THE Hongkong Dragons became the first all-Chinese side from the territory to win a full international when they defeated the Singapore national side 28-0 yesterday. After a dismal two weeks in Malaysia and Singapore without winning a match, the Dragons peaked at just the right time. Their victory comes more than five years after rugby was first promoted among the Chinese community in Hongkong. Coach Greg Whitmore said: ''We didn't go into the match with the greatest of confidence because of some bad results earlier in the tour. ''But after 10 minutes, we realised we could win the game and we were always the superior side. ''The backs played well and the forwards came of age. Some of them got their noses broken.'' The Dragons were beaten by the Malaysian under-23 side and earlier this week drew 3-3 against the under-23 team from Singapore. Against Singapore, lock Tom Hall scored two tries while Marshall To also touched down for the Dragons. Captain Leung Ka-tat kicked three penalties and two conversions. The Dragons led 6-0 at half-time. ''It was a surprisingly good result for us considering our previous tour results,'' Whitmore added. ''But we learned from them and everything came together in the last match. It's the Dragons' best ever result.'' The Dragons are likely to continue playing against countries such as Malaysia and Singapore until they can beat them regularly before tackling stronger Asian sides. But the season is not over for some of the Dragons squad. A handful of players in the 23-man squad, after returning to Hongkong tomorrow, leave soon afterwards for Darwin in Australia for next week's Arafura tournament.
