There was little cheer for Hong Kong after their first-ever venture into Europe with the chilly news they had dropped to a lowest-ever position of 39 in the IRB world rankings.
Snowbound Europe proved a harsh environment for the 29-strong squad and with all three games ending in defeat - 24-14 to Germany, 17-5 to the Czech Republic and 25-10 to the Netherlands - it was hardly surprising Hong Kong slipped five places down the ladder.
The groundbreaking tour was designed as a springboard for next year's HSBC Asian Five Nations (A5N) Top Five tournament, which doubles up as a 2011 World Cup qualifier. But head coach Dai Rees (pictured) remains optimistic everything is on target as Hong Kong prepare to take on Japan, the favourites to win Asia's automatic berth in the World Cup, as well as South Korea, Kazakhstan and the Arabian Gulf, who will all be vying for the runners-up slot to go into a repechage. A thawed Rees told Alvin Sallay why Hong Kong can take much heart from the European adventure, stressing the experience would prove invaluable.
Q Apart from the experience, what were the tangible benefits from the tour?
A We capped 15 players, and re-engaged several key players. Mark Wright played his first international at number seven, and it was his first 15s game in two years. Tim Alexander came back after a double leg fracture and regained his match-fitness to an international level. Tsang Hing-hung returned to international 15s after a long spell away training to become a police officer. There were first caps for some promising young players such as So Hok-ken and Salom Yiu Kam-shing. Players in key positions gained significant experience. Alex Ng Wai-shing was capped twice and started two games against European front-row opposition. It was a huge experience for him as he was normally used in the last 20 minutes. For Keith Robertson it was a first start in an international game at number 10. He played well in difficult conditions that put pressure on game control. We now have depth in this position. We successfully engaged new IRB-qualified players in Charles French, Alex Baddeley, Nick Hewson, Jack Bennett and Tom McColl. The biggest benefit will be in taking our A5N team into a strong rugby culture. We tested ourselves in new conditions and derived real performance feedback we can focus on over the next four months. Traditionally, we have been preparing with training camps and matches against club opposition in Australia or the like. I believe the benefits will be seen in our World Cup qualification campaign.
Q What were Hong Kong's main shortcomings?