COME FROM BEHIND KIDS: HKCR BEST URUGUAY AT NATIONS CUP 42-40

The Rugby World Cup 2027 bound Hong Kong China Rugby men’s XV came from behind to beat 17th ranked Uruguay at the World Rugby Nations Cup 2026 on Saturday in Montevideo.  A 29-point second half performance, including an 81st-minute penalty from Paul Altier, saw Hong Kong China Rugby (HKCR) clear to a 42-40 win, their first in the tournament. 

“We are delighted,” said Hong Kong China Rugby captain Josh Hrstich after the match; “It has been a tough few weeks for us, searching for that performance that we can really hang our hats on and show the rugby world what we can do. There were questions about who we are and whether we deserve to be here, and I think today we showed the world that we are a team to be reckoned with when we turn up,” added Hrstich, whose return from appendicitis early in the tour was pivotal. 

The sentiment was shared by HKCR men’s XVs Head Coach Logan Asplin: “I had a really good feeling about today. We had a good edge coming in. Would I have liked to have that last 15 minutes of the first half? Probably not, but it is one thing to go out into a lead and it is another thing to be able to chase it and to show that we can play from behind as well as play from in front. As a holistic response, this one is the biggest in Hong Kong China Rugby history and it is really important that we celebrate that. 

“To take the 17th-ranked team in the world down on their home pitch is something we talked about coming in. We are massively proud: To be in week four of a tour, and in the third of three high pressure games, and to produce a performance like that, and with the character shown to be able to bounce back from deficit, I am just incredibly proud of our resilience, physicality, and how the boys put Uruguay under pressure, against a team that have been to multiple World Cups playing their third game at home.”

Asplin and the selectors made six changes ahead of the game as they gave a run to several players for the first time on tour, bringing the total number of unique players HKCR used at the Nations Cup to 31.  Forwards Pierce Mackinlay-West, Kyle Sullivan, Rory Cinnamond and Sunia Fameitau joined scrumhalf Jack Combes, flyhalf Matteo Avitabile, fullback Paul Altier, Max Threlkeld, Marcus Ramage and Matt Worley as the ironmen selected for all three matches.

For Uruguay, former captain Tom Hill returned to the starting line-up in the centres, pairing with Marcus Ramage, who has impressed in each of his starts, whether in the interior line or on the wing. Ramage played well again against Uruguay scoring the second of Hong Kong’s three second half tries.  HKCR Sevens co-captain Seb Brien also made his 2026 Nations Cup debut on the wing, pushing Ramage to the centres while the team’s prolific try scorer Matt Worley earned his first start at fullback as Paul Altier shifted to the wing, starting the second half scoring run with his 18th try for Hong Kong China.  

Hong Kong trailed the six-time Rugby World Cup qualifiers at half-time 26-13 after conceding two second quarter tries while a man down when flanker Lachlan Doheny was handed a yellow card for a tackle that was deemed high but not dangerous at the half hour marker.

Both teams took some time to ease into the game with sloppy rugby marring the opening quarter. The first example came from Hong Kong after a not-straight throw-in at the lineout returned the advantage to the hosts from the kick-off. Uruguay put on a lineout drive masterclass of their own over 22-metres, but the try was disallowed for disconnecting by hooker Joaquin Myszka as the hosts let Hong Kong off the hook.

Unfortunately for HKCR, Uruguay would mirror that score moments later with Myszka crashing over for the first try of the game after 6 minutes to lead 5-0. Myszka and Uruguay would replicate the driving maul try twice more in the opening half with the hooker collecting his hat trick after just 29 minutes.  

Hong Kong patched together its first sustained phase of attacking play at the 20-minute marker as they exploited gaps in Uruguay’s defence and controlled possession for significant periods.  

Paul Altier continued his exceptional performance off the tee at the Nations Cup, accounting for 15 points with the boot against Uruguay, including Hong Kong's first points from a penalty in the 15th minute.  

HKCR claimed its first lead of the Nations Cup, when hooker Alex Post capitalised on a Myszka miscue at the lineout in the 21st minute. The wily veteran collected an overthrown ball to drive across the line for the try and a 10-5 lead after Altier’s conversion. 

Altier added a second penalty later, one of 7 conceded by the Uruguayans in the first stanza against 4 for Hong Kong, to push the lead to 13-5, before Myszka’s second driving maul try closed the gap further to 13-12.  

Shortly thereafter, Doheny was shown the yellow card for a dangerous tackle and Hong Kong played man down for the remainder of the half. 

By the time he returned, HKCR would concede two short-handed tries, including Myszka’s hat-trick, as Uruguay created havoc with the extra space, turning the 13-12 deficit into a 26-13 lead at half. 

A fifth try to Uruguay to start the second half looked to have put things out of reach but Hong Kong never quit – a trait that they have shown throughout the Nations Cup.  

In Montevideo, that effort was finally rewarded.   

Matt Worley began the comeback and capped his first start of the tournament by extending his try-scoring tally to 18 after pouncing on an opportunity that came from some staunch high ball defence from Seb Brien who wrested the ball away from the Uruguay attacker.  Worley collected cleanly, spotted the gap and put in a brilliantly weighted chip kick to score under the posts and under three Uruguayan tacklers.  Altier’s conversion closed the gap to 20-33.

Marcus Ramage produced a crucial score on the hour marker as Avitabile found him on a long looping pass out wide for the overload, bringing Hong Kong back to within a try, trailing 27-33 after another Altier extra with 20 minutes left.  Hong Kong showed its mettle in the 65th minute when it opted for an attacking lineout instead of turning to Altier for a kickable penalty.  In the ensuing lineout, Uruguay would concede a penalty try with Myszka sin-binned for infringing. Hong Kong China had retaken the lead at 34-33 with 10 minutes left.  

Reserve scrumhalf Brendon Nell sensationally stretched that margin with a broken play try to push the lead to 39-33 as Hong Kong China now appeared to be firmly in the driving seat.  There were yet more twists and turns ahead however when HKCR reserve back Max Threlkeld was yellow carded for cynical play, putting Hong Kong down to 14 men, level with Uruguay for the rest of the match.

Uruguay capitalised on their opportunity well, scoring a late try to reclaim the lead at 40-39 with time set to expire. But before the home fans could stop celebrating the hosts returned advantage to Hong Kong with a poor challenge in the air on Paul Altier seeing the Uruguay defender sent to the sin bin and giving Altier a chance for an penalty from 40 metres, which he cooly slotted to hand HKCR a momentous win, 42-40.

“One of the standouts of the tour. He showed some massive courage to not only win that penalty in contact in the air, but then to kick the points,” Asplin said of his game winner after the match. 

“I speak to Paul often about how I love his competitiveness and how he steps up in big moments like that. He is one hell of an individual, not only as a player, but as a competitor and as a man. He is a guy we obviously value really deeply in our group. He has had an amazing tour off the boot, but also with his contributions around the field and creating for others. He is going to be a massive piece for us to build around heading into the World Cup.”

Asplin was most keen on seeing a result in a moment he had called a line in the sand for his squad prior to the Nations Cup.

“I am excited to see the progress that this group has made. This is a really measurable way of seeing it; to be able to win a game like that in high pressure stakes was really, really big for our group. We had never been under this type of pressure before. 

“To play three consecutive big tests plus travel plus be away, you learn a lot about people and I have loved the calmness in our approach this week. I want to be a team that is hard to beat, a team that is hard to put away, and a team that is hard to play against, and I think today we really showed that. I am proud of who we are, and I think Hong Kong and China can be proud as well,” added Asplin.