Russia dispatched Papua New Guinea, 49-19, and Hong Kong beat Zimbabwe 34-11, in round two of the Regal Hotels Cup of Nations. The two sides have set up a rematch of last year’s winner-take-all clash in round three this Saturday, 19 November, at Hong Kong Football Club.

After a narrow 19-15 win over Zimbabwe in the opening round, defending champions Russia ironed out the kinks in their game plan to record a comprehensive, seven-try victory over Papua New Guinea, 49-19. Russia captain and flanker Viktor Gresev once again proved an unstoppable force; scoring a hat trick of tries to add to the brace he collected against Zimbabwe. Gresev now leads all scorers with five tries over two matches.

Gresev’s first try came in the third minute as a massive Russian pack brought its weight to bear early on. Sustained Russian pressure forced Papua New Guinea to concede a penalty try for repeated infringements at the ruck in the 12th minute, before Gresev claimed his second try in the 19th minute.

Papua New Guinea got on the board with a try against the run of play from winger John Ephraim in the 21st minute. The unsuccessful conversion left them trailing 21-5.

A relentless Russian attack saw two more tries in the opening half as last year’s champions secured the bonus point early on when scrumhalf Anton Ryabov found space on the fringes of a ruck to cross over for a try in the 26th minute. Hooker Valery Tsnobiladze added a fifth try moments later.

Centre Tisa Kautu added three points for Papua New Guinea with a penalty shortly before half-time as Russia took an unassailable 35-8 lead into the break.

Russia were less convincing in the second half, while Papua New Guinea got off to a flying start, scoring 11 unanswered points from two penalties by Kautu and a try to flyhalf Richard Aitsi to close the gap to 35-19.

It was the second straight match where the Russian attack went walkabout after they let Zimbabwe climb back into their tie in round 1 before settling for a four-point victory.

Unsurprisingly, it was Gresev who helped right the ship this afternoon as he and Ryabov added their third and second tries respectively down the homestretch to seal a 49-19 win. Flyhalf Yury Kusnarev was perfect with the boot today, converting all seven of Russia’s tries.

In the second match of the doubleheader at Kings Park in Hong Kong, the hosts faced a similar scenario to Russia as they jumped ahead to a 17-3 half-time lead before going off the boil late. Eventually Hong Kong were able to salvage a 34-11 win and collected a second bonus point of the tournament to stay at the top of the table after two rounds.

A dominant set piece performance by Hong Kong gave the host the run of play in the first half. Prop Alex Ng Wai-shing scored the home side’s first try in the third minute, collecting the ball at the base of a ruck beneath the posts before crashing over from in close.

With Hong Kong’s forward pack dominating early on, the speedy backline had ample ball to work with and quickly set about testing Zimbabwe’s conditioning and defence. Although battling bravely, gaps soon appeared in the visitors’ defence and fullback Alex McQueen was the first to exploit the space when he finished off a lengthy attacking phase to touch down in the corner in the eight minute.

Hong Kong flyhalf Ben Rimene was also perfect with the boot today, adding both conversions and a penalty in the first half to push his side to a 17-0 lead after 25 minutes. Zimbawe’s first points came from a well-struck penalty from flyhalf Lenience Tambwera in the 30th minute to leave the score at 17-3 at halftime.

Zimbabwe had an early lift after halftime when Tambwera nailed his second penalty in the 41st minute but Rimene replied four minutes later as the sides exchanged three-pointers.

No.8 Thomas Lamboley capped his Hong Kong debut with a try in the 53rd minute as the rangy French forward took out a well-deserved reward for 80 minutes of high work rate and hard graft. Rimene’s conversion pushed Hong Kong’s lead to 27-6 with 25 minutes remaining.

Lamboley joined two other debutants tonight in hooker Ben Roberts and winger Marcus Ramage, bringing Hong Kong’s total of new caps over the first two rounds to eight.

Alex McQueen capped another in a long line of quietly devastating performances for Hong Kong when he completed his brace in the 62nd minute with Rimene’s conversion from in close a formality.

Centre Riaan O’Neal spoiled Hong Kong’s final patch of play as he flashed a clean pair of heels to cross over in the 65th minute but Tambwera’s conversion was off the mark and Hong Kong took ran out 34-11 winners.

“It was really good to get the win,” said Hong Kong captain Nick Hewson, “But we were a bit disappointed not to take some of the chances we created, especially in the second half.

“Our set piece was good, we had a high percentage of possession and the backs were creating opportunities tonight so hopefully we can execute a few more of those chances on Saturday,” Hewson added.

“Now we can go into the game against Russia with a bit of confidence, but we know it is another step up. But we are well ahead of where we were last year. We are creating more plays, our ball carriers are better and our defence is stronger. We gave them points off of our mistakes today and we can’t afford that against Russia,” Hewson added.

Russia beat Hong Kong 31-12 in last year’s effective final after both sides reached the third round without a loss. Hong Kong will host Russia at Hong Kong Football Club on Saturday at 17.00 while Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea will play in the curtain raiser at 14.00.

Today’s bonus point win sees Hong Kong remain at the top of the table ten points after collecting bonus points in both matches. Russia is in second place with nine points, followed by Zimbabwe with one point and debutants Papua New Guinea who are still hunting for their first points in the competition.

Hong Kong v Zimbabwe:

1. Adam FULLGRABE, 2. Ben ROBERTS*, 3. Alex NG Wai-shing, 4. Finlay FIELD, 5. Adrian GRIFFITHS, 6. Nick HEWSON (Captain), 7. Toby FENN, 8. Thomas LAMBOLEY*, 9. Jamie HOOD (vice captain), 10. Ben RIMENE, 11. Marcus RAMAGE*, 12. Lee JONES, 13. Ally MACLAY, 14. Ryan MEACHEAM, 15. Alex McQUEEN, 16. JW MARKLEY, 17. Jack PARFITT, 18. Rohan COOK, 19. Will EVERSFIELD, 20. James CUNNINGHAM, 21. Cado LEE Ka-to, 22. Rowan VARTY, 23. Edmund ROLSTON.

*Debut Hong Kong appearance