difficult game, but for different reasons. It was important we tried a few youngsters today and we did that. We challenged the guys to be professional all week and I think they were today. We came out and gave ourselves a real good points difference cushion now over South Korea.”

Captain Jamie Tsang said: “I think in terms of what we tried to get out of the game it is job done, five points and some points difference which is good to take into the Korea game.”

“In terms of Korea our set piece needs to be strong, we have to keep our structures, and we hope it’ll be like this as they have some big players. We will be structured but also look to bring some chaos into our game.”

The winner of this season’s Asian championship will advance to a home-and-away series versus Cook Islands in July to determine with the winner advancing to a final four-team qualifier in France in autumn. Today’s result leaves Hong Kong in a commanding spot on the Asian championship table with Korea all but mathematically eliminated.

“Mathematically, we just need a bonus point now to be absolutely secure [over South Korea]. But I think we want a win. So only a win will do,” commented Jones.

Hong Kong
15. Richard Cooke, 14. Conor Hartley, 13. Tyler Spitz, 12. Matthew Rosslee, 11. Max Denmark, 10. Ben Rimene, 9. Jamie Lauder, 8. Kane Boucaut, 7. Philip Whitfield, 6. Nicholas Hewson, 5. Jack Delaforce, 4. Jamie Pincott, 3. Jack Parfitt, 2. Jamie Tsang (captain), 1. Adam Fullgrabe

Malaysia
15. Mohamad Aiman Jamaluddin, 14. Samuela Tamanisau, 13. Vatimio Rabebe, 12. Atunasia Lacadamu Takubu, 11. Mohd Azmir Zanul Abdin, 10. Mohd Syahir Asraf Rosli (captain), 9. Aliff Sazrie Bn Azmi, 8. Etonia Vaqa, 7. Mohamad Syarif Saiful Aazwan, 6. Timoci Vunimoku, 5. Sae Faalupega, 4. Mohd Aliff Al Hafiz Abdul Kari, 3. Lawrence Petrus, 2. Amirul Mukminim Amizan, 1. Mohd Farid Sujari

Additional reporting and images: hkru, Asia Rugby

Hong Kong Admires The Webb Ellis Cup

As part of the promotion for Japan 2019 the Webb Ellis Cup – the trophy awarded to the winner of the Rugby World Cup – returned to Hong Kong for a three day tour.

The Cup is named after William Webb Ellis, who is often credited as the inventor of rugby football. ‘Bill’ as the trophy is affectionately known has been won three times by New Zealand (1987, 2011 & 2015), twice by Australia (1991 & 1999) and South Africa (1995 & 2007), and once by England in 2003.

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There are actually two official Webb Ellis Cups, which are used interchangeably. The original cup is a 1906 trophy made by Carrington and Co. of London – based on a 1740s Victorian design by Paul de Lamerie – the other is a 1986 replica.

The 38 centimetre trophy weighs 4.5 kg, is made from gilded silver and the cup is supported by two cast scroll handles. On one there is the head of a satyr, on the other a head of a nymph. The face of the trophy features the words International Rugby Football Board and below that arch the words The Webb Ellis Cup are engraved.

Who will win in Japan in 2019, will Hong Kong’s men emulate the women – who qualified for the Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland in 2017 – and make their debut at the tournament proper?

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/Rugby-World-Cup-2019-Trophy-Tour-Hong-Kong-24-26-May-2018/i-GFfMtjL

Hong Kong Should Bid, Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021

World Rugby has launched the host selection process for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 and Hong Kong would be the perfect venue. The Hong Kong Rugby Union pays lots of lip service to women’s rugby and talking ‘legacy’ while pouring money into the men’s team. Hosting the Women’s World Cup would be massive for the game locally and for women’ sport in Asia.

Realistically Hong Kong can never host the men’s rugby World Cup, but we are the perfect venue for the Women’s Rugby World Cup. Hong Kong has the stadiums, lots of affluent sponsors including a cash rich government with money to spend on events that build on Hong Kong’s global visibility. While the HKRU is rolling in cash from the Sevens which it claims is for investing in the game…

Accommodation will be expensive, but with three years notice a hotel could be block booked for a month or one of the many university /student dorms depending on the proposed dates.

The Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 was the best-attended, most-viewed and most socially-engaged ever: 70 million viewers across the five match days and over 750,000 fans visited the official website www.rwcwomens.com.

Looking to build on the success and popularity of the last Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 in Ireland – the Rugby World Cup Board have announced several format changes for the 2021 tournament which include: a revised match schedule; the addition of a quarter-final stage; longer rest periods between matches and an increase in squad size.

The 12-team format will remain in 2021. The revised match schedule will guarantee longer rest periods – four days between pool matches, and five or six days during the knock-out rounds – to benefit player welfare and aid in recovery and preparation. The addition of a quarter-final stage and the longer rest periods will see tournament expand from 23 to 35 days.

Following feedback from teams and players the World Rugby tournament review also concluded that squad size should increase by two – from 28 to 30 players.

World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “The launch of the host selection process for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 is an exciting milestone and follows a fantastic 2017 for women’s rugby. The exceptional Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland was the best attended of all time, inspiring on and off the field, and underscored why the event is such an attractive hosting proposition for unions and nations.

“We want to keep building the momentum, which is why we are introducing these changes to the format for the 2021 process. By ensuring an even more competitive and exciting tournament in the future, women’s rugby can continue to play an instrumental role in driving forward the development of the game and significantly broadening rugby’s global fan base.”

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Womens-Rugby-World-Cup-2017/i-WMSjrqM

Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 host selection process timelines

31 May 2018: Deadline for formal expressions of hosting interest from unions
1 June 2018: Bid documents distributed to interested unions
10 August 2018: Bid responses submitted by unions to World Rugby
14 November 2018: World Rugby Council selects Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 host.

10-Try Hong Kong Trash Malaysia in World Cup Opener

Hong Kong thrashed Malaysia 67-8 in a ten-try rout as they started their qualification for the Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan.

Played in a wet and humid Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong mastered their opponents in the first half and the conditions in the second – the heavens opened after forty minutes, adding even more grease to an already slippy ball – as they extended a 27-5 half-time lead into a confidence boosting victory in their first Asia Rugby Championship match.

Malaysia, bolstered by the inclusion of several of their naturalized players from the Pacific Islands, enjoyed the better start, capitalising on a somewhat sluggish opening by Hong Kong with Matt Rosslee showing rare nerves with the boot early on.

After an exchange of missed penalties, it was the Hong Kong’s forwards who methodically built a base for success, aided in the early going by a yellow card against lock Aporosa Duwailea.

Hong Kong capitalised on their numerical advantage to score the game’s first try as No.8 Thomas Lamboley corralled the ball perfectly at the base of an attacking scrum to dive over the line. Rosslee struck his only penalty moments later to extend the margin to eight, before Malaysia returned to full strength.

Dominant at the scrum and the line-out, Hong Kong gained significant metres off of their structured set piece play. That dominance set up Lamboley for his second score in the 30th minute, as he again danced the ball over the line from the base of the scrum to push the lead to 13-0.

Soon after fullback Jack Neville finished a long counter attack started by scrumhalf Liam Slatem, who opted for a quick tap and run from a penalty deep in Hong Kong’s territory. Rosslee made sure of the conversion as Hong Kong pushed its lead to 20-0.

With the score line growing, Hong Kong’s discipline slipped marginally as they engaged in the freewheeling rugby the Malaysians were encouraging. That led to the host’s first try after Hong Kong took an unnecessary quick throw-in at a line-out in their own half, eventually turning the ball over to No.8 Etonia Saukuru. The big Fijian rumbled the ball deep before a lovely offload to fullback Samuela Taminisau – and a quick return – put Saukuru over in the corner. The missed conversion left Hong Kong leading 20-5.

Hong Kong responded clinically with Slatem’s sniping run releasing Max Denmark who slipped a neat offload to onrushing centre Tyler Spitz. Spitz one-handed the ball back to Slatem who finished with a 40 metre try – Rosslee’s conversion gave Hong Kong a 27-5 lead.

Shortly after the re-start, a disastrous clearance attempt by Malaysia’s veteran captain Syahir Asraf landed right in the hands of Rosslee, who shoveled a quick outlet pass to winger Salom Yiu Kam-shing, who finished off a gift try in the 42nd minute. With Malaysian heads dropping Yiu finished a pretty display of handling to cross over untouched in the corner, pushing Hong Kong’s lead to 39-5.

Prop Jamie Pincott was not to be denied moments later as the big man, who had built a head of steam in his supporting run, found himself in possession and clear space with 20 metres to the line. His try was converted to extend the lead to 46-5, before Conor Hartley added to the damage, taking another looping Rosslee pass to the line for Hong Kong’s eighth score and a 53-5 lead after the extras.

Jack Parfitt scored a second front-rowers’ try before Robbie Keith capped Hong Kong’s scoring at ten tries. Malaysia scored a long-range penalty late on to finish the scoring, 67-8.

“We started slowly but finished strongly,” said coach Leigh Jones after the match. “I’m reasonably happy. With conditions as they were last week we didn’t know what to expect today and it was again difficult to play, but I was pleased with our strike rate. We managed to finish off a lot of tries; there were also a lot of errors that I wouldn’t like to see normally, but I think many of those were down to the conditions.”

“It was a difficult game with the weather and the fact that Malaysiawere looking to slow it down at every opportunity, so it was a bit of a stop-start affair. But I thought it was a very competent second half performance in particular, very professional, and we have come out of it unscathed as well. No injuries today and a few players coming back next week, so we are in a very positive place going into Korea next week,” Jones concluded.

Jones was pleased with the way his bench contributed. “We thought they would add value and they did well. It is a 23-man game, I know it is a cliché, but it is right. I was particularly pleased to see young Max Denmark go. I’m very pleased with his development and it was good to get a chance to look at guys like Jamie Lauder, [who earned his first Hong Kong cap today], off the back of some great club performances this season,” Jones added.

New captain Jamie Cunningham was pleased with the result as well. “I’m really happy with how the boys went today. We held our composure under some real pressure at the start and played some good footy. The ball got away from us at times, but we were able to come back and put some points on the board, which is what we wanted to do.”

Hong Kong v Malaysia:

1. Daniel Barlow, 2. Benjamin Roberts, 3. Dylan Rogers, 4. James Cunningham (Captain), 5. Jamie Pincott, 6. Nicholas Hewson, 7. Toby Fenn, 8. Thomas Lamboley, 9. Liam Slatem, 10. Matthew Rosslee, 11. Max Denmark, 12. Tyler Spitz, 13. Max Woodward, 14. Salom Yiu Kam-Shing, 15. Jack Neville.
Reserves: 16. Alexander Harris, 17. Adam Fullgrabe, 18. Jack Parfitt, 19. Kyle Sullivan, 20. Michael Parfitt, 21. Jamie Lauder, 22. Robert Keith, 23. Conor Hartley.

Additional reporting and images: HKRU, Asia Rugby

First Step Towards Japan 2019 Rugby World Cup

Hong Kong’s men begin their attempt to qualify for the Japan 2019 Rugby World Cup when they kick off their Asia Rugby Championship campaign away to Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur (16.30) on the 5 May.

With Japan already qualified for the World Cup as hosts, this year’s Asia Rugby Championship will be contested by Hong Kong and South Korea (second and third on last season’s table) and Division I champions Malaysia in the home-and-away competition. South Korea beat Malaysia 35-10 in the opening round last weekend to go top of the table.

Hong Kong need to win the Asian Championship outright to advance to the second stage of RWC 2019 qualification, a home-and-away series against Oceania qualifiers Cook Islands. The winner of that series advances to a four-team knockout competition in the final stage of qualification in France in November.

Coach Jones has kept faith with the squad that started Hong Kong’s recent 49-27 warm-up match loss to the University of Waikato Chiefs Development side on 21 April.

“There is an element of ‘we’re not sure’ ahead of this match,” said Jones, “But, we’re going in with good preparation and confident that we can perform and cope with anything that Malaysia can throw at us.”

There’s one change in the forwards and one in the backs for Saturday, with lock Jamie Pincott and up-and-coming winger Max Denmark earning starts. Kyle Sullivan and wing Conor Hartley, both of whom started against the Chiefs Development squad, have moved to the bench for the Malaysia test.

“We have a couple of injuries heading into the campaign but are not making any excuses. We feel that this the best team to start the Asia Rugby Championship and are respecting Malaysia,” added Jones.

“The unknown elements on Saturday are primarily the conditions, which were horrendous last week, and perhaps did not give a fair impression of the quality of the players that were on show from both sides. We are very comfortable going to Malaysia and Korea and hopefully can steal a few wins, which would set us up nicely for a feel-good finish at home,” said Jones.

“We are not looking to get ahead of ourselves and know we have to focus on one game at a time and make sure we are playing to our structures and plans. We are not worrying about the outcomes because if we do we will put some pressure on ourselves that we don’t need,” Jones added.

The match will be live streamed on the HKRU Facebook page.

Hong Kong squad v Malaysia:

Additional reporting and photos: HKRugby