HONG KONG rugby faces its biggest challenge - in every sense - in the Pacific Rim Championship when the team comes up against the United States at the Hong Kong Stadium at 4 pm today. Not only will Hong Kong's opponents have a size advantage, but the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union has taken a punt by playing the game on a Sunday in the hope of drawing a big crowd to the 40,000-seater showpiece stadium. Physically the American Eagles are taller and bigger than the territory's best. In the lineout they have tall timber in the form of locks Luke Gross (2.04 metres) and Alec Parker (1.97 metres). The American scrum will outweigh Hong Kong by 75 kilograms, more than nine kilograms per player. The territory's front-row, who did well to hold Canada in the scrums will once again have another battle on their hands. Hong Kong's performance in the set pieces will have a huge impact on the proceedings. Primary possession will be crucial in this game. One can't expect this Hong Kong side to conjure up victory if they have to scrounge around for the ball. Despite the lack in size and weight, the territory are believed to hold a technical edge over the Americans. The Canadians were of this opinion after playing and beating Hong Kong 18-12 last Saturday. Yesterday Hong Kong captain Roger Patterson put it in another way: 'It is not the size of the dog that matters, but it's bite.' Patterson will hope that his side has the 'bite' to turn technical superiority into possession and points. 'We have to cut down on the number of errors we made against Canada,' added Patterson. The physical Americans like a kicking game. Any possession won inside their own half is likely to be kicked by fly-half Matt Alexander. Hong Kong full-back Rick Muik and wingers Isi Tu'ivai and Mark Solomon will have to be on full alert. This game is the first of three internationals (the other two being against Fiji in October) where the public can enter the race to buy tickets for next year's World Cup Sevens. Members of the public must attend two of these three internationals if they want to enter the ballot for the $1,000 Sevens tickets. And thinking that Sunday will be the best day to draw a crowd to the Stadium, which is being used for the first time in this tournament, the local Union have gone ahead and scheduled the game for today. Hong Kong will play in a red strip so as to avoid a clash of colour with the American strip which is red, white and blue. TEAMS Hong Kong: 1-Rob Grindlay, 2-Alan Clark, 3-Dave Lewis, 4-Stuart Krohn, 5-Roger Patterson (captain), 6-Brent Edwards, 7-Rick Shuttleworth, 8-John Dingley, 9-Stephen Kidd, 10-Vaughan Going, 11-Mark Solomon, 12-Warren Warner, 13-Rob Santos, 14-Isi Tu'ivai, 15-Rick Muik. United States: 1-Joe Rissone, 2-Tom Billups, 3-Ray Lehner, 4-Luke Gross, 5-Alec Parker, 6-Dan Lyle, 7-Jason Walker, 8-Rob Lumkong, 9-Andre Bachelet (captain), 10-Matt Alexander, 11-Vaea Anitoni, 12-Tomasi Takau, 13-Ray Green, 14-Joe Santos, 15-Mark Williams. Referee: David Steele (Canada).
