Tag: RWCSevens

Hong Kong Lose World Cup 7s Opener

Hong Kong lost its opening match of the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens, losing 21-7 to Russia.

Debutant Liam Herbert scored in the dying minutes to put Hong Kong on the board late in the game, but the damage had been done in the first half after Russia ran out to a 21-0 lead before halftime after an early brace from Sergei Ianiushkin and a third try late in the half from German Davydov.

Hong Kong put in a much-improved performance in the second half but it was too little too late, and captain Ben Rimene rued his side’s slow start and lack of execution after the match.

“It was a slow start for us. They were up 21-0 at halftime and we had hardly touched the ball in the first half. When we did get the ball we gave it up too easily. With teams like Russia that play at this level all of the time, if you give them the ball they are going to score points and they did,” Rimene added.

The tournament’s knock out format means that Hong Kong will now be contesting the Bowl in San Francisco and will face off against Jamaica who were beaten 50-0 by France in their opening match.

“We are in the bottom half of the tournament now and we have to focus on Jamaica. Our objective now is to get into the top part of the draw come Sunday,” said Rimene.

Tonga will play Chile in the first Bowl quarter final, followed by an all-African affair between Zimbabwe and Uganda, while Papua New Guinea and Uruguay will contest the last Bowl quarter final.

“We need to tighten up our structures for tomorrow,” Rimene added. “We knew what we need to do out there, it was our execution more than anything else that was off.”

Despite being one of six players in the squad that competed in the Rugby World Cup 2019 qualification match against Cook Islands two weeks ago, Rimene didn’t chalk up his sides’ slow start to any off-season rustiness.

“We are professionals and we know what we need to do. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to go from fifteens to sevens, but it’s part of the job and we have to do it.”

Coach Paul John stressed that his team’s ultimate objectives from San Francisco were still valid; possibly even more so, given that Hong Kong may be competing against most of their fellow Bowl competitors in next seasons’ HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series qualifier tournament in Hong Kong.

“Our objective now is to win a few games and try to reach the higher end of the competition.

“We cross over with Jamaica now and they have a lot of good athletes, so we are still playing countries that we want to test ourselves against. Sevens is getting more and more difficult, so it is good to test ourselves against as many teams as possible, especially those we may meet in the World Series qualification tournament in Hong Kong next year,” John said.

Additional reporting and images: HKRU

Hong Kong Head to Rugby 7s World Cup

Hong Kong heads to the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens this weekend. The San Francisco tournament has a slightly different format in that it’s a straight knockout – there are no pool games. Lose and you go home!

Ok that’s not strictly true as in the early games lose and you drop from the Cup to the Bowl/Challenge… It puts teams in a ‘must win’ mode from the first kick-off on Friday when Hong Kong face off against Russia in their first match.

Captain Ben Rimene, fullback Jamie Hood, scrumhalf Cado Lee Ka-to, flanker Toby Fenn and wings Salom Yiu Kam-shing and Max Denmark all return to action after shutting out the Cook Islands in the fifteen-a-side Rugby World Cup 2019 qualification series decider thirteen days ago.

To ease the transition back into sevens, head coach Paul John, who coached Wales to the world title in Dubai in 2009, arranged a training match with Wales earlier this week.  Hong Kong also played in the Amsterdam Sevens and Algarve Sevens earlier this summer as a build up for the world championships.

“It was always going to be a full year for a lot of the players; what with World Cup qualification, the Sevens World Cup, the Asian Games, the Asian Sevens series, and now the final stage of the World Cup repechage upcoming. We knew this was going to be the case,” said John.

“There’s a lot going on, which is exciting for Hong Kong Rugby, but a bit tricky at times. We’ve worked closely with Leigh Jones and the fifteens programme in looking at what takes priority at which times, while trying to maintain our own processes.”

“The boys have done well to get here and it is a great opportunity for us to be in the World Cup. We want to do ourselves justice,” added John.

Three of Hong Kong’s younger elite sevens programme members, Eric Kwok Pak-na, Liam Herbert and Alessandro Nardoni, are in the squad for the World Cup where Nardoni and Herbert will win their first senior sevens caps.

“This is an incredible tournament to be a part of and gives our newer boys an opportunity to play on the big stage. I think if we can relax a bit out there this weekend, they can show a bit of what they have to offer,” John said.

Herbert, Kwok and Nardoni impressed the selectors in Europe earlier this summer according to John. “Liam went away with us to Shandong earlier this year and performed well there. He backed that up in the two tournaments in Europe. He has really impressed in training and has worked really hard,” John continued.

“Alessandro also had two good tournaments in Europe. He has been in the programme for a while but hasn’t had the opportunity to play. He has it this week. Eric’s another player, like Ali, who has just missed out on selection over the last 12 months. He played well when given the opportunity in Europe and he deserves to have a go.”

Two players, former U20s captain Hugo Stiles and experienced campaigner Lee Jones, make welcome returns from injury in the time for the World Cup.

“Hugo is looking like his old self, he is a bit of a livewire as usual. He is really looking forward to it and I’m sure it is nice for him to be back playing at full fitness. He has looked good at training and we are excited to see how he performs.”

“Lee has worked really hard to come back from an Achilles injury in Singapore in 2017. He’s trained well and played well in Shandong and Europe and it is going to be good to have him back,” John added.

Jones and fellow forwards Fenn and Michael Coverdale will be essential in what is expected to be a physical challenge from Russia.

“Russia are a settled team and a World Series team and that makes them a hard prospect. They have threats all over the park from an aggressive running point of view. They are powerful and they will be direct against us, I’m sure,” said John.

“We need to use possession wisely and take our opportunities. We need to finish every possession with as many positives as possible. If we take care of the ball, we will be in with a fighting chance, but it won’t be easy.”

“Hopefully the newer guys can relax and learn from being on this stage, it will be a great development for tournaments that we have coming up,” John added.

The squad is targeting a finish in the upper bracket, which means that they must overcome Russia.

“Before we came we discussed our main objective – to win that first game. That will put us through to the top half or two-thirds of the tournament where we will be playing against the World Series teams, which will be a great preparation for us for the Asian Games.

“If we route to the bottom eight, then our objective is to win a few games and try to reach the higher end of the competition. If we lose, we cross over with Jamaica or France I think; Jamaica have a lot of athletes here and France are on the Series, so it is still playing countries that we need to and want to test ourselves against.

“Sevens is getting more and more difficult, so no matter where we are in the tournament, it will be good to test ourselves against as many teams as possible, especially those we may meet in the World Series qualification tournament in Hong Kong next year,” John said.

Hong Kong Men’s Sevens Squad (Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018)
Ben Rimene (Captain), Salom Yiu Kam-shing, Cado Lee Ka-to, Lee Jones, Toby Fenn, Hugo Stiles, Liam Herbert, Eric Kwok Pak-na, Jamie Hood, Alessandro Nardoni, Michael Coverdale, Max Denmark.

Additional reporting and images: HKRU