Hong Kong’s men’s sevens team claimed their first cup of the 2019 Asia Rugby Seven Series today in Huizhou at the China 7s, the second of three events on this season’s circuit.  The 14-7 win over a surprise China team in the final puts Hong Kong atop the Asian Series table after Japan finished with Bronze, ahead of the Colombo Sevens (28-29 September).

The Women’s seven bounced back from a tough loss to China last night to battle their way back to the 3rd/4th play-off against Kazakhstan, whom they had edged for Bronze in Korea.

Hong Kong were in it at the death, after coming back to within two, but a missed conversion left them on the outs as time expired on Hong Kong’s hopes as they lost, 19-17, to finish fourth.

The men were brutally clinical today, breezing through to the final after posting an incredible 102 points to none against in their matches over the Philippines, 47-0, (final pool game) and Sri Lanka, 55-0, in the cup semi final.

Those results will be doubly encouraging given the two opponents are also prime threats at the Japan-less Olympic qualifiers in November, along with Korea, who had a poor run in China.

Hong Kong were handed a gift by the hosts, who knocked out Series champions Japan in the semi-final, 14-7, as China reached its first Cup match since the last time the series visited China in Qingdao in 2014.

In the final, Hong Kong’s tactical nous and depth proved the difference as Jack Neville took first blood with a try after 30 seconds giving his side a 7-0 lead.

The next four minutes saw China mount a series of sustained attacks, as their big men did well to cover ground and retain ball for over a dozen phases.  The repeated charges eventually forced a gap in the middle of the Hong Kong line and Shan Changshun tore through it to level the scores at 7-all.

Hong Kong retained possession from the re-start and mounted another disciplined attack on the China line, with veteran Alex McQueen eventually sniffing out the gap for the game-winner on the stroke of halftime as Hong Kong led 14-7.

Coach Paul John turned to his bench early in the second, bringing in a murderer’s row of experience with Lee Jones, Jamie Hood and Salom Yiu Kam-shing all entering the pitch, along with up and comer Seb Brien.

China had no answer tactically or temperamentally, as they conceded numerous penalties, with their tackles creeping higher and higher resulting in two players being sent off with yellow cards in the second half. The penalties proved a let off for Hong Kong, who could waste precious minutes kicking to the line.

The second yellow followed a Seb Brien turnover of China’s most dangerous attack to that point late in the game. Frustrated, the Chinese defender came in with an elbow, earning a yellow and allowing Hong Kong to run out the clock without further drama to claim their first cup of the season.  

Raef Morrison continued to press his claims for a spot at the Olympic qualifiers in November with three tries today, bringing his tournament total to six ahead of the final, and making him the tournament’s top try scorer this weekend. Fly half Russell Webb again ran the show well on a weekend where he, Morrison, and forward Michael Coverdale, put in insane minutes. Webb finished as the top point scorer with 42, from two tries and 16 conversions. Coverdale added three tries today, as did Neville, including his tally in the final.

Coach Paul John was proud of his team’s pristine effort saying, “The boys played really, really well today. I think that tough day yesterday really stood us in good stead for today’s games.

“The boys defended well all weekend. It was a whole team effort; the starters got us going well, and the bench added impact as well, top to bottom, I don’t want to single anyone out because they all played outstanding.

“We knew the final would be tough. China were really revved up, and they are really a very physical team now, which is new, and getting much better. They will be even better the next time out in Colombo, and I think if you look at Japan, Korea and Sri Lanka, they traditionally come back really strong, after perhaps down tournaments this weekend.

“But it’s nice to get a Cup win going into the last event now in Colombo. We have a tight turnaround with just seven or 10 days before we leave, so we will get back and assess how we are recovering and start building again,” said John.

The women’s sevens targeted a bounce back performance after being blitzed yesterday 45-0 by China. They delivered on that promise, beating Malaysia 31-0 in the final pool qualifier before bowing out in the semi-finals with a hard-fought 33-12 loss against Japan.

Similar to yesterday’s match with China, Hong Kong fell behind early, conceding a 19-0 lead to Japan after four minutes. Gritty forward Nam Ka-man clawed back a try at the end of the half to send Hong Kong into the break trailing, 19-7. Natasha Olson Thorne added a try in the tenth minute to bring Hong Kong within seven at 19-12 down, but Japan found the extra gear when they needed it, adding two more tries to close out 24-12 winners.  That sent Hong Kong into a rematch with Kazakhstan in the bronze medal game.  

Hong Kong responded with some muscle of its own with Natasha Olson-Thorne proving too much for the defence in the opening minute to give Hong Kong a 5-0 lead, after claiming her second try of the weekend.

The narrow field played into the hands of Kazakhstan who are ageing out and would have found the diminished space a blessing this weekend as it plays into their natural physicality. In possession, Kazakhstan looked to slow down the game and bring its size into play, and it worked, as they scored twice before half time to push the lead to 12-5 at the break.

Both sides threw everything at the game after the re-start, but it was Kazakhstan who benefited first scoring their third of the game in the 11th minute to push their lead out to 19-5.  

Emerging U20s player Jessica Eden took advantage of her first chance this weekend with ball and space as she skinned the defence out wide to peg the score back to 19-12 after Stephanie Chan’s conversion, with two minutes remaining.

Kazakhstan were pinged for a professional foul at the next infringement, one of many in the half as they played cagily to keep the pace of the game within reach.  With one in the bin, Hong Kong had the numerical advantage and it was Chong Ka-yan, who made them pay for their indiscipline, as she finished off a two-woman overlap out wide to scoot toward the posts. Kazakhstan defended the angles well, leaving Chan with a tough conversion from out wide, which she missed - as Hong Kong trailed 19-17. Time ran out before Hong Kong could re-establish possession and mount any sustained attacks.

It was the second podium match for Hong Kong on the trot in the series, and coach Iain Monaghan was pleased with his team’s effort, if not results, saying, “We were feeling really positive going into the bronze match. We knew exactly how we wanted to play against them and started reasonably well.

“They scored a try against the grain and then added a breakaway try, and that kind knocked us off our momentum a bit. We struggled to get back into it, but there was only one try in it at half time. We were a bit disappointed at the number of penalties in the second half, as it really didn’t allow us to play our tempo game.

“I don’t want to take away anything from Kazakhstan, at the end of the day, we have to look at ourselves in losing that game. For us, it’s all about November and we are learning a lot from every opportunity we get on the Series.”

Monaghan believes losses like today’s will make the side stronger in the long run: “I was pleased with the girls reaction. We showed a lot of improvement in key areas we looked at overnight, especially in our communications and defence. With young players like these, it can be hard learning at this level. They have to go through these experiences, losing games like that, before they can fully understand how to win them.

“Now we have another fortnight of preparing and we will look at the squad when we get to assess how they are holding up after two tournaments, and whether some of the four or five girls returning from injury may be ready to go in Colombo,” he added.

Japan came from behind wit three unanswered tries to beat China in extra time in the Cup 22-17, beating Japan in extra time in the women’s final, while Japan claimed bronze in the men’s bracket.

Hong Kong Women’s Sevens Squad (13-woman, Huizhou, China, 14-15 Sept 2019): Melody Li Nim-yan (Captain), Natasha Olson-Thorne, Sham Wai-sum, Chloe Baltazar^, Jessica Ho Wai-on*, Au Yeung, Sin-yi; Poon Hoi-yan; Nam Ka-man, Chong Ka-yan, Stephanie Chan Chor-ki, Jessica Eden, Amber Tsang Wing-chi*, Agnes Tse Wing-kiu*               ^ First senior sevens cap; *Season debut

Hong Kong Men’s Sevens Squad (13-man, Huizhou, China, 14-15 Sept 2019): Max Woodward (Captain); Seb Brien*, Michael Coverdale, Jamie Hood, Lee Jones, Cado Lee Ka-to, Alex McQueen*, Raef Morrison*, Jack Neville, Hugo Stiles, Russell Webb, Yiu Kam-shing.   *Season debut