A new chapter in Hong Kong rugby opened most promisingly yesterday.
A Hong Kong Select XV defeated tourists Western Australia 20-0 at the Mongkok Stadium, ushering in new coach Phil Campbell's reign on a highly satisfactory note.
Tries in the last five minutes from Steve Pengelly and Jon Dingley - the latter a peach with the No 8 peeling from a scrum at the halfway mark and going for it after spotting a gap - resulted in a flattering scoreline.
The victory was somewhat dampened by the news that captain for the past two seasons Roger Patterson will be stepping down.
'This is my last game as captain. It is only fair that I step down as I will not be available for the last two away games in the Pacific Rim Championships,' said Patterson afterwards.
Thankfully, Patterson will still make himself available for the first few Pac Rim games and, most importantly, also be around for October's Asian tournament - the region's qualifier for the 1999 World Cup.
Everything is aimed at winning that tournament. Even yesterday's game is part of the bigger picture, even though the majority of the side will not be eligible to play in Singapore, come October.