Hong Kong must double sevens squad, says Dai Rees

Hong Kong needs to double the number of quality players in its rugby sevens squad, to 24 if it wants to win a gold medal at the China National Games and retain the Asian crown, says head coach Dai Rees.

Hong Kong finished fifth at the World Games in Cali, Colombia, after being knocked out of medal contention by France, losing 14-12. Hong Kong tries were scored by Jamie Hood and Tom McQueen.

Facing a 37-hour trip home, there will be no time for Rees and the 12-strong squad to take a breath, with training to start next week for the next challenge - to win gold at the China National Games in Liaoning later this month, at which time the Asian Sevens Series (ASS) also gets underway with the first of four legs, in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.

Facing such a crowded calendar, Rees has called for the strength and depth of the team to be increased to 24 players.

"It has been a long season and by the time we have finished with the Asian Sevens Series it will have been 18 months [on the road] and the boys have been through a lot. We need to find 24 quality players to win a gold medal at the National Games and also defend our title in the ASS," Rees said.

"It's going to be tough and there will be the introduction of some Asian Five Nations [15s] players and some club players who are now eligible to play sevens. This period will really set the tone for next season," Rees said.

Hong Kong were boosted by an encouraging second-day performance at the World Games where they lost to core HSBC Sevens World Series team France in the Cup quarter-finals before going on to defeat Uruguay and Brazil to be placed fifth.