Hong Kong were thrown into a 'group of death' at next month's Cathay Pacific Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens when they were pooled with Argentina, Portugal and Tonga at the draw last night.
Sevens captain Andrew Chambers promptly labelled it mission impossible, but welcomed the challenge for his young squad who will face some of the toughest opposition in the world in the space of a few weeks.
'There is no such thing as an easy draw anymore,' Chambers said. 'This is a group of death. But the good thing will be that there won't be any real pressure on us, and no expectations, so we can just go out and hope to upset one of the big teams.'
Argentina, winners at the San Diego IRB Sevens last week, are the top seeds in the pool. They pride themselves on their tightknit defence and it will be a huge challenge for Hong Kong to score a try, let alone contemplate victory. Argentina are ranked fourth in the IRB Sevens standings.
Portugal were the top European nation at the 2009 World Cup Sevens qualifiers - even ahead of Wales - and are ranked ninth in the world. Tonga are always a physical outfit and on their day can challenge the world's best sides.
'It is a tough pool and at this level there won't be any easy games,' conceded Hong Kong sevens coach Rodney McIntosh.
'Argentina are a class act, while Portugal will be very good.'