Five new faces to pull on Hong Kong jersey for first Russia test
Five players are set to make their Hong Kong debuts against Russia on Saturday, with three of the new faces included in the starting fifteen for the Ustinov Cup test match at King’s Park.
Five players are set to make their Hong Kong debuts against Russia on Saturday, with three of the new faces included in the starting fifteen for the Ustinov Cup test match at King’s Park.
Head coach Andy Hall has put his faith in Bloomberg HK Scottish prop John Aikman, Abacus Kowloon scrum-half Duncan Pollock and Natixis HKFC full-back Jimmy Richards, while Societe Generale Valley fly-half Reece Hamon and HK Scottish prop Jack Parfitt are among the replacements.
We are looking for a typical Hong Kong performance, one where we punch above our weight and give that passionate performance we normally do
Hall has opted for an otherwise settled side, with Valley’s Nick Hewson captaining the team for what will be a mighty test of Hong Kong's character against the Europeans who are ranked 20th in the world, four places above the home team.
"We are looking for a typical Hong Kong performance, one where we punch above our weight and give that passionate performance we normally do," said Hall.
Ex-Northampton Saints winger/fullback Vasily Artemyev will lead Russia in his 50th appearance for his country, who missed out on next year's World Cup having lost to Uruguay in the home-and-away play-off.
It will be a good test for Hong Kong, who were also beaten by Uruguay in the first round of the repêchage in Montevideo; it was felt if that match had been played at home the result could have been different. Uruguay currently sit in 19th place in the IRB world rankings.
"They have had professional players and a 12-team professional league for some time," Hall said of Russia. "On top of this they have a World Cup pedigree and were very close to getting on to the sevens world circuit at one point. They will be a tougher prospect for us than Belgium were last year."