Absent teams hinder Sevens plans
George Simpkin's task of selecting the Hong Kong squad for this month's World Cup Sevens was made more difficult by no-shows at yesterday's Treasure Land National Sevens at King's Park.
National coach Simpkin was hoping to take a look at several hopefuls for the squad, which will be announced today, but said the prospective players were not helped by the absence of a few sides from the competition.
'Sadly, a handful of teams did not show up, making it difficult for some players to push their claims for the squad,' said Simpkin.
'They did not get enough games. However, the standard of play improved as the tournament went on and the final was quite high.' Valley Red, who were crowned league champions last week, added another trophy to their collection with a resounding 46-19 victory over DeA in the final.
Simpkin and a 10-man Hong Kong squad leave today for the Fiji Sevens as the territory begin the countdown to the Rugby World Cup Sevens from March 21-23 at Hong Kong Stadium.
An additional three players will be added to the squad after a trial next Monday. The team will ultimately be pared to 10 players prior to the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Australian Matt Dowling, who played first-grade rugby in Sydney for Gordon, was the star for Valley with four tries in the final, as they pulled away from an early 12-7 advantage to lead 24-7 at half-time.
Ashley Billington chipped in with two tries, with Rodney McIntosh and Isi Tu'ivai scoring one each. Mark Solomon, with two tries, and Stephen Kidd scored for DeA.
The Causeway Bay Rams, made up mostly of Chinese players, won the Second Division title with a 26-19 victory over Aberdeen II in the final, while DeA II took the Third Division trophy, beating Club Select 26-17.
Jester won the Fourth Division by beating DeA III 57-26, and the women's Cup competition went to Valley, who defeated Colts 15-7.
