CHIEFS DEVELOPMENT MATCH KICKS OFF CRUCIAL PERIOD FOR HONG KONG

20th Apr 2018

 Hong Kong’s match against the Chiefs Development team at Hong Kong Football Club will offer an important read on the national team’s preparation for what is shaping up to be a crucial campaign with qualification for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan on the line.

Hong Kong needs to win the Asia Rugby Championship outright in May and June to advance to the second stage of RWC 2019 qualification, a home and away series against Oceania qualifiers Cook Islands.  The winner of that series advances to a four-team knockout competition in the final stage of qualification in France in November.

In between these milestones, Hong Kong will have to front up for the Rugby World Cup Sevens in July, the Asia Rugby Sevens Series and the Asian Games at the end of the summer. With a congested calendar ahead, Hong Kong coach Leigh Jones is hoping his charges will be busy.

“We are certainly hoping it will be a busy six to nine months for us, and where the Rugby World Cup is concerned, it’s simple, we can’t afford to slip up,” said Jones.

That is why preparation is paramount and for Jones that preparation doesn’t get much better than the chance to hit out against the Chiefs Development squad.

“The Chiefs are a great challenge for us, just with the level of intensity and physicality they bring. It's a bit of a shock to our guys as they only get to experience it once a year,” said Jones, who will be watching with interest to see which players can manage to operate under that level of intensity.

At present, the focus is on integrating the squad at the Elite Rugby Programme with the return of Hong Kong’s sevens squad members and other semi-professional players eligible to play for Hong Kong.

“Integration is the challenge at the moment. We've managed to grow our depth over recent seasons and with the semi pro players and sevens guys coming back, it is just about getting everyone up to speed now,” Jones added. 

“Hence the Chiefs will offer a great challenge to see where we are in this respect and Saturday’s match will give us a great read of where we are in our preparations at the moment.”

Hot on the heels of the Chiefs Development tie will be the start of a new-look Asian championship after Japan, automatically qualified as hosts of the Rugby World Cup, are absent this season with last year’s Division one champion Malaysia promoted to the top flight, alongside last year’s third placed finishers South Korea.

Hong Kong will play Malaysia and Korea on the road in back-to-back weeks before finishing up with the home stand at the end of May.

“The schedule falls quite nicely for us. We will be confident going to Malaysia and Korea and hopefully we can steal a couple of away wins, which would set us up nicely for a feel good finish at home,” said Jones.

With Japan out Hong Kong enter the Asian championship as tournament favourites and Jones believes his side is mature enough to handle that challenge.

“We have been fortunate to have the experience and wisdom of David Galbraith, the Chiefs Mental Skills and Leadership Coach, who has been instrumental in helping us to address some of the concerns around knock-out rugby and the players have responded very well to that.”

“We have also been professional now for a number of years so we have to manage that pressure really, and focus on what matters. It’s simple, guys just have to do their jobs.”

Jones is also mindful of managing the physical load on the players with the campaign set to intensify sharply.  As such, both sides are taking a wider approach to the game on Saturday.

“We are now in a position pretty much to field two full teams, so that is what we will do on Saturday. We will basically switch out the sides at half-time and the Chiefs will do the same.

“We have picked up some injuries in the past in this game because of the physicality and intensity of these matches. Now that we have a few years of professionalism under our belts we are much better equipped to handle that, but it is only prudent to give everyone a run.

“We want to use the match as an opportunity to further our work in shaping a team for the Asian championship, so the first half performance will be pretty important with a number of guys having an opportunity in the second half to impress,” said Jones.

Two not yet eligible players will feature for Hong Kong in the second half in Ben Axten-Burrett and Louis Warner to further spare the side from unnecessary wear and tear.

Jones also announced that James Cunningham will captain the squad in the upcoming campaign.

“JC is well respected by everyone in the squad and will do a great job in leading from the front. He also has the advantage of a good leadership group around him.

“I’ve been in the game a long while and this is undoubtedly the best leadership group I have been involved with. All of the senior leaders are stepping up and taking on the responsibility, and not just the easy tasks, they are all happy to deal with the mess in ensuring we are all pulling in the same direction.

“That means them having to make difficult decisions as well. To date, they have been very impressive and have offered great direction for the rest of the team to follow. They now have to carry this leadership and commitment into the competition and I am very confident that we are more than ready for this contest and what is to come over the next few months." 

“Hopefully, we are set to shock some people,” Jones added.

Hong Kong squad v The University of Waikato Chiefs Taua Development squad:

First Half: Dan Barlow, Ben Roberts, Dylan Rogers, James Cunningham©, Kyle Sullivan, Nick Hewson, Toby Fenn, Thomas Lamboley, Liam Slatem, Matt Rosslee, Salom Yiu Kam Shing, Max Woodward, Tyler Spitz, Conor Hartley, Jack Neville

Second Half:  Adam Fullgrabe, Jamie Tsang ©, Jack Parfitt, Jack Delaforce, Jamie Pincott, Mike Parfitt, Cris Pierrepont, Phil Whitfield, Jamie Lauder, Robbie Keith, Max Denmark, Ben Axten-Burrett, Lewis Warner, Sam Purvis, Paul Altier

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