HK women fall to improved Singapore

A stirring performance from Singapore took the shine off a good day for Hong Kong in the Asian Women's Sevens Championship at the Padang in Singapore yesterday. A 21-5 loss to the host side and two earlier victories mean Hong Kong, skippered by Karen 'Lola' Williams, finished runners-up in one of the two pools and face powerhouses Kazakhstan in the semi-finals at the National Stadium today.

'We were a little disappointed,' said coach Andrew Tranent. 'In the Hong Kong tournament last month we beat Singapore quite convincingly and hoped to do the same here.

'But all credit to Singapore as they played with great passion and discipline. We had hoped to win all three of the pool games to avoid meeting Kazakhstan in the semi-final, as they are definitely the strongest of the nine sides competing here.'

Hong Kong beat Sri Lanka 10-7 in their opener and followed that up with a 27-7 win over Uzbekistan. Nicole Pang was the top scorer with four tries.

Today, the Hong Kong men's team begin their campaign at the Standard Chartered Sevens Singapore with a clash against Scotland. The tournament is part of the IRB Sevens.