Hong Kong celebrate a day to remember

Hong Kong have promised more than they have delivered in recent years. But yesterday everything they had hoped for materialised as they stunned Portugal and Tonga to finish second in their pool behind World Cup finalists Argentina.

An emphatic 24-7 win over Portugal, followed by a nerve-racking 14-12 victory over Tonga wasn't good enough to see them qualify for the Cup competition, but gutsy Hong Kong can take heart from a spirited performance which was rated as 'the best' by new skipper Mark Wright.

'The whole day has been brilliant. The boys have come together extremely well and we just exploded on the pitch. This has been the best day in sevens I have been involved in,' said an overjoyed Wright.

Brought together with the aim of winning a medal at the East Asian Games in December and next year's Asian Games, Hong Kong showed the world - and the International Rugby Board - they are worthy of more exposure on the international stage.

True grit and superb defence won Hong Kong the day. They knocked out Portugal with an emphatic four-try performance and followed it up with an equally determined display against a physical Tongan side to book a place in the Plate quarter-finals, where they will meet Canada.

'We knew Tonga would be physical, but we put a lot of emphasis on our defence and it paid off. Good defence won the day,' Wright said as his team signed autographs for their screaming fans.

Leading 14-12 against Tonga, and with just seconds on the clock, a full house erupted into a countdown. When Hong Kong won a scrum five metres from their line, and Kenzo Pannell booted the ball into the stands, the crowd went delirious.