Asia Rugby Sevens Series: Hong Kong fall short to Japan again in final leg
Japan’s stingy defence was too much for Hong Kong in the Asia Rugby Sevens Series final in Sri Lanka
Hong Kong’s men held possession for much of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series third leg final in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Sunday, but Japan’s ironclad defence ultimately denied them the win. Japan won 19-5, showcasing an almost perfect line with expert tackling and an offence that pounced on every opportunity to score.
In the championship match, Hong Kong pressed early into Japanese territory but a missed pass turned the ball over. Japan’s counter attack punctured the Hong Kong defence as they drew first blood and scored to make it 7-0 around the four minute mark.
About a minute later Max Denmark broke through a tackle on the wing to score, but James Christie was unable to convert leaving the score at 7-5. Japan scored in extra time during the first half to make it 14-5.
In the second half, Hong Kong once again held the ball for the first few minutes but as soon as Japan got possession they were able to score, as Kosuke Hashino stretched the Hong Kong line wide and made it 19-5 around the 11 minute mark. From there Japan went into lockdown mode, continuously denying Hong Kong’s offence from gaining any significant ground.
With the second place finish, the men booked a spot in the international qualifier for the World Rugby Sevens Series at the Hong Kong Sevens next April, and also earned an invite as the 16th team to the Singapore Rugby Sevens the week afterwards. Paul John went with a younger squad in Sri Lanka, leaving Ben Rimene, Salom Yiu Kam-shing, Michael Coverdale and Toby Fenn out of the line-up.