A WORLD record, the flop and a farcical league tournament are the abiding memories of 1994 - a year better forgotten than remembered in Hong Kong rugby.
The world record, or records, were achieved at October's Asian Rugby Football Tournament when Hong Kong hammered Singapore 164-13 in a preliminary group match.
The score was a record for an International Rugby Board sanctioned game. Hong Kong speedster Ashley Billington also carved a niche in the record books when he collected 10 tries as did young Jamie McKee who put over 17 conversions and also scored a try.
But even the Billington express could not take Hong Kong to journey's end at the Kuala Lumpur tournament. All those tries and points Hong Kong amassed were meaningless as the territory were already out of contention for the match to decide Asia's representative at next year's World Cup.
Having lost their first game against South Korea (28-17), Hong Kong had to rely on a miracle, if they were to find themselves playing in the ARFT final against Japan.
A miracle failed to materialise as the Koreans brushed aside their remaining two opponents in the group, Singapore and Thailand to meet Japan in the final, which the latter won 26-11.