Emerging sevens players face acid test in Asian Series opener
Nearly a year since rugby became an elite sport and over 40 players took up residency at the Hong Kong Sports Institute as professional athletes, comes the first real test of the programme’s merits this weekend.
Nearly a year since rugby became an elite sport and over 40 players took up residency at the Hong Kong Sports Institute as professional athletes, comes the first real test of the programme’s merits this weekend.
Hong Kong men’s and women’s teams will take part in the first leg of the Asian Sevens Series at Hong Kong Football Club, with coach Gareth Baber handing series debuts to youngsters Jack Capon, 21, and Michael Coverdale, 19.
Jack and Michael have come through Hong Kong’s development system. They’ve got good work ethics and are really developing as players
Both were last-minute inclusions in Hong Kong’s 15-strong squad that went to Canada for a 10-day training camp in July, and they seized their opportunity.
“Jack and Michael have come through Hong Kong’s development system. They’ve got good work ethics and are really developing as players,” Baber said. “The next real challenge for them is to get exposure at the highest level and at the moment that’s the Asian Sevens Series.
“They’ve been involved in the Sports Institute since the programme started and hopefully it’ll pay dividends for us as a squad.”
Hong Kong are drawn in pool D with the Philippines and Kazakhstan. Arch rivals Japan are in pool A alongside Malaysia and UAE. In pool B, South Korea take on Thailand and Singapore, while Sri Lanka, Taiwan and China compete in pool C.
Hong Kong women’s coach Anna Richards is also happy with her squad’s preparations.
“We’ve been back in full training since the start of June and they’re doing well. First and foremost we’ve only really been concentrating on core skills and the players have improved immensely since they first started nearly a year ago,” she said.
“The amount of training they’ve been doing really showed up in their performances in the Asian Four Nations over the summer. Their skills were much better.”
