A one-year residency rule is imposed for Hong Kong in the ARFT.

This makes the current crop of new players in the territory ineligible. They will also not be picked for the Fiji Tests, according to Simpkin, who will be looking at those games as ARFT preparation.

The new talents on display were in the trials simply to boost the strength of the teams and make proceedings more competitive.

Simpkin said he would have preferred to field players who would be eligible for the ARFT.

But it is likely that Simpkin will be tempted to field some of the newcomers.

Already Hong Kong forwards Dave Lewis, Brent Edwards and Duane Davis have said they will be unavailable.

Prop Lewis is out of contention for the second Test, while flanker Edwards and No 8 Davis will miss the first.

The latter's absence comes about because the first Test has been scheduled for a Sunday. Davis, a Mormon, does not play on Sundays.

It is not the first time that the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union have put monetary interests above the national team.

But the last time they did it, in the Pacific Rim Championship home tie against the United States, Hong Kong did not miss Davis, going on to record a famous first win.

Maybe the HKRFU hopes that Hong Kong can repeat the miracle on Sunday. Perhaps they must be thinking that Fiji too still adhere strongly to the old traditions of not playing on the Sabbath.

There should be no illusions - the Fijians will be hard to beat. A side which hammered Western Samoa 60-0 and beat Waikato recently will be favourites.

And with Simpkin still looking for those elusive props, second-rowers and half-backs, the task looks further out of reach.

Even with the new crop of players, the Territory is unlikely to be much of a force.

The lack of classy forwards is well highlighted by Football Club, who traditionally have been known to attract new forwards in town, and even though, according to coach Jim Rowark, Football Club has around 70 players turning out at practice three times a week.

It is early days still, but it seems Football Club will have to manage with what they already have in the pack.

This also holds true for Hong Kong, with nothing exceptional going on show at the trials.

Hong Kong's goal this season must be to win the ARFT, but unless Simpkin can conjure up a miracle, it is likely they will find the going hard in Taipei come November.

Hong Kong referees attended a mandatory course on scrum safety in Macau at the weekend. It was run by officials from the New Zealand rugby union.