The Hong Kong School Sports Federation (HKSSF) Rugby Sevens team is on track to defend its title after the opening day of play at the 2nd Asian Schools Rugby Sevens Championship at King’s Park Sports Ground.

With a strong side featuring three veterans of the Hong Kong Rugby Union team that played at the Junior World Trophy in Zimbabwe earlier this year, Hong Kong dispatched their three opening pool opponents beating China 33-5, Guam 50-0 and India 56-0.

The promising day one results see Hong Kong atop Pool A heading into tomorrow’s competition with a final group match against pool second-seeds Singapore at 13.10. Singapore had a strong outing on day one with an upset 28-7 win over China positioning them for a run at the Cup tomorrow.

In Pool B tournament debutants Sri Lanka are enjoying the run of play with surprise victories over Thailand and Malaysia – two of the region’s strongest competitors at this age grade, helping them claim top of the pool with their final pool match against Cambodia tomorrow ahead of the Cup semi-finals. Mongolia are also competing in Pool B.

Following the completion of pool play, the top four teams overall (first and second placed finishers in the two pools) will crossover for the Cup semi finals.

On the inaugural playing of the competition in 2013, Hong Kong were crowned Cup champions in an 8 team competition beating Chinese Taipei 24-12 in the cup final. The 2016 squad looks as strong as their trophy-winning forebears with James Karton, Mark Coebergh and Paul Altier all veterans of the Hong Kong Rugby Union’s National Age Grade U20s programme.

Alongside Altier, the squad features three other representatives from South Island School, the winners of both the inaugural Hong Kong Schools Sevens league in Autumn 2015 and the Hong Kong Schools Rugby league fifteen-a-side title last season, in Jack Abbott, James Francis and James Gostic.

Coach Fan Shun Kei was satisfied with his side’s performance today saying, “Three wins from three games so I’m very pleased. I think the best thing was watching the way the team managed to build momentum from game to game. Today was a good warm-up but tomorrow the competition is going to get much harder. We have to take it a game at a time.

“I was surprised that Singapore beat China in the morning and they look quite strong but we are confident and I think if we play the way we did today we will have enough to beat them to advance to the semi-final as the top team in the pool,” Fan added.

The 2nd Asian Schools Rugby Sevens Championship has been made possible thanks to the generous support of major sponsor Societe Generale, who have a strong track record of investment in rugby both locally in Hong Kong and around the globe, and is subvented through the Government’s Home Affairs Bureau.

Hikaru Ogata, Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific, Societe Generale, said, “Societe Generale is delighted to support the 2nd Asian Schools Rugby Sevens Championship which marks a significant development for Asian rugby by nurturing future talents in the sport. The sponsorship is a continuation of our long standing tradition of supporting rugby from grassroots to the national level.”

Day One Results:

Game 1 - India 0 Guam 24

Game 2 - Singapore 28 China 7

Game 3 - Mongolia 14 Cambodia 10

Game 4 - Thailand 12 Sri Lanka 19

Game 5 - Hong Kong 33 China 5

Game 6 - India 0 Singapore 48

Game 7 - Malaysia 21 Sri Lanka 29

Game 8 - Mongolia 5 Thailand 39

Game 9 - China 38 India 12

Game 10 - Guam 0 Hong Kong 50

Game 11 - Sri Lanka 52 Mongolia 0

Game 12 - Cambodia 0 Malaysia 50

Game 13 - Guam 7 Singapore 28

Game 14 - Hong Kong 56 India 0

Game 15 - Cambodia 0 Thailand 35

Game 16 - Malaysia 29 Mongolia 0

Hong Kong Squad (2nd Asian School Rugby Sevens Championship 2016)

James Karton (West Island School)*, Sam Jupp (Shatin College), Chong Shun Hong (Yuen Yuen Inst. MFBM Nei Ming Chan Lui Chung Tak Memorial College), Oliver Overman (Kellett International School), Ryan Walker (Australian International School), Mark Coebergh (YMCAHKCC)*, James Francis (South Island School), Paul Altier (South Island School)*, Henry Poon (Chinese International School), Aidan Trent (Australian International School), Jack Abbott (South Island School), James Gostic (South Island School).

* Members of the Hong Kong Rugby Union U20 team at the Junior World Trophy 2016