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Alvin Sallay

NATIONAL coach George Simpkin will name his squad for the inaugural Pan Pacific Series immediately after the domestic Premiership tournament ends on March 9.

  A squad of 28 players will be picked for the territory's incursion into the world's big league, albeit of a second-tier nature.

  'I'm going to name a large squad because I will need back-up players,' said Simpkin yesterday.

  As soon as the Football Club v Valley clash brings the curtain down on the local First Division season on March 9, Simpkin will reveal the squad who will carry Hong Kong's hopes in the eight-nation tournament.

  Hong Kong will kick off their campaign against Fiji at home on May 4. The other home games are against Argentina (May 19), Canada (June 1) and USA (June 9). The territory's overseas fixtures are Japan (May 11), Western Samoa (June 15) and Tonga (June 22).

  Although 28 players will be picked, Hong Kong will only take a squad of 21 players when they go to Tokyo for the Japan fixture and 23 players for the combined tour of Samoa and Tonga.

  The move by Simpkin to pick his 15s squad early stems from a desire to remove any uncertainty and also to set in place the developing players squad.

  'The players need to know who is in and who is out. Those who fail to make it into the main squad will be in the developing players squad. If any players get injured from the main squad, I will have the option of replacing him with a player from the developing players squad,' explained Simpkin.

  Once the two squads are named, they will play a series of matches against each other. The developing players squad will also play host to a club side from San Francisco and a couple of teams from Britain over the next couple of months before going on tour to either Papua New Guinea or Perth in June.

  With the local season ending in the next fortnight, the territory's top players will be starved of competitive fixtures, hence the decision to pick the two squads.

  The early announcement of both squads will also help Hong Kong Rugby Football Union officials keep a tab on the players and the payment issue. The Union, it is understood, will backdate their decision to pay players representing Hong Kong, to the South Korean tour earlier this month.

  The HKRFU have decided to pay a daily allowance of $1,200 for national squad players when they represent Hong Kong at home or overseas and $200 for attending official training sessions.

  An attempt to change the date of the Hong Kong v USA fixture by Hong Kong team officials is unlikely to succeed according to a director of the Pan Pacific Series.

  The match is scheduled for June 9 but Hong Kong wants to play the game a day earlier, on Saturday, as one of their key players Duane Davis does not play on Sundays due to religious reasons.

  'I don't think we can change the date of the match as the Hong Kong Stadium is unavailable on June 8. As a promotional tool too, it makes more sense to play the game on Sunday when we can hope to attract a larger crowd,' said Dave Roberts, the commercial director of the HKRFU and also an official of the Pan Pac Series.

  Only the American game will be played at the Stadium. The rest of the home fixtures are at the Aberdeen Stadium.



Simpkin plans to reveal his hand early