HONG KONG U19S TARGET 6TH ASIA RUGBY U19S CHAMPIONSHIP IN CHINESE TAIPEI

13th Dec 2018

Hong Kong will open its bid for a sixth Asia Rugby U19s title in Chinese Taipei when they kick-off the four-team tournament against South Korea (1700).  Sri Lanka and the hosts play in today’s other match.  Hong Kong are five-time defending champions, beating Sri Lanka in a home-and-away series last year to qualify for a fifth appearance at the World Rugby U20 Trophy. 

The return of the four-team format will again put the winners through to the second-tier junior world championship in 2019. Hong Kong are once again the favourites on form - entering with 12 veterans of the U20 Trophy campaign earlier this year, and 14 overall from last year’s Asian championship.

Amongst the senior leaders returning are Kowloon forward Sam Tsoi Kin-san, who will captain the squad with support from fly-half Paul Altier as vice captain. 

“Sam is the heartbeat of this team. He puts his head where it hurts and leads by example, which is fantastic for the rest of the boys,” said head coach Stephen Dowse.

“He has the required experience from last year and is similar to J.C., [Hong Kong captain James Cunningham] in his style. He does his job outstandingly well, first and foremost, and the guys respect and follow that example,” Dowse added.

Dowse is pleased to have the returning experience, but is equally excited about the remainder of the 26-man squad, which for him represents the squad’s ability to unite a variety of Hong Kong talent. The team features a strong locally based contingent, drawn in part based on performances in the Colts Premiership instituted this year, players studying overseas who have committed to working remotely with the programme, and a number of Hong Kong’s junior Elite Rugby Programme, Elite Rugby Sevens and Podium programme athletes.

“There’s a good blend of veterans but also some of the younger Hong Kong-based lads coming through. Over the course of training and selection these guys have really put their hands up and deserve a shot. We’re excited to see how they go.

“The guys have all come through the National Age Grade programme. They’re young, but thanks to the pathway they’ve been able to hit the ground running. Guys are now coming in well equipped and understanding what they need to do in training. We then work with them closely to improve their game understanding, particularly over tournaments like this,” Dowse said.

“We’ve had about five weeks working with the guys based in Hong Kong, and this past week the overseas boys have come in and added good energy. It’s a case of building the foundations within the group we’ve had in camp for a while and blending in the overseas guys with their additional experience.

“We have strong relationships with their unis, especially in the UK, so we understand the level they are playing at and the directors of rugby at the schools understand how important this competition is for us, so we work closely with them to ensure that players can be available.”

The success Hong Kong is enjoying at this level is also raising awareness of the team and helping the programme go from strength to strength.  Not only is the new brood benefiting from a clear playing pathway that provides a roadmap to future Hong Kong caps - they have now seen several peers traverse this road successfully.

That includes players like Max Denmark and Liam Herbert, both of whom graduated from the U20s squad to Hong Kong Sevens caps, and for Denmark - a regular starting spot in the Hong Kong fifteen, in the past six months.  Altier has parlayed his strong performances in the programme into spots with the Hong Kong sevens squad at tournaments in Fiji, Portugal and the Netherlands in the last year.

They join a host of players like Hugo Stiles, Marcus Ramage, Mike Parfitt, Finn Field, James Christie and Alexander Post, all of whom have gone on to earn caps after graduating from the U20s programme in the period since Hong Kong hosted the World Rugby Trophy for the first time in 2014.

Success begets success Dowse says: “The exposure has helped certainly. After being in the World Rugby trophy the last five years, we’re now seeing players approach us and are able to develop more relationships with the universities around the world. The domestic clubs have also bought in fully as you can see from the significant numbers of young guys playing in the Premiership now,” Dowse added.

Hong Kong’s growing awareness internationally is also serving as a force multiplier of sorts.  

Examples of this are the return of Rory Cinnamond, who along with his older brother Zac learned his rugby in Hong Kong at Sandy Bay and has now returned to pursue his rugby career. Zac played for the U20s in the debut 2014 World Trophy competition while Rory will make his debut in Taipei.

“It’s exciting to have some new blood in the programme. Rory has come back and done very well. He knows his strengths and what he needs to work on and we’re working to get him up to speed in terms of his game understanding.”

Another on debut is dynamic flanker Joseph Knight from London Irish whom Dowse calls one to watch.  

“Joe has made a good impact and forms part of an exciting back row for us. He reached out through Marcus Ramage, which shows that the more exposure we get, the more players are coming forward who can and want to play for Hong Kong, which is a great place for us to be in.”

“All of the squad have come from vastly different places and programmes, but the focal point is the team. Guys now at a younger age have a greater awareness of the opportunity on offer and really want to grab ahold of it.”

Dowse is keen to see this growing talent on the pitch properly applied towards the desired result:

“This tournament is an important part of our development pathway, but it is also important because if we win, we go through to the World Rugby U20 Trophy and get to test players at the next level up.

“It’s a massively important tournament and certainly one that we don’t underestimate coming in. One of the things we’ve learned is that you have to hit the ground running in the first game. If you don’t do well in that game, honestly, the other games don’t matter.”

That leaves Hong Kong with a point to prove against South Korea in the overnight opener in Taipei.

“Our opponents are all quite similar in that they all have some big players with agility and pace, so for us, it’s about concentrating on our points of difference. If we manage the game, play to structure, and back ourselves and our processes we’ll put ourselves in place for a good performance and the results will follow from there.

“It’ll be a 26-man effort undoubtedly. It’s not a case any longer of 15 guys and that’s it. It’s a team-wide effort,” Dowse added.

Hong Kong U19s Asia Rugby Championship Squad

Sam TSOI (captain); Paul ALTIER (vice captain); Jack ABBOTT; Mikkel CHRISTENSEN; Rory CINNAMOND; Anthony COEBERH; Hugo DARKE CHRISTOPHER; Liam DOHERTY; Sam DOWN; Oliver DUFFY; Shiven DUHKANDE; Jonathan HOWELLS; Toby JURECKA; Nicholas KARTON; Kyle KITNEY; Joseph KNIGHT; Pat LAIDLER; NG Cheuk-wai; Julian ONDERWATER; Oliver OVERMAN; Thaddeus SUMMERS; Callum TAM; David TANG; Max WALKER; Alexander WOOD; ZHOU Tianlong. 

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