Japan Thrash Error Prone Hong Kong 58-0

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Hong Kong’s Asian Rugby Championship campaign got off to a disastrous and error prone start with a 58-0 loss to Japan in the first of the two-match series in Odarawa.

From the outset, the Sakura dominated the set piece and contact area in a clinical performance that caused real problems for Hong Kong coach Jo Hull’s squad. Japan jumped out to a 22-0 lead, and claimed the bonus point for scoring four tries, in the opening 25 minutes. The Sakura went on to score ten tries in total, five on either side of half time.

“It was a disappointing performance obviously, but fair play tothem, they came out hard and fast and dominated in all areas really,” said Hull.

“We played some okay rugby in parts and forced them into some mistakes defensively, but we let ourselves down, particularly at the contact area, and our set piece is underperforming at the moment,which is hurting us,” Hull added.

“We are bitterly disappointed, but no one is feeling sorry for themselves in that locker room. We know we had a bad day at the office. We need to learn from that and also put it behind us now,” said Hull.

“Collectively, we need to look inward, and ask ourselves what weare going to do as a team, as the entire squad including the girls at home, for next week. That is my challenge to the players the management, to everyone,” Hull said.

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For Hull, the side now has an important opportunity to test it’s mettle for the last time in a match environment ahead of the world cup next month.

“We have seven days before our next test, so we need to review and get back to work on what we need to get right. That will be a good preparation for us for the World Cup, where we are going to have to be able to contest back-to-back tough matches,” added Hull.

“We are a month out from our biggest ever challenge and the players are aware that today was an unacceptable performance when we are wearing the Hong Kong jersey, but it doesn’t change what we are doing, or our belief in ourselves, our training and what we are working on. This is another opportunity now for us to get better,” said Hull.

Hong Kong’s best passage of play came early in the second half after reverting to a forward-heavy pick and roll style, but lost out on their best opportunity to add points and gather some momentum after a knock-on on the try-line.

Other than that, it was heavy going for the visitors, but Hull did take some positives from the encounter: “We exposed more players to this level and tried out some new combinations. That ability to get players this experience is a massive plus for us. If we continue to play the same girls, we risk taking a very limited squad in terms of our experience to Ireland,” noted Hull.

“BB Lee [Tsz-ting] played well at fly-half today. Her kicking game was very good and she managed the ball well despite being under pressure,” Hull added.

Hull was also pleased to see the subs bench make an impact, including 18-year old Kelsie Bouttle who earned her first cap.

“She did well; it’s tough for an 18 year old to debut in that scenario: being away versus Japan and coming on with a big deficit, but she showed composure and had some good ball in hand moments.”

Hull also complimented Rose Hopewell-Fong who came on for the second half and contributed to the positive start after the break by pairing well with captain Adrienne Garvey in the centre, before dropping back to fullback as positional cover.

“Rosie did well in a tough spot after coming on at 12 but having to move back, I think she showed how she has matured as a player today.

“We’ll continue to make changes this week to expose more players and combinations. My challenge to the team is to come back and show how we are going to collectively regroup and move forward,” said Hull.

Hong Kong v Japan
Date: 6pm, 15 July, 2017
Venue: King’s Park
Tickets: Free

Additional reporting: HKRugby
Photos: Japan RugbyToru Ikegami

Hong Kong Set for Asian Women’s Rugby Championships

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Ahead of their historic first appearance at the Rugby World Cup in Ireland in August, Hong Kong’s women’s rugby team will face Japan in a home and away series to decide the Asia Rugby Championship.

The matches on 8 July in Japan and 15 July at King’s Park are the teams final competitive warm-ups. “These games are a great opportunity as they come so close to the World Cup” said Hong Kong coach Jo Hull.

In announcing her squad for the away match (8 July, kick-off at 11 am HK time) Hull has given National Age Grade graduate Kelsie Bouttle a chance to earn her first cap after a standout season for League and Grand Championship winners Valley. There’s also a return for some of the side’s senior campaigners in centre Adrienne Garvey, who will captain the team in Japan, and flanker Christine Gordon.

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“It is a bit of a different squad,” confirmed Hull, who hailed the team’s, “good mix of experience. It is great to have Rocky [Garvey] and Chrissie [Gordon] back, and we are excited to be able to blood another new cap in Kelsie, along with the first-timers who went to Spain.”

“We are using this opportunity to look at a few different starters and combinations, like Lindsay Varty at scrumhalf and ‘BB’ [Lee Tsz-ting] at ten. We think that could be an exciting combination as both are playing well at the moment.”

“The selection reflects our preparations for the World Cup, which is our only focus at the moment. Everything we’re doing is building towards being ready for the first match against Canada next month,” Hull said.

The match also represents another opportunity for the players who made their Hong Kong debuts against Spain in Valladolid last month – and although the squad’s focus is fully on Dublin in August, Hull is demanding results from her side in the Asian Championships.

“This is international rugby and we are representing Hong Kong, so results matter. We started to close the gap over the week against Spain and now we need to do that against Japan.”

Hong Kong lost it’s last outing against Japan in December’s World Cup Qualifier, 20-8, improving on 39-3 and 30-8 losses in last spring’s Asian Championships.

“This is a big test of our progress for the World Cup,” said Hull. “There has been a clear message to the girls selected about accountability and we’re putting a premium on efficiency and accuracy. Each game is about getting us one step closer to how we want to play on the world stage.”

“While the squad has really come into their own over the past six months, at this stage of the campaign, there are no second chances. The players have to be accountable, plain and simple. They know and accept that.” Hull warned.

Both Hong Kong and Japan advanced from December’s triangular World Cup Qualifier to their first ever World Cups at fifteen-a-side. Since then Japan have also been busy preparing, splitting matches against Wales and Ireland in June.

“Japan have had some good results and they should be proud of themselves. They are a good team and are very disciplined. To put them off their game we need to start fast and get into the mix early on. That fits with our objectives for the Rugby World Cup, to play much faster and be more efficient on the pitch, particularly in the contact area and set piece.”

“We really saw how important those things are in Spain and we will be looking to make improvements from our tour last month,” Hull concluded.

Hong Kong for Women’s Asia Rugby Championship 2017:

1. LAU Nga-wun (Gai Wu), 2. Royce CHAN Leong-sze (HKFC), 3 WONG Yuen-shan (USRC Tigers/EdUHK), 4. CHAN Ka-yan (Gai Wu), 5. TSANG Sin Yan (Kowloon) 6. Christine GORDON (Kowloon), 7. CHAN Tsz-ching (Tai Po Dragons/HKBU), 8. Amelie SEURE (Valley, vice-captain), 9. Lindsay VARTY (USRC Tigers), 10. LEE Tsz-ting (Gai Wu/HKBU), 11. LAU Sze-wa (Valley), 12. Rebecca THOMPSON (Valley), 13. Adrienne GARVEY (Valley, captain), 14. Laurel CHOR Lik-fung (Valley), 15. Aggie POON Pak-yan (Gai Wu), RESERVES: 16. HO Hoi-lam (Gai Wu), 17. CHEUNG Shuk-han (Valley), 18. PUN Wai-yan (Gai Wu/EdUHK), 19. Winnie SIU Wing-ni (USRC Tigers), 20. TSANG Sin-yan (Kowloon), 21. HO Jessica Wai-on (USRC Tigers), 22. Rose HOPEWELL-FONG Siu-lan (HKFC), 23. Kelsie BOUTTLE (Valley/ICHK).

Additional reporting: HK Rugby

Spain 41-18 Hong Kong

Spain beat Hong Kong 41-18 in the one-off Valladolid test as a disastrous start by the visitors saw the hosts establish a matching winning lead in the first quarter and lead 22-0 inside 30 minutes.

“That start was disappointing as we had talked a lot about how we needed to get at them early,” said coach Jo Hull. “We knew Spain would come out of the gate hard and we wanted to strangle them and prevent them from getting any momentum. We weren’t able to achieve that, unfortunately, but we did well to claw our way back into it.”

“Most importantly, we saw significant improvement from game one to two which was our main objective from the tour,” Hull added.

A gritty effort – led by the determined defence of flanker Cheng Ching-to and the inspired attack of winger Aggie Poon Pak-yan, saw Hong Kong claw its way back into the game in a more evenly contested second half.

Poon scored all of Hong Kong’s points, opening her account with a penalty in the 33rd minute to bring the half-time score to 22-3.

In the second half, the match opened up even further, with Spain starting the scoring in the 46th minute with a try to extend their lead to 29-3.

Hong Kong gained in confidence as the match wore on and were rewarded for their resiliency in the 51st minute when Poon, showing her skills, turned the corner on the Spanish defence to dash away for a forty-five metre try.

Poon’s try finished off a perfectly executed planned move that started from a scrum on the far side of the pitch. The ball passed cleanly though five pairs of hands in the back-line before Poon spotted the gap. Poon’s conversion of her own try edged Hong Kong back into the match at 29-10. Minutes later, another Hong Kong foray was rewarded, with a penalty, which Poon slotted to narrow the gap further 29-13.

Spain pushed right back with a barnstorming attack, throwing the ball around with abandon as they went 80 metres before creating a massive overlap on Hong Kong’s try-line to cross over for their sixth score and a 36-13 lead.

Moments later, Spain scored a final, fortuitous try to widen the margin to 41 points, leaving Hong Kong in danger of conceding a bigger loss than the 49-12 Madrid test defeat in 2015.

But Hong Kong re-grouped to marshal a final attack on the Spanish line and Poon stepped up once again, collecting a well-timed pass from fullback Colleen Tjosvold to dash 25 metres dragging three defenders across the line for a second try. Poon’s conversion was unsuccessful leaving the final score at 41-18.

Hull said before the tour that one of the goals of the trip was to expose the squad to more high-intensity matches and Hong Kong certainly experienced that as Spain were relentless in attack.

“Our tactical kicking still wasn’t good enough today,” said Hull. “We let them play too much rugby and we let their nine and ten get too involved. There were periods that we managed their pressure well, but our challenge now is to turn that 50 minutes into 80 minutes. But, overall, it was an improved performance against a much stronger side than the mid-week game.”

“We were more accurate in our attack and we had less handling and unforced errors, despite a big increase in the intensity of the game, so I’m pleased with that,” said Hull.

“This experience will absolutely hold us in good stead. Since we left this group has shown significant improvement and we have capped five new players on tour, which is vital for us in extending our squad ahead of the World Cup,” concluded Hull.

The squad returns to Hong Kong on Monday to prepare for the upcoming Asia Rugby Championship series with Japan in July.

Additional reporting and images: HK Rugby

Hong Kong Ready for Spain Test

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Jo Hull, Hong Kong’s coach, has named a strong squad for the one-off test match against Spain, currently ranked seventh in the world.

Two years ago Spain beat Hong Kong 49-12, with the World Cup two months away the match is an important indicator of the squads recent development.

“We’re still experimenting to some degree with our combinations, but we’ve gone with our strongest team against what we’re anticipating will be a much more experienced Spanish side,” said Hull.

“They played a lot of new players mid-week and we’re expecting more of their experienced players to play on Saturday, particularly in the forwards,” Hull noted.

That could be problematic for Hong Kong, who struggled mightily in the scrum on Tuesday. “Spain bullied us a bit so we need to use our strengths to our advantage and manage games against those bigger teams. We have to stop their ball carriers and bring them to ground early and we have to be able to live with that pressure for a full 80 minutes,” said Hull.

“We panicked a bit under pressure on Tuesday. We aren’t going to score from our own half against world class teams so we need to play smarter and use territory much better,” Hull added.

Rose Hopewell-Fong at fly-half will look to impose more control in those areas. While Chloe Mak Ho-yee hopes to ask more questions of the Spanish defence. “We’re giving Chloe the start as she offers something a bit different. While Rosie has that experience in controlling a match, Chloe will help us speed things up a bit,” Hull said.

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Hull has also turned to an experienced backline with all of the outside backs coming from Hong Kong’s sevens squad, including Ivy Kwong and the hard-running Natasha Olson-Thorne in the centres.

Chong Ka-yan’s performance in Tuesday’s friendly has earned her a start on the wing with Aggie Poon Pak-yan, while Colleen Tjosvold, who scored all of Hong Kong’s points in the opener, retains her spot at fullback.

“It’s an experienced backline, but they need to perform and to step-up really. We’re disappointed that we didn’t capitalize on our opportunities on Tuesday. We had two or three scoring chances that we squandered and we’ve given them a chance to put that right on Saturday,” Hull added.

In the forwards, Lau Nga-wun, Lee Ka-shun and Karen So will start in the front row with captain Chow Mei-nam forming a locking partnership with Tsang Sin-yan, who impressed on her senior debut earlier in the week. Vice captain Amelie Seure anchors the pack at No.8 with ball-fetcher Cheng Ching-to and Winnie Siu, another senior debutant earlier this week, on the flanks.

“Winnie was dynamic on Tuesday and we need a similar performance from her. Sin-yan earned her first cap by putting in a lot of work in the warm-up match. She hit a huge amount of rucks and was very effective around the pitch. Shedid the work we need our tight five to do – those unsung hero roles.”

Already conceding significant size to their opponents, the pack will have its work cut out for it as Spain are likely to field more of its veteran forwards, battle hardened from numerous matches against Women’s Six nations sides.

“We need to keep hold of the ball. We had too many turnovers on Tuesday, both forced and unforced. We also need to get our kicking game right and ensure we’re playing in the right areas,” said Hull.

Saturday’s test is an important step in Hong Kong’s build-up to its first ever Rugby World Cup appearance and the squad understands what is on the line.

“The girls are actually hugely disappointed with Tuesday’s performance. We’ve received a lot of messages from home, a lot of congratulations on the score, but the girls are setting a higher goal.”

“Our message this week has been about earning the right to play. This is our first international step towards the World Cup. We aren’t treating this like a normal tour, our only objective and ambition is to get better. No matter how well we do, we can’t be satisfied until we know our performance is where it needs to be, at World Cup level,” Hull added.

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Hong Kong squad v Spain (3 June 2017)

1. LAU Nga-wun, 2. Karen SO, 3. LEE Ka-shun, 4. TSANG Sin-yan, 5. CHOW Mei-nam (captain) 6. CHENG Ching-to, 7. Winnie SIU, 8. Amelie SEURE (vice capt), 9. MAK Ho-yee, 10. Rose HOPEWELL-FONG, 11. CHONG Ka-yan, 12. KWONG Sau-yan 13. Natasha OLSON-THORNE, 14. Aggie POON Pak-yan, 15. Colleen TJOSVOLD (vice capt). 16. Royce CHAN Leong-sze, 17. HO Hoi-lam, 18. PUN Wai-yan, 19. CHEUNG Shuk-hang, 20. Eunice LAI Ming-yan, 21. Lindsay VARTY, 22. LEE Tsz-ting, 23. Laurel CHOR

Photos : JFS Rugby Photography
Additional reporting: HK Rugby

Women’s International Friendly: Spain 19-8 Hong Kong

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Spain’s 19-8 victory in the warm-up match ahead of the 3 June test represents a significant improvement for Hong Kong’s women on their 2015 tour results when Spain scored 50+ points in both matches, but coach Jo Hull has warned her squad that it is not enough.

“If you compare that result to 2015, it was a much, much better performance, but honestly we are a bit disappointed, as we could have won that game,” said Hull. “We trailed 12-8 through 70 minutes and let ourselves down at times with some poor defensive efforts, including giving away a cheap try at the end of the game. The message we gave the girls after the game was that we have got to set our standard higher and have the belief that we are here to win these games and not just survive them.”

Hong Kong blunted the Spanish attack with a good rush defence and some strong loose forward play. The most visible blots on the copybook were Hong Kong’s performance in the scrum – Spain repeatedly dismantled Hong Kong’s pack, a few patchy periods on defence and an inability to alleviate pressure in their own half.

Spain’s dominance in the scrum will be a worry for Hull as she prepares her side for Saturday’s game: “It’s hard to get anything going when your scrum is going backwards like it did, so that is something that we will be focusing a lot on in the coming days, as well as our ability to get out from under pressure and play more rugby outside of our territory,” said Hull.

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On the positive side of the ledger, Hull was pleased to have had an opportunity to give all of her debut players a run-out. “We had five players making their senior debut, many of whom played well and will be involved in the World Cup. That is good as we need to expand that base and can’t rely on the same old players to keep stepping up. We were also able to try out some different players in different positions, like having a very young fly-half in BB [Lee Tsz-ting] on the pitch,” added Hull.

Spain jumped out to a 5-0 lead after a frenetic first ten minutes when they dominated possession and territory and were able to bring their physical advantage in the forwards into play with repeated short passes and carries by their towering loose forward trio. That pressure told in the 8th minute when the Spanish flanker crashed over for a try from a tap penalty close to the Hong Kong line.

After weathering the early pressure, Hong Kong’s belief grew and the capitalized on their first scoring opportunity when Colleen Tjosvold slotted home a penalty after Spain was pinged for off-side.

Spain replied three minutes later with a second try, this time coming through the backline as the hosts capitalised on a defensive lapse to score an easy try between the centres.

The heavy rain took it’s toll with both sides playing each other to a standstill as the scores stood at 12-8 at half-time. The stalemate continued deep into the second half with both sides liberally using their benches as they examined options and combinations ahead of Saturday’s test.

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Spain were the only side to score in the second half as they turned possession into points in the 74th minute with a second try from their open-side flanker.

Outside of the scrum, Hong Kong’s line-out was strong and the forward pack proved the equal of their opposition in the loose play, with the starting back row of match captain Amelie Seure at No.8 and Cheng Ching-to and Chan Tsz-ching, on her Hong Kong debut, putting in a strong performance.

Hull also had opportunities to debut a new lock pairing in Tsang Sin-yan and Eunice Lai Ming-yan and blooded all five of her uncapped players with Laurel Chor starting on the wing and prop Pun Wai-yan coming on as a substitute for the injured Lee Ka-shun late in the first half.

“Both locks played really well, as did Chan Tsz-ching. She was very physical and did a good job. In the backs, Chong Ka-yan was strong in both attack and defence and Colleen [Tjosvold, who scored all of Hong Kong’s points with a try and a penalty], was a standout. She really stepped up her game,” said Hull.

Saturday will now be a test of resolve for Hong Kong as they come up against the full Spanish national team, currently ranked seventh in the world. In 2015 Spain found another gear in the test match, which they won 59-12. Hull understands that a backlash may be coming and will be focusing the squad on that likelihood:

“The first match was an eye-opener for both teams. Spain will make some changes and I expect to see more of their senior players on Saturday. I am sure that they will want to be even more physical and it will be crucial for us to stop them from getting a good start and building any early momentum.

“Yes, we have made progress since 2015, but now there is a risk that we sit back and are content with that. We know that we are not good enough for the World Cup right now and I am interested to see how the squad responds to that in the test,” Hull concluded.

Photos : JFS Rugby Photography

Additional reporting: HK Rugby

Hong Kong Women Tour Spain Ahead of World Cup

Hong Kong set off for Spain today as preparations continue for the World Cup in August. Coach Jo Hull’s 26-woman squad will play two matches, the first a warm-up game on 30 May and the second an official test match on 3 June.

The tour comes 18 months after Hong Kong’s first Spanish visit, which at the time was the national team’s first tour outside of Asia. The squad includes 14 returning members from that tour. Hong Kong lost both matches, giving Hull an important benchmark against which to gauge her side’s development ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in July.

“Our first tour to Spain was a real eye-opener for the team to play at that level against a World Cup calibre team. We chose Spain for that reason. They’re a mid-tier World Cup team, they aren’t in our pool and they will definitely give us a good match. They play a sevens-style game but also are strong in contact and in the offload. They’re very similar to what we can expect from the teams in our pool at the World Cup,” said Hull.

The squad includes 14 forwards and 12 backs with five of the squad in line to make their Hong Kong senior debuts: Agnes Chan Tsz-ching, Eunice Lai Ming Yan, Tsang Sin Yan, Pun Wai Yan and Laurel Chor Lik Fung.

Hong Kong prop Lee Ka-shun carries the ball with support from captain Chow Mei-nam

Spain are an experienced side, regularly competing in European competition and frequently playing teams from the Women’s Six Nations competition. They edged Scotland to qualify for the Women’s Rugby World Cup.

“We are under no illusions ahead of this tour,” said Hull, “Spain have a mature programme that has been running for a long time now and is clearly successful in both sevens and fifteens. We know that they will come at us hard, which is absolutely what we want out of this tour.”

The coaching team have some clear objectives for the Tour: “The biggest thing is to continue to implement what we have been working on in training, especially our efforts to play a higher-tempo game. We managed that a bit against Fiji and Japan in the World Cup qualifiers last December and are looking for the team to make strides in this area in Spain.

“We’ve been working hard on our fitness and our efficiency at the set piece and that is what we will be putting to the test in Spain.”

With some key players left out of the Tour, including sevens captain Christy Cheng Ka-chi and hard-tackling centre Adrienne Garvey, Hull noted that the selection for Spain is another important opportunity to look at the players in the wider training squad.

“We’re using Spain as another opportunity to look at several players to see what they can offer. Across the squad, we’re looking for those multi-functional players who are able to play more than one position to get the best players on the pitch at the same time.”

For Hull, the tour provides an excellent opportunity to prepare for the even bigger challenges that await at the 12-team World Cup where Hong Kong is pooled with Canada, New Zealand and Wales.

“The biggest thing for us is to get to the World Cup having been able to say that we’ve done everything we could in terms of our build-up, both in games and training, with a focus on quality and not just quantity.

“We’ll continue to assess as we go, with an aim of trying to stretch our players as much as we can. We aren’t expecting or demanding a complete performance by any means. Spain is another step on our journey to the World Cup,” added Hull.

Hong Kong Squad for Spain Tour

Chow Mei Nam (Captain), Royce Chan Leong Sze, Chan Tsz Ching, Cheng Ching To, Cheung Shuk Han, Ho Hoi Lam, Lai Ming Yan, Lau Nga Wun, Lee Ka Shun, Pun Wai Yan, Amelie Seure, Winnie Siu Wing Ni, Karen So Hoi Ting, Tsnag Sin Yan, Chong Ka Yan, Laurel Chor Lik Fung, Jessica Ho Wai On, Rose Hopewell-Fong Siu Lan, Kwong Sau Ran, Lee Tsz Ting, Mak Ho Yee, Natasha Olson-Thorne, Poon Pak Yan, Rebecca Thompson, Colleen Tjosvold, Lindsay Varty.

Additional reporting and images: HKRugby

HKWR7s – Hong Kong 15-10 Belgium @ So Kon Po – 6 April, 2017

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Hong Kong’s last game of the Womens Rugby Sevens 2017, and finally a win 15-10 over Belgium who topped the group. Another tournament of untaken opportunities for the home team…
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