Injured Hong Kong captain Max Woodward fails to make cut: Jamie Hood back in charge
Thigh strain puts paid to his hopes of playing at the Hong Kong Sevens with the new skipper confident of their chances
Time ran out for Max Woodward on Tuesday as the Hong Kong captain was unable to brush off a niggling thigh strain and failed to make the final cut for his side’s campaign at the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens.
His omission was the major surprise as coach Gareth Baber announced his final 12, with fringe sevens set-up member Jack Capon also set to watch the World Rugby Sevens Series Qualifier from the sidelines.
The 24-year-old Woodward had been full of confidence this past Friday as the initial squad of 14 was announced but the sight of him lugging water bottles around the pitch during Hong Kong’s hit-out against Canada on Monday raised eyebrows.
Max has been awesome as a captain and he is a huge part of what we have been achieving over the past year. I’ve just got to try to keep on doing what he has been doing
Baber had promised to give Woodward as long as possible to recover from the strain suffered during the Borneo Sevens last month but it was apparently obvious during the squad’s final serious workouts on Tuesday that Woodward wasn’t going to make it.
For Baber and his team of advisers, with the final cutthroat Olympic qualifying repecharge looming in Monaco in June, selection just wasn’t worth the risk of serious damage.
“It’s a great honour to captain this team, but I’m gutted for Max that he hasn’t been able to get right for this weekend,” said Hood.
“Max has been awesome as a captain and he is a huge part of what we have been achieving over the past year. I’ve just got to try to keep on doing what he has been doing.”
Familiar faces among the squad include Rowan Varty, who will run out for the 11th time, Salom Yiu Kam-shing (seventh), Alex McQueen (sixth) and Lee Jones (fifth).
“Fortunately, we have a side with a lot of experience that can balance the three guys on debut. Players like Varts [Varty], Alex and Salom are all very experienced and even younger guys like Mike Coverdale and Chris Maize have played a lot of sevens and been in the Hong Kong Stadium on Sevens weekend before,” Hood said.
“Being captain doesn’t change what I have to do out on the pitch and hopefully we’ll go out and get the job done.”
“Toby and JC [Cunningham] are both great ball carriers and they bring some real aggression into the contact area, which is useful while Ryan is a natural sevens player, with good hands and quick feet,” said Hood.
“All three have good rugby brains and I think they will get used to the environment very quickly.
"They are three talented players and they have been training with us for awhile. The only thing I need to tell them is to enjoy it.
"It is an incredible experience running out of the tunnel at the Hong Kong Sevens. They have done all of the hard work already and now it’s just about bringing that out on the pitch.”
Hong Kong squad: Jamie Hood (captain), Michael Coverdale, James Cunningham, Toby Fenn, Lee Jones, Cado Lee Ka-to, Christopher Maize, Alex McQueen, Ryan Meacheam, Ben Rimene, Rowan Varty, Salom Yiu Kam-shing.
