It was not quite 'Remember the Alamo' stuff but assistant Hong Kong coach Rick Shuttleworth made it almost sound like that as he constantly reminded the SAR senior rugby squad that ball retention would defeat the enemy at next month's Asian Championships in Japan.
A 19-strong Hong Kong squad were put through their paces in a day-long training run at the Sports Institute in Sha Tin yesterday. And the entire morning session was devoted to retaining and controlling the ball at the breakdown situation.
'Remember the recoil' was the catchphrase of the morning as the players went through their drills with Shuttleworth's words ringing in their ears.
'The biggest problem facing the Hong Kong team at the moment is ball retention,' Shuttleworth told the players before giving his solution to the problem which has plagued the team this past month, first against Western Australia and then in the Triangular Series against Taiwan and Singapore.
And the answer to their worries was the 'recoil'. Players tackled were urged to hold on to the ball until the support arrived in numbers before laying it back, if possible with two hands, for a teammate to keep the move alive.
Hong Kong coach Phil Campbell, who in his heyday was an outstanding back, took a back seat allowing his assistant to carry the flag in the morning. Campbell knew how important it was for the players to get fully versed in this area.
