Hong Kong narrowly lost to a McDonald’s Saunaka seven laden with former and future Fiji internationals, including former sevens captain Pio Tuwai, 19-17, to end their run in the Bowl Semi Final of the Mana Whey Coral Coast Sevens today. Hong Kong beat Uprising 23-10 in the quarter final as the squad knocked the rust off a four-month absence from sevens with an improved performance against the world-class competition in the tournament.

“We showed much better today,” said Dai Rees, General Manager of Performance Rugby at the HKRU. “We looked after the ball better and were back on the pace required in sevens, but there is still lots of improvement needed.

“This weekend was exactly what we had hoped for from the tour. It has given us a head start for the World Series qualifiers, exposed us to some world class sevens in every game and set an effective benchmark in terms of our preparations,” Rees added.

In the quarter final, Hong Kong avoided the slow start that had plagued its efforts on day one. But after some back and forth exchanges, it was Uprising that posted the first points, taking a 5-0 lead in the 3^rd minute.

Captain Max Woodward replied for Hong Kong, finishing a good period of multiple phase possession with a try out wide. Chris Maize proved influential with his ability to stand up in the tackle against physically larger opponents and was rewarded for his efforts with a brace of tries today.

Jamie Hood also looked more conversant with the sevens flow, consistently finding that metre of space needed to set his teammates loose. Hood’s scrambling ability put Woodward into space for the opening try with the big captain crashing over from five metres. Hood’s conversion from the corner missed, but Hong Kong had levelled the score at 5-5.

Rowan Varty added a second try at the hooter after Hong Kong controlled the re-start, an area that plagued the team on day one, as it has for much of the past decade, with Hong Kong consistently at a height disadvantage against international opponents. Hood’s conversion attempt went wide but Hong Kong led 12-5.

Hong Kong found another gear in the second half, as they avenged their day one losses. Maize was a gadfly in possession, pestering Uprising into indiscipline as they drew a yellow card for a shoulder charge.

Late in the half, Woodward produced a great turnover in the ruck with the ball coming out to Jamie Cunningham, an overnight injury replacemet for Michael Coverdale. The physical Cunningham posed problems for the defence as he carried the ball to the five-metre line before offloading to Lee Ka-to who quickly linked up with Alex McQueen.

McQueen did well to make the ball available after drawing multiple defenders. He returned the ball to Lee in space and the gritty scrumhalf crashed over from in close to extend the lead to 17-5. A dangerous challenge on Lee saw Uprising handed a second yellow, giving Hong Kong a two-man advantage. A minute later, Maize collected the reward for his hard work, after being put into space along the near touchline with ten metres to cover. Bouncing a defender off in the tackle, Maize’s try extended the lead to 23-5 before Uprising scored a consolation try giving Hong Kong a 23-10 win.

In the Bowl semi final, Hong Kong erased a 19-0 deficit at half-time against the eventual champions to come within a conversion of extra-time before losing 19-17.

The kick off proved a problem area once again as Saunaka scored the fastest try of the tournament (10 seconds) when Tuwai collected the kick cleanly and tapped on to his wing for a 5-0 lead. Saunaka extended the lead to 12 in the sixth minute, and then pushed it to 19, with a third try at the hooter as Tuwai claimed another re-start before offloading to Vilimoni Morawa for the try.

In the second half, Hong Kong’s superior conditioning came to the fore as the Fijians tried to play behind the ball. Varty started the fightback, demonstrating that his flair and vision was the equal of anyone’s in the tournament after laying down a grubber kick behind the rush defence. The perfectly weighted kick popped up into his hands and he scampered away to score under the posts. Hood’s conversion brought the score to 19-7 with three minutes remaining.

Hong Kong stormed back for two more tries as they won three consecutive re-starts for the first time all weekend to keep the pressure on. With possession secure, Hong Kong looked cool and confident as they embarked on multiple phases in possession. Lee Jones eventually drew two defenders out wide to create space for Maize, who scored his second try of the day, narrowing the gap to 19-12.

After claiming their third consecutive re-start, Hong Kong was on the move again, setting the table for a captains try from Woodward, who capped off another careful build-up with a score in the corner. With the hooter having gone, it was up to Hood to make a tight conversion from the far touchline. His attempt fell just wide, putting Saunaka through to the final, where they beat Germany, who will also appear in the qualifiers in Hong Kong in April, 21-19. Wardens, who beat Hong Kong in pool play, won the Cup, 12-10, over First Light Taveuni.

With results only a benchmark objective this weekend, Rees was satisfied with the team’s progress: “I was pleased with the way we reacted after yesterday, but this tournament has shown that we face a steep learning curve.

“We aren’t playing enough sevens. We play four or five tournaments a season, while the teams here are playing 15 tournaments a year. We need more high-class tournaments like this and definitely hope to return next year, with our women’s team as well as the women’s bracket is much stronger than anything we play in in Asia,” Rees said.

The team’s next tournament ahead of the Cathay Pacific/Hong Kong Sevens will be at the Borneo Sevens in March said Rees: “We’ll use Borneo as the next step in our preparation and are also looking to bring in a World Rugby Series side early on to prepare alongside and against,” Rees added.

With former Hong Kong coach Gareth Baber now handling the reigns in Fiji, the Olympic champions could be that side. If so, as this weekend’s competition has proved, there will be few better teams to prepare against as Hong Kong bid to reach the World Series.