Tokyo Olympics or bust: men’s and women’s rugby sevens teams set sights on do-or-die tournaments

With the Asia Rugby Sevens Series now in the books, the two squads look to one-shot tournaments for a coveted spot at next year’s Summer Olympics

The women will travel to Guangzhou on November 9-10 and the men will travel to Incheon on November 23-24

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Sarah Lucas during the muddy final leg of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series in Sri Lanka. Photo: Asia Rugby

Published: 12:59pm, 30 Sep 2019Updated: 10:40pm, 30 Sep 2019

Hong Kong’s men’s and women’s sevens squads will get the chance of a lifetime in November.

Both squads have booked spots for their respective Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifying tournaments. The women’s games will be on November 9 and 10 in Guangzhou, and the men’s matches will take place on November 23 and 24 in Incheon, South Korea.

What is at stake is monumental: one Asia spot for the following summer as rugby sevens makes its second appearance at the Summer Olympics. The fan-friendly version of the sport was a huge hit in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Hong Kong’s men finished off their three-part Asia Rugby Sevens Series with a 17-12 loss to Japan in the final in Sri Lanka on Sunday, conceding 17 points without reply in the first half before trying to mount a second-half comeback. They ended up losing the overall series on a tiebreaker to Japan. Head coach Paul John said he was pleased his squad were moving forward and setting their sights on Tokyo.

Seb Brien in Sri Lanka. The men now set their sights to South Korea for a shot at Tokyo next summer. Photo: Asia Rugby

“We made changes for every tournament and have really grown the depth in the squad,” said John. “In the past, I am not sure we could have stuck with a game like that final, producing a second half like we did, but now the bench is making a massive impact.”