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The Hong Kong Men’s sevens team won their third Asia Rugby Sevens Series title in five years today after a 19-7 semi-final win over Sri Lanka sealed their crown early in the day.
Coach Anna Richards’s women’s squad ran Japan close in a 14-0 loss in the cup semi final before losing to an inspired Thailand team in the third-place play-off. Thailand rattled Japan last night with a 24-19 win and carried that spirit into the third-place play-off beating Hong Kong 19-5.
It was the first time since the inception of the women’s series that Thailand has finished in third in a tournament. Despite finishing fourth on the afternoon, Hong Kong’s previous third place finishes at home and in Incheon, South Korea were enough to seal a third-placed ranking in Asia in 2016.
The South Korean men edged China in the other cup semi to set up a rematch of last night’s climactic pool battle against Hong Kong in the cup final.
The first final between the two sides this season was worth the price of admission as both teams threw everything into an end-to-end thriller that saw Hong Kong leading at the break 14-7 after two opportunistic tries from Ben Rimene.
Korean flyer Chang Yong-heung scored shortly after the break when he collected his own perfectly weighted chip ahead, mirroring his try to start the match – to score, pulling Korea to within two points, down 12-14 after the conversion was missed.
After coming on at halftime, debutant Jason Jeyam proved the wild card in a frenetic final as the young sparkplug backed himself beautifully when he took the ball from the back of a ruck to attack the blind side and scamper 60 metres for the try to extend Hong Kong’s margin to 19-12.
In its first final and with a place at the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series qualifier in Hong Kong riding on a win South Korea punched back bravely. Park Hang-yul slipped a great challenge from Ryan Meacheam to cross over untouched. The conversion levelled the scores at 19-all with one minute remaining.
Jeyam popped up again with the ball after the re-start, setting off on a jinking run that opened gaps in the Korean defence for Chris Maize who scored out wide at the hooter to give Hong Kong it’s third straight cup win of the series, 24-19.
The series title secures Hong Kong’s place in the international qualifier to be played as part of next April’s Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens and earns the team a vital invitation as the 16th team at the Singapore Sevens the week following. Sri Lanka will take the other qualification spot in Hong Kong.
Earlier Hong Kong beat Sri Lanka in the cup semi final 19-7 to secure the Asian title outright.
The Lankans had Hong Kong under the cosh early after scoring from a rare mistake from Ben Rimene when his kick-off failed to make 10-metres. The opportunistic Sri Lankans caught Hong Kong flatfooted as they took the ball in the air and scampered away for an easy try.
Hong Kong righted itself on its first possession and looked the more settled side with ball in hand, as they put captain Max Woodward over in the corner to level the scores at seven after Rimene’s touchline conversion.
Shortly after the re-start Rowan Varty was sent to the sin-bin after a late challenge cut short a Sri Lankan kick and chase. His teammates rallied with a strong defensive effort as Ryan Meacheam and Rimene locked down midfield until the half-time buzzer sounded, leaving both sides gasping after some scintillating end-to-end action.
Hong Kong’s troubles at the kick-off continued in the second half, revealing how much the side was missing the athletic Alex McQueen who figures prominently in the re-start game but was unavailable this weekend. Sri Lanka nearly made Hong Kong pay from the kick-off again as they claimed the ball on the full before shifting the attack out wide. The Sri winger had a clear run to the try-line but was was called back for a questionable foot in touch, cancelling what could have been a momentum-shifting try.
Given the reprieve, Hong Kong then applied the punishment after Rimene’s touch finder gave Hong Kong an attacking lineout at the 22-metre line. Coverdale took the ball cleanly as Hong Kong’s backs cued in attack. The execution was spot-on as the ball came out to Varty who snookered the defence before offloading to Salom Yiu Kam-shing. Yiu had only one man to beat – and beat him he did, with an easy fend to extend the lead to 12-7.
Late in the match, the hosts failed to control the ball at the base of a scrum 25-metres out from their posts and Cado Lee was at his scrappy best, diving between the opposition halfbacks to corral the ball and set up a simple pick-and-go try for Woodward. Rimene’s conversion put Hong Kong into the final 19-7 and secured the Asian title.
Coach Gareth Baber was delighted that his side kept the foot on the gas to close out their third consecutive cup this season, saying, “It’s been a great weekend. Some of the standard we showed could have been better but we must be doing something right because we find ourselves winning. We really upped our intensity, physicality and pace in the final and I think that was the difference.
Baber was equally happy to have unearthed an emerging player in Jeyam – and to have put him on when it mattered most. “He’s got a great skill level and to be able to put a young man like him into a game like that - at a time where he could be most effective - was hugely important. He moved quickly, stepped well and helped open up a tired Korean defence
“All of the young players on the field today have acquitted themselves well on the international stage. We have won three tournaments on the bounce and this group has some quality and can help us get onto the World Series, which is where we want to go,” Baber added.
Captain Max Woodward also paid tribute to the squad that soldiered on this weekend without some of its top billed stars: “This was by far the hardest tournament we have faced and to win it without having some of our key guys like the McQueen brothers and Jamie Hood with us was special.”
Hong Kong Women claim Bronze in Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Series
Hong Kong’s women’s seven carried their momentum from last night’s convincing win over China into a dominant first half performance against Japan in the semi-final. Hong Kong were on the attack for the entirety of the opening stages, keeping Japan pinned deep in their territory.
But Asia’s Olympic representatives handled the pressure well, preventing Hong Kong from penetrating the last line of defence despite hard-charging runs from Adrienne Garvey and Natasha Olson-Thorne. Japan confirmed their class when they capitalised on their only opportunity of the half in the seventh minute, taking the ball from a scrum on their own 5-metres the length of the pitch to score. The conversion gave Japan a 7-0 lead and shifted the momentum at the break.
In the second half Japan reversed the trend and showed how dangerous they are with ball in hand and space to use it. On the front foot for the first time, the Japanese crafted a lengthy build-up for their second try to extend their lead to 14-0. Hong Kong worked well to prevent any further scoring but could never threaten the line in the second half.
“I thought we played really well against Japan, said coach Anna Richards. “We controlled the ball in the first half but couldn’t quite get over the line, but I was pleased with what we showed. Unfortunately against Thailand I think we let ourselves down a bit.
“We failed to control the ball and be consistent. Thailand have shown this weekend they are playing well. They beat Japan so we weren’t taking them lightly, but unfortunately we didn’t put the game that we wanted together,” Richards added.
Richards can take some solace from Hong Kong retaining its position in the Asian pecking order. “I would have been happier if that last game came right. We were aiming to try to make top two in the series this year and to take a step up from last season, but I’m happy with the way that we played this weekend. I think we took a step up in each tournament which was pleasing,” Richards concluded.
Japan took out the cup in Sri Lanka with a 17-5 win over China to defend their Asian Sevens title beating the Chinese for the second time on three occasions this season.
Asia Rugby Sevens Series Overall Standings
Series Standings - Men
Series Standings - Women
