DAY TWO SCHEDULE: SATURDAY 22 JUNE

- Hong Kong China Women vs Jamaica (KO 16:48)

- Hong Kong China Men vs Brazil (KO 17:40)

- Hong Kong China Men vs Spain (KO 23:04)

- Hong Kong China Women vs Uganda (KO 00:20 - Sunday 23 June)

The World Rugby Sevens Repechage 2024 is available to stream on RugbyPass TV and full schedule of matches can be seen on the World Rugby site here.

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

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, the 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!