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Hong Kong Begin Asia Men’s Rugby Championship Defence in South Korea

Hong Kong begin their defence of the Asia Men’s Rugby Championship against South Korea in Incheon on the 8 June. New head coach Andrew Hall will be looking both to the future and to see how the team can make, what permanently seems a step too far and qualify for the Men’s Rugby World Cup.

Hall’s first selection underlines the fresh feel, with just nine of last year’s squad for the same tie selected, a number that reflects retirements after the repechage and the omission of most of the sevens squad as they prepare for the Asian series and Olympic qualifier later this year.

Three players are set to earn their first caps in Korea: flanker Callum McCullough, fullback Paul Altier and winger Harry Sayers. Sayers and McCullough, Hong Kong born players raised in the United Kingdom and New Zealand respectively, returned to the SAR in 2018 to press their international claims.

Altier, meanwhile, is the poster boy of the HKRU’s development schemes having earned representative honours at every age grade level. The fullback, who will return to his studies at University of Bath in the fall, is the current captain of the U20s squad and will lead that team to the Junior World Trophy later this summer.

All three will look to seize on the opportunities presented in this transitional period, according to Hall, who is keen on rewarding form and players who put their hands up when given chances.

The 25-year old McCullough earns his first cap as, “reward for some really good club form this season and some hard work in his ERP trial,” said Hall, who also noted that McCullough’s height will provide an added benefit in pressurising the Korean line-out.

Sayers will complete his collection of Hong Kong caps by adding a fifteen a-side appearance to his sevens debut last month at the Singapore Sevens.

“Harry is another guy who really took his opportunity well with the sevens this season. He has some real gas, and adds another weapon and a bit of aggression for us on the outside,” said Hall.

“I’m delighted for Paul as well,” added Hall. “He has worked hard and proved himself at every level in our age grade programmes. In our view, he was always the next cab off the rank in terms of being named in the squad by merit, and we have watched him progress for a long while now. It’s hugely pleasing to see a guy like that get a first cap.”

Joining the three newcomers in the squad are several players who have yet to experience Asian international competition – after debuting at last year’s World Cup Repechage, including forwards Grant Kemp and Craig Lodge, and backs Ben Axten-Burrett, Lewis Warner and Bryn Phillips.

Hall reflected on selecting his first squad and the start of a new cycle, saying, “There are all sorts of emotions, really; excitement, for me and the players, and a bit of nerves as well. We have some big shoes to fill, but I have had great support from the coaching team and the last say on this selection, which is exciting.”

“There is a lot of anticipation – from me, the coaches and the players – to get back to the international game. This is our first opportunity since the repechage; we have put that result behind us mentally and it will be good now in an international to really bury that.

“We have an opportunity to put a marker in the sand,” Hall added. “We have had success in Korea the last few years, but it’s never easy and we recognise that. That success has come down to having the right approach, players who are ‘on it’, and executing well. Nothing changes now.

“We have to stop their momentum, that is it. If you give them a sniff of the game, they are extremely difficult to contain.”

The early momentum is already in Korea’s favour after they swept Malaysia and had a week’s rest ahead of Hong Kong. Should they defend home turf, Hong Kong will not be able to afford any miscues over the coming month.

“They are coming into it with two games and two wins under their belts. They are comfortable in their combinations and patterns, and will be very happy with that, so we are going to have to disrupt that and ensure they don’t get into their stride.”

Hong Kong Squad v South Korea (Incheon, 8 June)

1. Ben Higgins, 2. Alex Post, 3. Grant Kemp, 4. Fin Field, 5. Kyle Sullivan, 6. James Cunningham, 7. Callum McCullugh, 8. Kane Boucaut, 9. Liam Slatem (Captain), 10. Jack Neville, 11. Conor Hartley, 12. Matt Rosslee, 13. Ben Axten-Burrett, 14. Harry Sayers, 15. Paul Altier, 16. Dayne Jans, 17. Dan Barlow, 18. Jack Parfitt, 19. Craig Lodge, 20. Cris Pierrepoint, 21. Bryn Phillips, 22. Lewis Warer, 23, Rob Keith.

Additional reporting and images HKRU

Asia Rugby Announces Gender Equality Naming

It might seem like a small change, but Asia Rugby’s announcement of a new naming structure for all of their tournaments is a massive step towards gender equity awareness.

From 1 July 2019 onwards, each Asia Ruby tournament will be specifically named either a Men’s or Women’s competition. For example the existing Asia Rugby Championship will now become the Asia Rugby Men’s Championship, sitting alongside the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship.

In addition, the Asia Rugby Sevens Series will now become the Asia Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, played across three rounds alongside the Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Series.

The move is aimed to further emphasise the equal nature of both men and women in Asia and in Asian rugby.

Asia Rugby EXCO member Ada Milby spoke about the importance of this announcement. “This is an announcement that highlights where we are as a region. We felt that as part of the efforts to promote gender equity, it was an easy decision to provide parity in the naming structure for our competitions, said Milby. “We’re really proud to be the first regional association to make this announcement.”

EXCO member Herman Huang of Chinese Taipei added “In Asia Rugby gender inclusion is a priority.” Almost 40% of the region’s players are female and rugby’s popularity in Asia is still growing.

The decision that was approved by Asia Rugby EXCO and Council during the meetings in Chinese Taipei where the word Championship was dropped from all but the top level of men’s and women’s competitions.

Full Competition Naming Structure From 1 July

The Asia Rugby Women’s Championship
The Asia Rugby Men’s Championship
Asia Rugby Men’s Sevens Series
Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Series
Asia Rugby Men’s Sevens Trophy
Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Trophy

Asia Rugby Women’s 7s Qualification Tournament for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo in 2020
Asia Rugby Men’s 7s Qualification Tournament for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo in 2020

Asia Rugby Under 20 Men’s Sevens
Asia Rugby Under 20 Women’s Sevens
Asia Rugby Under 18 Boys Sevens
Asia Rugby Under 18 Girls Sevens
The Asia Rugby Under 19 Men’s Championship
Asia Rugby Under 19 Men’s Division 1 and 2
Asia Rugby Women’s Divisions 1 and 2
Asia Rugby Men’s Divisions 1, 2 and 3

Additional reporting and images: Asia Rugby

Ireland Too Good for Hong Kong

Ireland secured a place as a core team on the World Rugby Sevens Series 2020 by beating Hong Kong in the final of the men’s annual world series qualifier.

After three days of action, Anthony Eddy’s side proved to be worthy winners as they finished up with a comfortable 28-7 win in the competition-decider.

The victory in front of a packed, 40,000 strong crowd at the Hong Kong Stadium means Ireland will become one of the 15 core teams contesting the 10-round world series.

In the final Ireland struck first through Harry McNulty and captain Billy Dardis added the conversion. It gave them a spring in their step and an excellent angled run from O’Shea delivered their second just before half-time. A second successful conversion put them 14 points up before they extended that out to 21.

Hong Kong responded when Ireland went down to six men following a yellow card but Terry Kennedy’s converted try created a 28-7 advantage. As the time went into the red, the home side continued to battle but Ireland’s gutsy defence held firm and the players cried tears of joy as the full-time whistle sounded.

“We’re just delighted with this,” said captain Dardis after the full-time whistle. “It’s been a long and hard road. I think that we all just stood on the pitch there and couldn’t move. We’re just speechless. It’s class! It won’t sink in for a couple of weeks.”

This time last year, Ireland were knocked out at the semi-final stage by eventual winners Japan but went on to have a head-turning season.

The side played as the invitational team at the London and Paris rounds in the 2018 world series and took home a bronze medal from London. They won 23 of their 24 matches across the Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series and at this all-important qualifying competition showed their strength and quality.

Ireland were housed in Pool F alongside Jamaica, Uruguay and Russia. The first day saw them comprehensively beat the Reggae Crocs 26-0 before starting strongly against Los Teros Sevens.

A 26-7 lead over Uruguay was clawed back though and had Tomas Ubilla not missed the final conversion attempt, a loss would have been recorded. Ireland used the overnight break to refocus and returned to record back-to-back wins over Russia on day two.

The first 33-7 victory completed their pool campaign before a statement quarter-final result followed. A 47-0 victory in the last-eight included braces from Jordon Conroy, O’Shea and Kennedy and created a last-four meeting with Germany.

The semi-final was a clash of the titans as both sides gave it absolutely everything. Although Anthony Eddy’s outfit led 5-0 at the break they went 10-5 down in the second half.

Despite the high stakes, Ireland kept their composure and worked a team try with just over a minute to go. Captain Dardis was the try-scorer and his monster conversion pushed them 12-10 in front. The cherry on top arrived after they secured the final kick-off and Conroy carried two German defenders over the line with him. Dardis again converted for a 19-10 victory.

Having earned their place on the World Rugby Sevens Series 2020, Ireland can now look forward to playing at the top level of rugby sevens ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Ireland will aim for Olympic qualification when the European regional qualification tournament takes place in Colomiers, France on 13-14 July, 2019.

World Rugby recently announced a new-look men’s and women’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series which includes at least six combined events, as the women’s series increases to eight rounds for the first time in its history over the next four-year cycle. Dubai, Cape Town, New Zealand, Sydney, Hong Kong and Paris will host combined men’s and women’s sevens events from next season onwards as part of the next four-year world series hosting cycle.

Additional reporting and images: World Rugby

Brazil Win Hong Kong Women’s 7s Qualifier

Brazil win promotion to the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series 2020 after beating Scotland in the final of the world series qualifier in Hong Kong.

After two days of thrilling action, head coach Reuben Samuel’s side finished up as 28-19 winners over a strong Scottish outfit, scoring 120 points in six games at the 12-team tournament.

The final between the two confident sides was a game of cat and mouse in the first half. Scott Forrest’s Scotland scored first before ‘Las Yarras’ from Brazil held a slender 7-5 lead at the interval. Brazil went behind again early in the second half after Rhona Lloyd capitalised from the restart but a potent period followed.

Bianca dos Santos Silva raced away from Lloyd before Thalia da Silva Costa extended their lead again with four minutes left on the clock. It was a lead that they would not relinquish.

“It’s a little indescribable but we worked really, really hard for this. We just told ourselves to do everything we’ve been training to do and we finally did it,” said vice-captain Isadora Cerullo after the full-time whistle.

“It’s an amazing feeling. I’m incredibly proud, not just of the 12 players at the tournament because we’re a much bigger group than that. We’re looking to build even more, bring in a lot of new players and show everyone that our programme is growing and that we deserve to be back on the world circuit.”

Brazil’s route to the final saw them march out of day one unbeaten and hitting the quarter-finals at pace. A last-eight meeting with Kazakhstan commenced the second day and it marked their second encounter with Valerii Popov’s side in the same number of days.

After a narrow 14-12 victory in the pool stage, Las Yarras dominated and made no mistake at the second time of asking. A 21-5 victory was the result and it booked a semi-final match-up against Kenya. In the final four, they continued to be precise with their work, moving the ball well to their speedsters, and their clinical finishing helped them on their way to a 17-5 win.

Additional reporting and image: World Rugby