Hong Kong’s rugby sevens youngsters looking for Lady Luck with Olympic Games berth on the line

Two youngsters with size and speed injected into a squad of veterans this weekend in Guangzhou

The women’s sevens squad have a chance to snatch a spot at next year’s 2020 Tokyo Olympics in a one-off tournament

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Florence Symonds will bring size and height to a Hong Kong squad full of Olympic dreams this weekend. Photo: HKRU

Published: 8:30am, 6 Nov 2019Updated: 8:30am, 6 Nov 2019

Seventeen-year-old Florence Symonds knows exactly what she brings to the Hong Kong women’s sevens squad.

“My height,” said the 1.75m Discovery Bay product who made her debut in South Korea during the Asia Rugby Sevens Series. “And my job is to be more direct.”

Her play first turned heads during the series as she scored four tries at Namdong Asiad Stadium in Incheon in late August, barrelling through older and more experienced players.

Symonds brings an element of youth and physicality that will come in handy this weekend against bigger squads looking to shove Hong Kong around in arguably one of the programme’s most important tournaments ever.

The one-off Asian Olympic qualifying showdown offers a rare chance for the women’s sevens squad: win this weekend and next summer you go to Tokyo for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Florence Symonds looks to bring some physicality this weekend to China. Photo: HKRU

As simple as it may sound, head coach Iain Monaghan said they will be trying to channel some Springbok energy from this past weekend in Japan.