PUBLISHED ON 19 OCT 2026
[Hong Kong China, 19 October 2026]: Hong Kong China Rugby’s sevens athletes have concluded a successful Asian swing with the men sweeping the Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series today in Sri Lanka, while the women finished third overall in Asia as they maintained their momentum from the Asian Games.
The men suffered a rare loss in the cup final in Colombo, being well beaten by Japan, 28-14.
Japan blitzed Hong Kong with two tries in the final two minutes of the first half and then opened the second with a quick score to lead 21-0 with three minutes remaining. A try from Max Denmark closed the gap to 21-7, but Japan replied quickly to push the lead out to 28-7 before Matt Worley scored late to close the gap to 28-14.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed with the loss. The boys looked pretty fatigued. It's been quite a tough campaign for them and I think the contact area was probably the difference. They were just a little bit better at that, they got a few kickoff bounces, and I think it was an accumulation of things, it's been a tough campaign,” said HKCR men’s sevens coach Jevon Groves.
“Asking seven or eight of those Asian Games boys to back up was tough because they've been focusing all their energies on that, so to replicate that and go again was always going to be tough. We were extremely proud of how they did backup and credit to them for doing it.”
Despite the loss, Hong Kong claimed the Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series title, after reaching both finals, winning the opener in Suzhou, China and again tonight in Colombo, to claim first overall.
It was Hong Kong China Rugby’s sixth straight Asian Sevens title, to add to the team’s third straight Asian Games gold medal won earlier this month.
“Really pleased with winning the overall Asian series and of course winning the Asian Games. If you had said that to me before we went into these tournaments, we would have taken that,” said a satisfied Groves.
“I think it's good for us that we've had a loss in this way. It'll make us reflect and think a little bit deeper about our game and how we can get better. We need to have a week off now, and then we'll regroup and get ready to prepare for the challenger, which will be an exciting prospect and an opportunity for other boys to step up and grow, which is exciting for the depth of the programme,” said Groves.
The men entered Sunday with intent - blistering Malaysia 78-0 in an unrelenting quarterfinal. The going was harder versus Thailand in the semifinal, but Hong Kong were in the driver seat throughout, conceding only a consolation try at full-time in a 45-7 win.
The HKCR women’s seven, celebrating a 50th tournament for Nam Ka Man in Sri Lanka, maintained its strong run of performances from the Asian Games, advancing to the semifinal against China after beating India in the quarters, 29-5.
HKCR gave China all it could handle in the semis after trailing 12-7 at the half. It took two picture perfect tries from China to unlock Hong Kong’s defence in the first half. Hong Kong finished the period on an attacking note after a closing try from Julia Mba Oyana. Shortly before half China were handed a yellow card for a high tackle giving Hong Kong a player advantage to start the second half.
In a strong tactical maneuver China chewed up the clock down the stretch with a series of close runs, scrums and recycled ball that was effective if not pretty. Eventually they ran out the clock and starved Hong Kong of possession before breaking away for a last try in the 17-7 win. Hong Kong China bounced back with a 17-5 win over Kazakhstan to claim third place for the second time this series, as they put room between them and their nearest competitors Thailand.
