DAY THREE REVIEW: SUNDAY 23 JUNE - HONG KONG CHINA MEN AND WOMEN BOW OUT AT QUARTER-FINAL STAGE

POLAND WOMEN 36-0 HONG KONG CHINA

Hong Kong China Women lost to a very good and physical Polish team on Sunday morning in Monaco, as the Europeans ran out 36-0 winners.

Women’s Head Coach Andy Vilk reflected on the result and the bigger picture, saying, “it's been another great experience in what is just one level below the World SVNS Series and that's what we want to do, is grow as a team. I think we have shown in the four games this weekend just how much we can grow when we are exposed to this level of environment.

“Poland did exceptionally well and we couldn't get hold of the ball and they kept it away from us so full credit to them. I felt like our girls showed amazing character in defence. We have shown good application and progress across the board this season and that's what we need to keep working on.”

Poland will go on to face China in a daunting semi-final, and against Hong Kong China, they applied a lot of pressure from the onset, while controlling the possession to starve Hong Kong China of attacking opportunities.

Poland scored early down the left flank after a kick from Chong Ka Yan had an unlucky bounce and the Poles attacked the blindside to find space and were 7-0 up. From the restart, Poland applied more pressure and found space on the left hand edge to score again and lead 12-0. They added a third before the half to go into the break with a 19-0 lead.

The Poles continued their form in the second half and added two more tries while denying Hong Kong China possession. In the final play, Poland added a final score to win 36-0 as Hong Kong China were knocked out.

Women’s Captain Natasha Olson-Thorne added, “We knew it was going to be tough going into it as Poland are a very physical team. We fought hard until the end so I'm proud of the girls. I have been in the program for a while now and it's amazing to see the growth of the new players coming through, as well as the skills and energy they bring into the team.”

SPAIN MEN 26-5 HONG KONG CHINA

Men’s Head Coach Jevon Groves had spoken on Saturday of the threats that Spain posed after the men had lost to the same opposition in their final pool game 35-14.

The Spaniards started well in the quarter-final and scored early, winning the kick-off and taking advantage of an overlap to go ahead 5-0 in the opening minutes. Hong Kong China were challenged well again on the restart and Spain moved the ball well through a set of phases following a scrum to add a second try and lead 12-0

With the SVNS team controlling possession, and Hong Kong China falling off one or two tackles, the Spaniards added a third before the half to lead 19-0.

Max Denmark made a couple of trademark long bustling runs but was found a little isolated and the team could not convert the opportunities to capitalise on their attacking chances.

Spain added another try in the second half to lead 25-0. Hong Kong China, with the crowd behind them, managed to score in the final minute to get on the scoreboard and end the game and tournament on a high, even if they fell just short of the main goal.

“They are an excellent team and they can challenge teams all the way here. They have good speed, challenge the breakdowns, and are good at the transition,” said Groves. I'm disappointed we didn't fire enough shots but they probably didn't let us do that and you can see they are an experienced team.”

On the team’s performance and season, the Head Coach added, “I'm proud the guys worked until the end and there will be good learnings for us. We can look forward to a break and starting this four-year cycle again and we have 11 of these guys who are eligible and be ok age-wide for the next four years. With the Asian Games, and All China Games, and Olympic qualifiers we have a core group that can challenge those. This group has had ups and downs but the game is designed for that and I think we can celebrate a decent season.”

DAY 2 REVIEW: SATURDAY 22 JUNE - HONG KONG CHINA MEN AND WOMEN SECURE QUARTER-FINAL SPACES

HONG KONG CHINA WOMEN 22-12 JAMAICA

The women started Saturday morning with what Head Coach Andy Vilk had called an unknown quantity but try-scoring machine #11 Chong Ka Yan scored early to settle some nerves with Hong Kong China leading 5-0.

Most of the opening half was contested in the Jamaican half but big powerful Naomi Dodd powered through from the halfway line to add Jamaica’s first points and level things up. 

Quick ball is a hallmark of this Hong Kong China side and Chong Ka Yan took a quick tap and caught the defenders off guard to add a second in the game and a 5th for the weekend to retake the lead 12-5. Shortly after Natasha Olson-Thorne won a fantastic turnover and the ball found its way wide quickly for Tsz Wun Ho to score on the halftime hooter with a 17-5 lead.

The second half saw Hong Kong China add a 4th with a set move from the scrum Chong Ka Yan completing a second hat trick in as many games to lead 22-5. The game was just about secure but Dodd ran in one final try to grab her second for the Jamaicans and a Hong Kong China win 22-12 and a place secured in the quarter-finals.

Chong Ka Yan said after the second win and second hat trick and before the final Uganda pool match, “I know from these two games we need to have better stronger tackles as I think our defensive shape is good. Our preparation has been good and we have played different opponents and even played against our coaches to experience a different playing style. It's about how we can bring our training into the pitch into this next game.”

UGANDA WOMEN 17-14 HONG KONG CHINA 

As would be the case in the Hong Kong China Men’s final game, the winners of this match would top the pool with the loser coming second in the pool. Hong Kong China started with some amazing defence to deny Uganda a try in the opening minutes with two covering tackles, but the half did not go to plan.

With Vivian Poon down to an injury, Uganda opened the scoring out wide 5-0 and a turnover soon thereafter led to a second try to the African side and a 12-0 lead. There were some unforced errors and Uganda won the physical battle and added a third try before the half, 17-0.

Hong Kong China started the second half with successive penalties to drive Uganda downfield and after some hard work, Poon Hoi Yan scored to make it 17-7. The side was much stronger defensively and put in some big hits up the centre and out wide and really pressurised the Ugandans into mistakes.

Hong Kong China Women struck back again through Chan Tsz Ching to close the lead to 17-14 but were not able to regather from the restart with the hooter ending the game in a narrow loss.

Head Coach Andy Vilk said, “That’s a game of Sevens. Fantastic effort defensively in the opening minutes and we came back really well in the second half. I am happy with their reaction and are building this tournament and we can take this into tomorrow. We have to reset and carry certain things over and come with a fresh mindset tomorrow and have that energetic momentum.”

Hong Kong China Women will play Poland in the quarter-finals on Sunday.

HONG KONG CHINA MEN 36-0 BRAZIL

Due to the late withdrawal of PNG and the decision not to award forfeited games, means all of the teams in the pool are at a disadvantage as the maximum number of points is fewer than in other pools, which impacts the ranking for the quarter-finals.

Having not played on Friday, the men did not start very well in the first half although they led through two tries from Max Denmark which handed them a 10-0 lead at the break. There were some desperate tackles though to keep the Brazilians from scoring and the side was lacking the cutting edge needed. James Christie nearly added a third before the hooter but was just denied.

After a half-time talk from Head Coach Jevon Groves, the side responded well and the attitude shifted.

Cado Lee and Liam Herbet added second-half scores to extend the lead to 24-0 before Fong Kit Fung and Bryn Philips rounded out the scoring for a solid 36-0 win in their opener.

Groves said after the game that the start had been slow but there was a better reaction in the second half. “It's been a tough week with the disjointed format and losing out on a game vs PNG. I understand there is some tournament fatigue at this point in the season but I know these boys and if they get their minds right they can produce some very special things on the rugby field.”

SPAIN MEN 35-14 HONG KONG CHINA 

Whoever would win this contest would top the pool while the loser would finish second as both teams head to the quarter-finals. The SVNS core series team showed their class in the end but there were lots of positives for Hong Kong China who know they will face tough opposition on Sunday regardless.

The men started well and put the Spaniards under pressure but Spain won the turnover, a battle they won throughout the tense game.

Liam Herbert was outstanding throughout with his carries and he set up Max Denmark to open the scoring which Bryn Phillips converted.

From there, the Hong Kong China defence had to absorb pressure and Spain moved the ball to the far left edge and they snuck into the corner to level it up at 7-7. A nervy few minutes followed with some fingertip tackles and an excellent tackle on the Hong Kong China try line to deny Spain a certain score from James Christie and Denmark. The match went into the break tied up at 7-7.

The Spanish won more ball in the second half and Huge Stiles was yellow carded for tackling a player early which also resulted in a Pol Pla try to the Spanish. Spain used the numerical advantage to grab another score to lead 21-7.

From the restart, a Hong Kong China player was taken out in the air and as Stiles returned, Spain was down to six men. Max Denmark made 70 metres off the back of a scrum and Hong Kong China let a try go begging on the Spanish line before turning it around with an excellent steal from Herbert who scored to close the gap to 21-14.

However, the turnaround was not to be as the European scored twice late to make it a final score of 35-14.

Head Coach Jevon Groves said afterwards, “I thought it was a total contrast to the Brazil game. We had a real crack at them but they are a SVNS World Series team and have so much quality. We will need to tighten up on the contact area and inside shoulder defiance but we have some good stuff to build on again and we could challenge them if we play them again. I don't think there will be any easy games on Sunday.

“It’s an ongoing learning for us when we play these teams in how we can learn and adapt in-game and to what they are throwing at us. We have real game breakers and we know if we can give them time and space we can create a lot.

“The resilience is going to be really important for us on Sunday and I will back the boys as they have always shown me they can react well to those challenges.”

Hong Kong China Men will play Spain in the quarter-finals on Sunday. 

DAY 1 REVIEW: FRIDAY 21 JUNE - HONG KONG CHINA WOMEN SECURE OPENING WIN

HONG KONG CHINA WOMEN 33-15 PARAGUAY

The World Rugby Sevens Repechage 2024 got underway on Friday 21 June at the Olympic themed Stade Louis II Stadium in Monaco. The day miraculously cleared up to some stunning sunshine as the games got underway with a sparse crowd in attendance at the ground.

Due to the late withdrawal of PNG from the tournament, Hong Kong China Men didn’t have a game on the opening day but were in attendance to watch the HKCR women put in a determined effort to come away with the 33-15 win over Paraguay in Pool E.

Women’s 7s Head Coach Andy Vilk said, “Full respect to Paraguay as they came out strong and we knew they are a physical side and put us under pressure and they took the game to us. Full credit to our girls though who responded and reacted really well. It wasn’t a perfect start but it's about attitude and how we react, and we can take away and build on that.”

The Paraguayans were indeed physical and came out of the blocks well to put Hong Kong China Women under pressure to open the scoring. 

It wasn’t long until the team found their shape and structure and first half tries from Nam Ka Man and a brace from Chong Ka Yan put the girls up 19-10 at the halftime break.

Further damage was done with the South Americans receiving a yellow card and Chong Ka Ka Yan completed her hat-trick on the opening day to extend the lead to 26-10 and give all involved some breathing space.

Paraguay was not done and they scored an excellent try to make it 26-15, but Natasha Olson-Thorne found a great break to score under the posts in response and secure the 33-15 victory – with Stephanie Chan slotting four conversions in the game.

Hong Kong China Women will face potentially tougher opponents in the form of Jamaica, who are a bit of an unknown quantity, and Uganda who the side know well from the Challenger Series this year.

Andy Vilk added, “We have Jamaica first tomorrow and we don't know them well, but we have looked at some footage. We have tried to prepare for the unknown quantities this week. We had a hit out against Samoa during the week which was good as we dont know them that well either. It helped the team react and be ready. We fully respect both sides to come, especially if you look at how well Uganda did well in the Challenger too.”

Hong Kong China Men will play against Brazil and Spain on Saturday.

The top two from each pool are guaranteed a place in Sunday’s quarter-finals, with two 3rd best placed teams also making Sunday's winner-takes-all showdown. Only the winners from Monaco will secure the final places and head to this summer's Paris 2024 Olympics.

Read the full tournament preview with Head Coach Paul John

This article was posted in collaboration with our good friends at RugbyAsia247 – check them out for all the latest Asia Rugby news!