Another season is over and Hong Kong rugby has to again come to terms with the fact we are a long way behind Japan, who continue to dominate the HSBC Asian Five Nations Top Five competition. Japan hold a proud record of not only having won all five tournaments since the bank came on board in 2008 as title sponsors, but of remaining undefeated in the process. And if you add the icing to this cake - they have collected a bonus point in all their 20 outings over the five years, by scoring four tries (and more) - it underlines the vast gulf between Asia's No1 team and the rest.
This is not new. Even in the old days Japan ruled the roost. The Asian Rugby Football Union was formed in 1968 with Hong Kong one of eight founding members. Its purpose was to provide members with international competition. And so a tournament was established the following year, to be held biennially.
From 1969 to 2004, Japan won a total of 14 titles. The only times they were unsuccessful were in 1982, 1986, 1988, 1990 and 2002 when South Korea defeated them in the final. Those Asian Rugby Championships were replaced by the annual Asian Rugby Series in 2005, and Japan continued to conquer.
With the old eight-team format made redundant by newer members joining the Asian family, and the fact it had become too expensive for one host union to stage one big week-long tournament, it was decided to split Asia into divisions, as it was felt unproductive for countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, all founding members, to be hammered by 100 points or more by Japan. The world, and Japan, moved on. But it seemed the rest of Asian rugby, now enlarged to 28 countries, is still stuck behind.
In 2008, Asian rugby received a double boost. The International Rugby Board, recognising the pioneering efforts by one of its most forward-looking regions, handed over a grant of ?00,000 to restructure the annual competition. But the bigger achievement was netting a blue-chip sponsor for the first time in the form of HSBC.
This allowed Asian officials to create a competitive tournament that reached down to every union, be it in Laos or Jordan, with a promotion-relegation system. And at the very top were the five best teams. Hong Kong have been in this group from the outset with ambitions of perhaps one day vying for the top prize. As we have seen so many times, these ambitions remain just a dream.
Under new coach Eddie Jones, Japan are playing a heady brand of rugby at a speed that has left the rest of Asia literally breathless. The real test for Japan will be if they can match the bigger opposition they will encounter in the Pacific, as well as the other 13 countries ranked above them in the IRB rankings as they try to close the gap on the rest of the world.