The Hong Kong, China men’s representative XV is preparing to defend the Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) title this month.  Hong Kong, China will play a two-match series against Malaysia (10 June) and South Korea (17 June) at Hong Kong Football Club (both kick-offs are at 17.00).  

These are the first men’s test matches to be held here since Covid-19, and will also mark the debut home tests for Lewis Evans as head coach. Evans was appointed to take the team to the Rugby World Cup repechage in 2022 and has coached the side through five matches to date, all offshore. 

The Hong Kong community will be supporting with over 1,200 registrations for free attendance for each match to date. 

“It is a big occasion,” said Evans on the return of international fifteens. “The boys will want to set a standard at home and there could be some added pressure as well, but won’t it be great to have a big crowd there; seeing a game in a packed out Football Club is always exciting.”

South Korea beat Malaysia 27-3 in a rain-marred game to open the competition on 3 June.  Malaysia will arrive later this week for the penultimate game in the series on Saturday.  Last year’s truncated ARC format saw South Korea beat Malaysia 55-10 before being beaten by Hong Kong 23-21 in Incheon.

“It’s a new Rugby World Cup qualification cycle and we want to get fresh faces involved for the long term, but we also have a short term goal of winning the ARC - that is our priority. We are confident that this is a good group of players for both goals,” Evans added.

After putting the disappointment of last Autumn’s Rugby World Cup repechage behind them, the team is refreshed according to Evans: “Losing the repechage was tough and there was some deflation, especially with the guys coming back into the league without a real break to process. 

“But this team is a different animal because the players have had a chance to refresh and we have a longer-term ambition for the next repechage and making sure that that group of players can compete against the likes of Portugal, Germany or USA.”  

The team began preparing in April with a match against a global XV of leading non-Hong Kong eligible domestic players in a bid to throw the net as wide as possible in the hunt for new talent. 

Evans was pleased with the results: “That was a positive fixture for us, it enabled us to gather as many Hong Kong qualified boys together as we could, some of whom are not even regular Premiership players. Exposing them to those standards and seeing how they react was important. The boys went up against a strong team and did well. 

“The coaches were pleased with that performance and it gave us a good foundation to build on for the ARC. These are the guys we want to invest in longer term because they could feature in future ARCs, so this is a great opportunity for them to come in bolster the squad and get exposure to that environment. 

“We have a really good blend of old and new players in the final squad, including some of our sevens players. There are also six players arriving from overseas, so we are going into the ARC with a lot of confidence.”

Evans is confident that the depth of experience and the quality of player in the squad is more than sufficient for the task. 

“Certainly we are not going to disrespect Malaysia, but we want to win absolutely and we are in a much better place than we were last year for this tournament.” 

He paid tribute to the core players in the group: “We have been relying on our Hong Kong based senior players like Tom Hill, Luke van der Smit and Patrick Jenkinson a lot in training. They communicate well and when they talk the players listen.”

The return of overseas players like backs Gregor McNeish and Paul Altier (both of whom have captained Hong Kong - McNeish at senior and Altier at U20s level) and Nate deThierry, and established forwards like Alex Post and Ben Higgins will further bolster the side.

“The impact of those guys returning is massive. They are key members of the squad and even though we would like to see them in Hong Kong, they are playing at a high standard elsewhere, and that’s positive for their development. We’re excited to see what they will add to our environment.”

Evans also recognized the contribution of sevens players Seb Brien and Harry Sayers: “They’re both quality players. Seb has done really well in the league and Harry has been phenomenal in his sessions with us - just a pure athlete with good skills. He will make a big impact on the team.” 

The 23-man squad for the opening game with Malaysia will be announced on Friday. 

“Our build-up games were not perfect, but we liked what we saw in attack. If we do the basics well we should see a good performance against Malaysia,” predicted Evans.

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