Hong Kong Rugby Union Sevens coach Gareth Baber has named his squad for the opening tournament on the Asia Rugby Sevens Series 2016. It is a home opener for Hong Kong with the first leg of the three-event 2016 Series to be held on the coming Friday and Saturday (2-3 September) at Hong Kong Football Club. Admission is free.

Other tournaments this season will be hosted in South Korea (24-25 Sept.) and Sri Lanka (15-16 October). This year’s Series has also been pared down to feature the top eight men’s sides in the region – down from ten teams last season.

Hong Kong, runners-up in 2015, are the top seeds in Pool B ahead of Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Chinese Taipei for the Hong Kong tournament. Defending Asian champions Japan, who qualified for the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Series and finished fourth at the Rio Olympics, top Pool A ahead of South Korea, China and Singapore.

Baber is not sure what to expect from the condensed competition: “Obviously it would be best for Asian rugby to maintain as many competitive teams as possible, but the reality is that previous seasons have seen the same teams pop up in the knockout stages: Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Sri Lanka and China. We expect that the competition level will be similar to previous years despite the reduced number of teams.”

Hong Kong will be intent on taking advantage of home pitch at the end of the week, particularly after a fall to the Plate competition in last year’s Series opener in China made for some tough sledding down the home stretch – with every game vital as Hong Kong worked its way back to a second-place overall finish.

The Series will again determine the Asian teams participating in the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens’ World Rugby Sevens Series qualifiers in 2017, with the top two teams advancing to the 12-team qualifier next April.

“We want to secure our place at our home World Series event of course, but apart from that, it is an important competition for us just to maintain our programme, our consistency of play and in terms of the exposure players get from the series. Competitive opportunities like this are few and far between at the moment,” Baber said.

Baber’s quest for invitations to other premier sevens competitions could end in success depending on Hong Kong’s performance in the region as it has been confirmed that this year’s Asian champion will earn an automatic invite to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series tournament in Singapore.

Defending champions Japan qualified for the upcoming World Series last April at the Hong Kong Sevens. Should Japan defend their title, the Series runners-up will qualify for Singapore.

“It’s hugely important that we take advantage of every opportunity to develop the players and expose them at the highest levels,” said Baber, who notes that increased competitive opportunities have been a boon for Asian champions Japan.

“Japan obviously had a hugely successful last season, but if you look at the side in Rio, it was the same players that we have been competing against for the last two years with the honours shared relatively evenly. There is not a huge difference in the talent level between us, but it is the international exposure and opportunities to play on World Series events that are making the difference.

“In any case, Japan are setting the pace and it is up to all Asian teams to follow them. All of us - Korea, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and China - are chasing what they are achieving at the moment. They have led the way,” Baber added.

Baber is unsure of what to expect from Japan this weekend as they are coming off an arduous season with last month’s Olympic competition.

“It will be interesting to see their selection. They are coming off a long summer and looking ahead to the World Series, which starts in a few months, so they could go either way. We could see the side from Rio if they use the tournament as preparation for the World Series or they may give the players some rest after their very successful Olympic campaign.”

In terms of other opposition, Baber is aware of the need to fend off up and coming challengers in Sri Lanka and South Korea.

“We have seen a lot of both teams in last year’s Series and across the global repechage tournaments for Rio. They have had a good deal of success recently and are benefitting from more resources put into the game by their home unions – both of whom are hosting series legs this year. The challenge is getting much more difficult but we know what they are by now,” Baber said.

“We know Malaysia well. They have a lot of pace and power but we will have to see what type of team they bring. I am more mindful that it will be our first game of the series on the opening day so we need to make sure we are ‘on’ and start well.

“We are focused on our own performance. We will need our wits about us to ensure we don’t slip up like we did last year in the opener in China. One poor performance can make the whole series difficult as we found last season,” Baber added.

Hong Kong prepared for the series with an intensive training camp in Shandong, China where they trained with the Provincial side including a few members of China’s national sevens team.

“It was a good camp and we made the most of our time there. We brought 20 players, which was really good for us. It is rare that we have the opportunity to look at the wider group in a performance environment. It is not something that we normally get to do as normally we only travel with the complement of 12 players,” Baber adds.

Baber will rely on his veterans to set the tone in the season opener with captain Max Woodward leading from the front, alongside forwards Michael Coverdale, James Cunningham, Lee Jones and Christopher Maize. The backs feature Rowan Varty, Salom Yiu Kam-shing, Cado Lee Ka-to, Ben Rimene, Alex and Tom McQueen and Ryan Meacheam.

“There is a lot of experience there and the guys who came in from the Elite Rugby Programme for the Hong Kong Sevens are really pushing the rest of the team with what they bring to every session. They are good assets. James [Cunningham] is a strong ball carrier with good aggression and handling skills while Ryan [Meacheam] is an out and out finisher,” Baber said.

One notable omission in the side is scrumhalf/utility back Jamie Hood who is playing this season in Japan and hopes to return at the end of the Asian competition to throw his hat in the ring for the Hong Kong Sevens.

“Jamie is a quality player, so it’s not surprising that he has had offers. It’s always difficult to be without a player with his skillset and ability to create space for others on the pitch, but his absence is an opportunity for others in the squad to push themselves forward,” Baber added.