Hong Kong played with a lot of fire and heart. But that combustible mix failed to generate enough pace as the home team began their 2004 campaign with a 21-0 loss to Canada.
The Hong Kong Dragon breathed fire. But sadly all the possession that Hong Kong had went to waste as once again the old bogey - the lack of a player with true pace - struck.
'We made a lot of play but we didn't make the breaks,' said Hong Kong coach Dallas Seymour. He knows how important it is to have a player or two who can turn on the speed, having played for New Zealand in four Cup-winning teams in Hong Kong.
But since taking over as sevens coach - with the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union looking ahead to next year's Rugby World Cup Sevens - earlier this year, he has found that his adopted union lacks players with wheels.
'We do lack the wheels. But if we play to our pattern and execute our game plan, we will be OK. We can't do anything about this game. Now we must look to our next two games against Fiji and Portugal. The team will be playing in front of their home crowd and they should use it to good effect,' said Seymour.
Hong Kong held Canada to just one try in the first half - Stirling Richmond breaking free off an oppressive defence to break a deadlock midway through the first half.