Hong Kong National Women’s Rugby Sevens claim Plate in Asian Championships

[Hong Kong, 3 October 2011] The Hong Kong National Women’s Rugby Sevens Squad were named the Plate winners in the 2011 Asian Rugby Women’s Sevens Championships in Pune, India yesterday.

Royce Chan, who has captained the sevens squad for the past few years, said, “We started the tournament well in the pool games though we made a few mistakes and lost to Kazakhstan. It was a little disappointing to have lost to Japan in the cup quarter final when we had a chance to come back with a second try in the second half. In the plate semi-finals, we corrected our mistakes and played pretty well against India, as well as beating Chinese Taipei in the plate final to claim the title.”

“We followed the new game plan confidently,” Royce added, “However there were quite a few critical moments that we did not handle them well during the tournament and I believe that is what the management team will need to work on with the squad.”

Senior Coach Kane Jury commented, “Against Kazakhstan and Japan gave the team too much momentum and let in some easy tries. By the start of the second half we found ourselves playing catch up rugby. And both games we won the second half and kept them scoreless.”

“The team know where we currently stand in Asian rugby,” Kane continued, “The coaching staff need to work hard with the players and put their skills under pressure at training. This is something we didn't do enough of with them. We hope to see improvements in the future.”

RESULTS

China were crowned the Champions this year. A total of 12 participating teams competed for the championships and Hong Kong played Kazakhstan, India and Korea in Pool B. Other teams included China, Singapore, Malaysia and Iran in Pool A, and Thailand, Japan, Chinese Taipei and Laos in Pool C.

Varty captains men’s rugby sevens to Borneo in search for a win to secure first place in the series;

Jury expects women’s to fight back hard

[Hong Kong, 20 September 2011] The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU) announced the men’s and women’s rugby sevens squads for the Borneo Sevens this weekend, the second leg of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series.

Captain Rowan Varty will lead team and look at winning the Borneo Sevens and securing first place in the Series. Forward Nick Hewson will win his first sevens cap for Hong Kong. The squad named for the tournament also sees scrumhalf Tim Alexander recalled. He will take the place of Peter McKee while Hewson comes in for the injured Pale Tauti.

“Although this is his first sevens tournament for Hong Kong, Nick will give us an extra physical presence in the forwards while Tim is an experienced campaigner,” said Hong Kong national coach Dai Rees.

After the disappointing loss in sudden death extra time to South Korea in the Shanghai Sevens final, Rees will be hoping the squad can bounce back and win the tournament which is the final ranking event in the series.

“There is everything to play for. Our aim is to clinch the number one spot in Asia but to achieve this we have to be focused through both days of the tournament. We need a clinical performance in the opening games to ensure we get to the final.” Rees added.

Women’s senior coach Kane Jury believed the team would make a comeback and fight hard in the tournament. “The team came back from Shanghai with a realisation that we could compete with the top Asian teams,” Jury said, “We found areas of our game which we would need to work on and developed a game plan to play to our strengths. Some new players have come into the squad and are excited to be involved on the weekend. They will add some new dimensions to how we want to play and the team are determined to improve from Shanghai.”

Men’s Squad: Rowan Varty (captain), Nick Hewson, Mark Goosen, Kwok Ka-chun, Anthony Haynes, Tsang Hing-hung, Fan Shun-kei, Tim Alexander, Alex McQueen, Keith Robertson, Tom McQueen, Yiu Kam-shing.

Women’s Squad: Chan Leong-sze Royce (captain), Amelie Seure, Becky Underwood, Cheng Ka-chi Christy, Cheng Tsz-ting, Christine Gordon, Colleen Tjosvold, Fiona Foxon, Lai Pou-fan, Natasha Olson-Thorne, Poon Pak-yan, Daniella Means.

Varty and Chan captain men’s and women’s squads to Shanghai Sevens

[25 August 2011] Barnstorming backrower Pale Tauti was one of two new faces in the Hong Kong squad which departed this morning for the Shanghai Sevens, the opening leg of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series this weekend.

Tauti, who had an outstanding debut campaign for Hong Kong at the Asian Five Nations this year, and livewire scrumhalf Peter McKee are the two newcomers in a 12-strong squad which will be captained by Rowan Varty.

Flanker Mark Goosen will also return after an absence of two years, time spent acquiring his wings as a pilot, to join a team which will have a number of old faces, including Keith Robertson, Salom Yiu Kam-shing and Kwok Ka-chun.

“The core of the squad remains but the addition of Pale (Tauti) and Pete (McKee) will give more strength in depth making the competition for places stronger than ever,” said Hong Kong National Coach Dai Rees.

The absence of Mark Wright, who is still recovering from a shoulder injury, has resulted in the captaincy being awarded to Varty whose years of experience will help him lead the side competently.

Also out with injury are backs Jamie Hood and Ed Haynes, both carrying shoulder problems, forward Simon Leung (hand) and scrumhalf Tim Alexander (hip). Utility Sebastian Perkins is also unavailable as he is at Oxford University.

Twelve women’s rugby sevens players, captained by Royce Chan, also flew to Shanghai this morning. Senior coach Kane Jury, who was touring with the squad as the coach for the first time, felt excited about the tournament, saying, “This is the first leg of the Asian Sevens Series and our core players are available and in good condition. With a new addition of Colleen and a young bright star Natasha, both playing for DeA, and the return of Lindsay, we’re confident that we can achieve good results.”

Pool games start on Saturday with Men’s taking on Mongolia and Malaysia, while Women’s taking on China, Kazakhstan and Thailand.

Hong Kong Men’s Squad:

Anthony Haynes (HKCC), Tsang Hing-hung (DeA), Kwok Ka-chun (DeA), Mark Goosen (Kowloon), Pale Tauti (DeA), Fan Shun-kei (DeA), Peter McKee (HKFC), Keith Robertson (DeA), Rowan Varty , Captain (DeA), Alex McQueen (HKCC),  Salom You Kam-shing (Valley), Tom McQueen (Valley)

Hong Kong Women’s Squad:

Becky Underwood (Valley), Chan Ho-ting (CWB), Chan Leong-sze Royce, Captain (HKFC), Cheng Tsz-ting (Gai Wu), Christine Gordon (Aberloon), Colleen Tjosvold (DeA), Lai Pou-fan (DeA), Lindsay Varty (DeA), Man Po-kei (DeA), Natasha Olson-Thorne (DeA), Samantha Scott (Valley), Sham Wai-Sum (Gai Wu)

Hong Kong Rugby Football Union Announce Men’s and Women’s Rugby Sevens Squad

[Hong Kong, March 19 2011]  The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU) today announced the men’s and women’s rugby sevens squad.  The announcement was made in association with UBS, principal sponsor of the HKRFU and National Team  since 1996. 

The squads were revealed at a special function held for UBS and its clients and families at the Hong Kong Football Club, site of the Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens. The teams announced will be participating in the upcoming Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens (March 25 – 27, 2011) and the Cable&Wireless Worldwide Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens (March 25, 2011). 

Mr T Brian Stevenson, SBS, President of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union was in attendance along with Mr Allen Lo, Country Head and Chief Executive of UBS Hong Kong.

“I am extremely proud to report that our teams have achieved remarkable success in the past few months; the men recording strong performances on the Asian Rugby Sevens Series and taking home the silver medal at the Asian Games, while our women narrowly missed out on a medal in Guangzhou. As a Union and as a rugby community we are proud of their performances and we look forward to great things ahead,” said Brian Stevenson.

Hong Kong National Head Coach Dai Rees commented on the men’s squad saying, “We are happy with the squad’s readiness. Eleven of the 12-man squad are veterans of the silver-medallist Asian Games squad, so the players are really coming off an 18-month campaign in terms of their preparations.”

“But we have told the players that this month starts an entirely new phase in their preparations – the build-up to qualification for the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Russia in 2013. With this group of players it is important to keep the focus on achieving new goals.”

Four of the squad will be making their Hong Kong Sevens debut including Sebastian Perkins, Jamie Hood, Edward Haynes and Adam Raby. In the absence of injured captain Mark Wright, Rees has named a new captain in Hong Kong Cricket Club’s Anthony Haynes.

“Anthony is a natural leader and he will be assisted by the many senior players in the squad especially Hong Kong 15s captain Simon Leung and other veterans like Rowan Varty and Keith Robertson,” said Rees.

“It is important for us to introduce new players to the captaincy and Anthony has the benefit of being young (21) and will likely still be in contention as we approach qualification for the Rugby World Cup Sevens and ideally the Olympic Games in 2016,” added Rees.

Since 2009, the Hong Kong Men’s Rugby Sevens squad has taken the silver medal at the East Asian Games and at the Guangzhou Asian Games 2010.  In February, the squad won the Hong Kong Sports Stars Team Award.    

Hong Kong is pooled with South Africa, Wales and Spain in this year’s Hong Kong Sevens. Last year, Hong Kong beat European teams Wales and Russia at the Hong Kong Sevens.  Adding to the excitement in 2011, Hong Kong’s opening game will be a re-match against Wales on Friday evening at 19.04.

Last year Hong Kong won the Hong Kong Sevens shield competition on the trophy’s debut in 2010.

The Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens squad was also announced today ahead of the Cable&Wireless Worldwide Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens. Hong Kong is pooled with China, France, the Netherlands and the Philippines on the first occasion for the Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens to feature full national sides across all of the teams.

Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens Coach Kane Jury commented on the team selection saying, “We have a good balanced of experienced and young players. There have been a few changes from the Asian Games team but those changes have been positive ones. A lot of new players have come in and made an impact on the team.”

“We are in a tough pool alongside China, France, the Netherlands and the Philippines. We know China very well. They are strong and athletic. France came in third place in the tournament a few years ago and Netherlands are a Rugby World Cup squad so these teams will prove very tough. It will be a great challenge for our girls to play against that level of opposition. But if we play and never give up for 14 minutes like we did in the Asian Games I think the results will be good.”

Rugby Sevens Squads Announced for the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games

The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union today announced the Hong Kong, China men’s and women’s squads for the rugby sevens competition at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, to be played at the University Town Main Stadium November 21 – 23, 2010.

With the inclusion of Tsang Hing Hung, there is only one change to the men’s that recently won the Borneo Sevens.  On that occasion Hong Kong beat Japan 31-28 in the Asian Sevens Series event. Hong Kong is pooled with Japan at the Asian Games, setting up a tantalizing rematch with their Asian rivals, and meaning they will be on opposite sides of the draw for the knock out stages. The team will also face Malaysia, Mongolia and Thailand in group matches.

Commenting on the team, National Head Coach Dai Rees said, “The high standards achieved by all players within the extended training squad over the past four months have been outstanding. We currently have more strength in depth than ever before.”

“The team performed well at the Borneo Sevens. We have made the one change in Tsang Hing Hung, which just goes to demonstrate the competition for places. Hing Hung brings a wealth of experience to the team and provides a balance in the final make up of the squad.” 

“We are very clear with what we want to acheive,” added Rees. “Japan, Korea and China would appear to be the main threats, but our preparation has been good and we are going into the Games quietly confident.”

The Hong Kong, China women’s team also has just one change from the team that won the plate competition in the Singapore Cricket Club Sevens, which was their final preparation tournament before heading for Guangzhou, with Cheng Ka Chi coming into the final squad replacing Man Po Kei.

The women’s team face a tough draw, and will meet Uzbekistan, Korea, Thailand and the gold medal favourites China in pool play, but are confident that they can be involved at the business end of the tournament.

“We have enjoyed an excellent build up to the Asian Games, and the success at the Jonah Jones Sevens back in September has provided the squad with the self belief required to be pushing for a medal,” commented coach Yong Chi Fung on the naming of the squad.

 “All matches are important, but the key pool match for us looks to be against Thailand, a victory there could set us up for a chance of a medal,” added Yong.