Boots and all | Pack mentality key if Hong Kong are ever to reach a World Cup

From Russia with love came the message: we need to bulk up our pack to compete against teams ranked above us in the world rankings.

This is the conclusion from the two test matches Hong Kong lost 31-10 and 39-27. In total we scored five tries, four in the second test, all coming from broken play and created by the backs.

It is not surprising, considering the majority of the backline are fully professional, training at the Hong Kong Sports Institute, while most of the forwards – except Nick Hewson (who sat out the second test through injury) and Jack Capon (who came on in the second test) – are not. If the two encounters were just between the opposing backs, Hong Kong would have won hands down. But if the aim is one day to feature in a 15s World Cup (Hong Kong has the proud record of having played in every sevens World Cup), then we still have a long way to go.

Winger Tom McQueen, who scored a brace in the second test as Hong Kong came back superbly to within two points of Russia at one stage, hit the nail on the head when he pointed out that even in the first-round repechage against Uruguay in August in Montevideo (lost 28-3), the forwards had struggled to provide good ball.

This is not to say our pack did not play their hearts out. They did, but it was mainly a defensive effort. Our scrum was always under pressure, and this put the team on the back foot. We were a bit more competitive at the breakdown, but trying to slow play down and stop the opposition from using quick ball was a monumental task.

Our defence was heroic. But for how long can you keep tackling and putting your body on the line? It was inevitable that the dam would burst and it did, especially in the first half of both matches; as the Russian bear tired, we got better, which says a lot for the fitness of our team, especially the backs.