HONG KONG BIDS FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT ASIA RUGBY U19 TITLE IN KUALA LUMPUR

09th Dec 2016

The Hong Kong U19s National Rugby team is off to Kuala Lumpur to defend their title at the Asia Rugby U19s championship. Hong Kong will play Chinese Taipei, Sri Lanka and Malaysia (promoted from Division II last season) with matches on December 11, 14 and 17. The winners will book an automatic spot at the World Rugby Junior Trophy next August in Uruguay.

Hong Kong enters the competition with a largely new squad, with just six players returning from the team that competed at the World Rugby Junior Trophy in Zimbabwe this April. The absence of players like Hugo Stiles, Liam Owens and JW Markley, who are no longer age eligible for the competition but have gone on to win caps for Hong Kong in the ensuing months, will test coach Peter Drewett’s men in Kuala Lumpur.

That challenge is softened by the increasing numbers of players at this level with experience gleaned from playing in the RugbyPass.com Premiership and from the advanced tutelage provided by the Hong Kong Rugby Union’s intensive age grade development programmes.

Drewett commented on the squad’s composition saying, “We only have six returning players and graduated seven of our forward pack from last year, so this tournament will present us with a big challenge, which we welcome.

“We have a young side which offers a lot of excitement. The team that won last year went on to Zimbabwe for the World Rugby Junior Trophy and have done very well, with several capped by Hong Kong within a year.

“That creates a lot of excitement for this group, who not only have a competition to win but also a possibility to play in the Junior Trophy and after having seen their peers do it, to potentially go on to get their first senior caps,” Drewett added.

“At this level it is not all about winning. This is part of our wider player development programme, which is player-centred, development driven and competition supported. The week ahead offers us a chance to see the results of the work the players have put in to date. Our hope is that they will advance from the programme and be Premiership ready with a chance to represent Hong Kong.

“But part of that development is learning how to win and also learning how to win under pressure, and we expect these to be real pressure matches,” Drewett added.

Hong Kong beat all comers in last year’s round robin competition but Drewett expects the opposition to have reached another level this year.

“With players ageing out of eligibility, the sides can change dramatically, even over a year, so we are entering the competition expecting that and with massive respect for our opposition,” Drewett said.

Sri Lanka could prove the toughest opponent, with the islanders having been in camp for three weeks and acknowledging in the local media that they are working hard to overcome the Hong Kong hurdle.

“Sri Lanka will be a very tough test. They are very fit and will set us a massive challenge,” Drewett noted.

Drewett will rely on some of his senior leaders to step up in Malaysia with Mark Coebergh, a veteran of last year’s U19s and World Rugby Junior Trophy, captaining the squad. The likes of Ken Encarnacion, James Karton, Lachlan Oliver-Kerby and Austin Robertshaw will also be called upon to exert some leadership.

“Mark is captain, but there are a lot of leaders in this squad. It will be an important part of the tour for all of them to see how they take on leadership roles on and off the park. That is an important part of their development in terms of their leadership qualities and decision-making ability under pressure.

Hong Kong will also welcome the return of talented back Matt Worley, who is currently in the academy at French top league side Racing 92.

“It will be fantastic to have Matt back in the squad and to see how he has progressed after another year in the Racing set-up,” said Drewett.

Drewett will also call upon two Hong Kong born players who have recently returned from overseas in the Ramage twins. Marcus, a winger at Hong Kong Scottish has reversed the normal progression after being capped for Hong Kong against Papua New Guinea in the Cup of Nations last month, while brother Gregor, a back row forward at Scottish, will be marking his first Hong Kong representative tour in Malaysia.

The ability to tap into more and more Age Grade eligible players playing in the Premiership is a key behind the recent success of Hong Kong’s Under 19 programme, according to Drewett.

“The Premiership clubs are really doing a great job in dealing with our young talent and helping to prepare them for international competition. Now we can call upon guys like Marcus and Gregor Ramage, Jack Scanlon and Will Beattie at HKFC, Thomas Gibb and Matt Wyatt at HKCC, and many others who have an understanding of the levels required through their Premiership experience,” Drewett added.

That seasoning will be an asset for Hong Kong as they bid to make it four times lucky in Malaysia.

Hong Kong Squad for the Asia Rugby U19s Championship (Kuala Lumpur, Dec 11 – 17):

Mark COEBERGH* (Captain, HK Scottish), Jake BARLOW (Discovery Bay Pirates), William BEATTIE (Valley), Mikkel CHRISTENSEN (DB Pirates), Max DENMARK (HKFC), Oliver DUFFY (Valley), Ken ENCARNACION* (HK Scottish/Gai Wu), Carl FERNSTROM (HKFC), Thomas GIBB (HKCC), Liam HERBERT (Valley), Takamasa HOSHIYAMA (DB Pirates/Auckland Uni.), Gareth HUI Sin-hang (USRC Tigers), James KARTON* (USRC Tigers), Kyle KITNEY (USRC Tigers/Newcastle Falcons), Lachlan OLIVER-KERBY* (DB Pirates/HK Scottish), Oliver OVERMAN (USRC Tigers), Sebastian PASHA (Valley), Daniel PUSACK (Valley/Santa Clara Rugby), Marcus RAMAGE (HK Scottish), Gregor RAMAGE (HK Scottish), Austin ROBERTSHAW* (HK Scottish), Jack SCANLON (HKFC), Cameron SMITH (HKFC), Matt WORLEY* (HKFC/Racing 92), Matthew WYATT (HKCC).

*Played World Rugby Junior Trophy (April 2016) or 2015 Asia Rugby U19s Qualifier

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