WHILE the players are cut up over Hong Kong's mis-adventure in Kuala Lumpur last month, there are quite a few people in local rugby circles who are taking a ghoulish delight in the territory's failure to qualify for the World Cup.
Over the past few days, I have met a lot of people who did not hide the fact that they were happy with Hong Kong's failure.
Their whining philosophies are borne on the erroneous reasoning that the territory deserved to lose because it was fielding a side of 'imports'.
Now that the tournament is over, it is time to reflect on this absurdity.
How anyone can label Hong Kong a team of imports is beyond imagination.
Of the 26 players who went to Kuala Lumpur, only five have been in the territory for less than a year - Rodney McIntosh, Stephen Kidd, Roger Patterson, Rick Shuttleworth and Neil Munn.
The rest of the squad had been in Hong Kong for over a season, played in the domestic competitions and are part of the 'rugby scene'.