Hong Kong China started their third and final match on the South American tour in beautiful and sunny conditions on Saturday 20 July at the Estádio Nicolau Alayon in São Paulo, as they faced Brazil for their first-ever men's test match.

After losing to Chile in the opening game 17-22 and beating Paraguay 80-12, Hong Kong China were eager to end the tour on a high. They faced a team who were a bit of an unknown entity as they had last played in 2023 losing to Canada in the third-place play-off at La Vila International Rugby Cup in Villajoyosa, Spain.

In the end, it was a gutsy and body-on-the-line performance from the entire team that earned an after-hooter win with the final kick for a 26-25 scoreline, thanks to the calm shown under pressure by Nathan De Thierry.

Before this game, Head Coach Andrew Douglas had said he expected the hosts to be big and physical with a strong pack and he was right. After the win, he added, “We had talked about them before the game being physical and being direct and it was a hostile environment. At half time we felt like we were in a good spot and we had opportunities but we knew it was an arm wrestle and that's about who stays in the fight the longest. But credit to them, they stuck in it longer than we thought they were going to.”

A delighted Hong Kong China captain Joshua Hrstich said, “We knew it would be tough and come down to the wire. I am hugely proud of the guys here. We've had an awesome tour and it's been an experience of a lifetime for us and we are very lucky. We heard about the physicality of the teams in South America and I'm happy with how we have stood up to the challenges of the teams we have played.”

First Half Physicality - Too Close To Call

Hong Kong China kicked off on the hard and fast surface, and the Os Tupis, as the Brazilian men are known, were quick to show they meant business in the rucks as they stole the early ball.

The hosts also had a rush defence and solid start with physical hits but the opening period was scrappy with little fluidity for either side.

Around the tenth-minute mark, Hong Kong China moved the ball well to the left and scored their first points via number 8 Luke Van Der Smit as he busted over on the wing, and the try was converted by Nathan De Thierry for a 7-0 lead.

Brazil kicked to touch and earned a lineout 5 metres from the Hong Kong China try line. They attacked through several phases and eventually scored on the left through their centre in the 17th minute to tie it up at 7-7.

Brazil’s option for the lineouts was their main attacking weapon, but Hong Kong China showed some good lineout maul defence in the half as neither side could muster any clear chances.

Big physical tackles in the centre of the field as both sides shot up quickly in the line to close out the space. A crucial lineout steal by Hong Kong China led to a Matthew Worley score which went down as a great team try in the 34th minute to earn a 14-7 lead.

It was Brazil's turn to counter and they moved the ball well to their big ball carriers. They also had a slight ascendancy at scrum time and earned a scrum penalty and opted for posts before the half to go into the break with Hong Kong China leading 14-10.

Nervy and Physical Second Half - Win Earned At the Death

The opening 5 minutes of the half continued in the same vein as the first half with a tight physical game and shoulders being tested. Both sides won turnovers but the game remained in the balance as the vocal crowd watched on.

Hong Kong China applied pressure with a couple of attacking lineouts but every carry was being fiercely contested and neither side gave an inch as dust clouds bounced off the turf at every collision.

In the 53rd minute, a promising attacking maul from another lineout led to a scrap between players as tensions simmered.

Hong Kong China had four or five lineouts in the opening quarter of the half within the Brazilian 22m but came up empty-handed and Brazil cleared their lines well. It was the hosts who then attacked and in the 58th minute went over to take the lead for the first time 14-15, with the conversion hitting the posts to set up an anxious final quarter as the momentum shifted in Brazil's favour.

Hong Kong China nearly scored a great try in response after a good run from centre Ben Axten-Burrett but the final pass couldn't stick as Brazil desperately cleared their lines again.

Another Brazil attacking lineout led to a good driving maul and another try as they extended the lead to 22-14 in the 65th minute.

Hong Kong China were chasing the game with a quarter left and an attacking lineout led to a great solo try from Matteo Avitabile in the 68th minute, with the conversion narrowly missing to leave the score 22-19 to the hosts.

A charge-down kick shortly after on the 22m resulted in a penalty to Brazil in front of the posts in the 70th minute and they successfully kicked the three to lead 25-19 as time seemed to be running out.

The tempo increased as both teams tried to secure the win. With less than 5 minutes to go, Hong Kong China had a good attacking lineout and several phases but again Brazil stole the ball and kicked downfield.

It appeared the game could be over but a final lineout opportunity led to a penalty advantage and a smartly taken cross-field kick led to a try in the corner by Sebastian Brien after Harry Sayers nearly went over in the build up. This took the score to 25-24 with the conversion kick to win the game from out wide, and De Thierry nailed the pressure kick as the team ran onto the field to engulf him as they won in the most dramatic way possible, and ended the tour with two wins.

De Thierry said after the hard-earned nailbiter, “It means a lot to nail that kick, for me and the boys. We have been together for three weeks on a tough tour, so to get that win just topped it off so well.”

So much invaluable experience had been gained on this tour and Douglas added, “The great thing about touring here is that you get adversity and crowds that are passionate and you have to adapt. We probably didn't do that as well as I would have liked, but at the same time, we showed a lot of resilience and character to stay in it. It wasn't a pretty win or our best performance but I am proud of that character and we never gave up.”

Of the tour generally, he added that it's been a fantastic experience to learn more about the playing group and what makes them tick and motivates them physically and mentally. He commented the positives were “bringing us together and having a game plan we can implement, and I have a group of players I can trust fully - so it's exciting for our future.”

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