Hong Kong vs South China Tigers: expect some ‘frenemy’ action as national team warm-up for Asia Championship
- The Global Rapid Rugby squad will meet the 15-a-side national team, who are gearing up for the Asia Rugby Championship
Ahead of tomorrow’s friendly match between the South China Tigers and the Hong Kong national team, friends and teammates Josh Dowsing and Alex Post are fine with a little lighthearted trash talking.
“On the field he carries very hard so I don’t like tackling him,” said Post, who plays hooker and will be lining up for Hong Kong. “I try to avoid him, or at least let someone else chop him and then I hit him after.”
Dowsing, who hails from New Zealand and slots in at No. 8, becomes eligible to play for the national team in November. He said Post, who was born in Hong Kong, definitely talks the talk.
“Posty loves letting his little mouth run, he always chirps when he can.”
Post confirmed it is a “common” occurrence, with a smirk of course.
The match will begin at 3pm at Aberdeen Sports Ground and will be open to the public, however food and drinks will not be served. The test will cap off the South China Tigers first season in Global Rapid Rugby, where they played Western Force and Asia Pacific Dragons twice each, finishing with a 1-3 record.
The Hong Kong national team is gearing up for the Asia Rugby Championship with a serious asterisk as Japan (ranked 11th in the world) will not participate as they are preparing for the 2019 Rugby World Cup on home soil.
Hong Kong’s first match is on June 8 in Incheon against South Korea, and then the squad will play Malaysia on June 15 at Hong Kong Football Club. They will round out the tournament with a game in Kuala Lumpur on June 22 against Malaysia and a final home contest against Korea on June 29 at the HKFC.
Post, who will be playing in his first Asia Rugby Championship, said the first match of Global Rapid Rugby, which took place in Perth on March 29 against Western Force, was something he won’t soon forget. The Tigers lost that match 45-22 in a contest that featured nine tries.
“That was the most fun I’ve ever had in a rugby game because of the speed, the entertainment. I felt like it was a great spectacle and I really enjoyed it.”
Dowsing, who has lived in Hong Kong for three years, said a big part of Saturday’s game is to get more high-intensity match experience, noting everyone will be at 100 per cent.
“One of the big problems Hong Kong has had in the past is not getting into match fitness for a series, so having this game just enables the boys to get a bit more battle-hardened, so if you do let up that’s when injuries happen so you just have to go full to the wall.”
He also noted the Hong Kong eligible players turning out for the Tigers tomorrow will have something to prove.
“There’s going to be a few guys on that team who think they should be on the other team.”
Regardless of the outcome, Dowsing said there will definitely be some chatter on the field, from Post, and others as well.
“Boys will be boys, we’re always going to enjoy biffing our mates.”
