MATCH REPORT – HONG KONG CHINA 78-7 SRI LANKA

Asia Rugby Emirates Men’s Championship 2025 – All Fixtures

• Friday 13 June: Sri Lanka 34-38 Korea (Colombo, Sri Lanka)
• Saturday 14 June: United Arab Emirates 10-43 Hong Kong China (Dubai, UAE) 
• Saturday 21 June: Korea 36-38 UAE (Incheon, Korea)
• Sunday 22 June: Hong Kong China 78-7 Sri Lanka (Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground, Hong Kong)
• Friday 4 July: Sri Lanka vs UAE (Colombo, Sri Lanka)
• Saturday 5 July: Korea vs Hong Kong China (Incheon, Korea)

Hong Kong China Men's XVs made it two wins from two in the Asia Rugby Emirates Championship, thanks to a commanding 78-7 win over Sri Lanka at the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground in front of a loud and lively crowd of 2,305.

With Hong Kong China on top of the league standings (10 points) – and Korea in second place (7 points) – both teams go into their clash in Incheon on Saturday 5 July knowing that a win will see them top the table and lift the trophy. Should both teams finish level on points (for example 11 points each or 12 points each), then the head-to-head record will be used as a tie-breaker.  

For this year, the Asia Rugby Championship winners will secure a spot at Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia – thanks to automatic qualification to the newly expanded 24-team tournament. The runners-up will be part of a Final Qualification route later in 2025.

Match Report: Hong Kong China One Win Away from Men's Rugby World Cup 2027

Hong Kong China won the coin toss for the second week in a row on a humid and wet Sunday afternoon at the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground in front of a jubilant home crowd. The boys had to soak up an opening period of pressure as the visiting Tuskers tried to probe our defence, but could not find a way through. Once Hong Kong China found their rhythm, they ran in 12 tries in a dominant 78-7 win.

With tries a plenty, so much of the platform was provided by an abrasive pack who again had the upper hand in the set piece as they did against the UAE last weekend, but they were also prominent in the loose play. 

Asia Rugby’s Man of the Match was Paul Altier, who scored a brace of tries and kicked 7 conversions for a 24-point haul, while number 8 Luke Van Der Smith collected a hat-trick of tries in a powerful performance.

Altier said, “The coaches had a plan to squeeze them at set piece from the get go, and I feel like we did and got lots of rewards and a bonus point early in the game. We dominated scrum time and maul time, and the backs did well out there, but we left some points out there, too. I was happy with my own game, Nate (de Thierry) has been so good for us, and when he went off, I was happy to step up with the boot.”

Van Der Smit was voted HSBC Man of the Match, decided by the fans in the stands, and with his trio of tries and many metres made said, “It was a little scrappy to start with and it took us a while to get flowing and playing to the tactics we wanted. Once we did, it paid off for us, so credit to the boys. 

“We had a tough week with the sessions and some of the conditions, so it was nice to be back playing on home soil and represent Hong Kong China. The boys have worked their socks off, so this recognition is as much for them as it is for me.”

The bonus point win means that Hong Kong China sit on top of the Asia Rugby Emirates Men’s Championship table with 10 points, and following Korea’s defeat to the UAE on Saturday, in which the Koreans did pick up two bonus points in defeat, they are currently on 7 points. Hong Kong China head to Incheon for the final game on Saturday 5 July, knowing that a win would secure a historic ticket to the Rugby World Cup 2027.

First Half: Hong Kong China Take Some Time to Get Going

In the fixture against Sri Lanka, who were a bit of an unknown following promotion to the Championship last year, Hong Kong China grew into the game once they got their hands on the ball, and proceeded to dominate the scrums and set piece and played with more freedom to run in five tries in the opening half, and seven more in the second half.

Some of the scores were real gems while only conceding one late try in the first half to Sri Lanka to lead 33-7 at the break.

The Tuskers, who showed they have some dangerous runners in the backs, tried to test the defences and ran the ball coast to coast early, but they were met with some good collisions, even though they won early successive penalties and had Hong Kong China on our heels to start.  

Lineouts were a real weapon and yielded a lot of metres and points for the boys. Callum Scott scored off the first of many a driving maul to open the scoring in the 11th minute, converted by De Thierry, and a second try was called back by the TMO soon after for a forward pass.

An excellent set move from the lineout saw Van Der Smit run in his first score from 40 metres, while the third try was excellent as Matt Worley scored after great work by Altier and Tommy Hill. It was his 14th try in as many games for Hong Kong China as Altier took over the kicking duties as De Thierry was replaced by Joe Barker following a knock.

Captain Josh Hrstich stretched over the line to secure a bonus point by the 24th minute, and Altier scored his first try by the half-hour mark.

The scrum had total dominance again by this stage, but Sri Lanka had their sole try just before the break for that 33-7 halftime lead.

Second Half: Set Piece Dominance and Some Beautiful Tries

The second half started a bit scrappy. Altier dotted down his second try with a good run down the right wing to get things going, and several substitutions were made ten minutes into the period, including a first 15s cap for 7s star Alessandro Nardoni.

Rory Cinnamond broke a tackle and popped the ball to Worley for the wing to score under the posts, and another rampant driving maul saw Van Der Smit get his second score as we passed 50 points.

The introduction of Pierce McKinley-West saw him make an explosive entry and a couple of great breaks as he scored a beautiful try with another powerful run, which was followed by smooth hands from the backs as Harry Sayers dotted down with less than ten minutes to go.

Van Der Smit secured the hat-trick off the back of another rolling scrum, and Worley added his own hat-trick at the end of the game for a comprehensive 78-7 win.

Newly capped Nardoni said of being in the squad on this journey, “I am very grateful to be given this opportunity, and I worked hard, but it feels good. It is a great group of boys and some of us are new faces, but they made us feel right at home straight away.”

Captain and try scorer Hrstich said after the whistle of the result and having Sri Lanka back in the Championship, “Any time you get a bonus point win in front of your home fans, you should celebrate it. We are very happy to have Sri Lanka back in the competition as they bring a lot and have dangerous athletes.

“We will have a pretty chill week coming up to take stock and then look at Korea. The recipe doesn't change – we focus on ourselves and we won't take them lightly at all. To be one game away from the World Cup is exciting, and we won't leave any stone unturned. 

“There are flights starting to fill up from Hong Kong to Incheon, and we look forward to seeing as many fans go over as possible as we try to create history. Thanks for the kind messages from all of the fans, and please do keep them coming, as the boys really appreciate it.”

This article was posted in collaboration with our good friends at RugbyAsia247 – check them out for all the latest Asia Rugby news!