Hong Kong courageous in Asia championship loss to Japan

Please click on the link to view video highlights of Hong Kong's Asia Rugby Championship clash against Japan on Saturday.

Hong Kong managed a few “mini-victories” but there were not enough of them to worry Japan, who coasted to a 41-0 triumph in the Asia Rugby Championship in Tokyo on Saturday.

Japan ran in seven tries in a stop-start affair where the referee’s whistle dominated. Three of those tries came when Hong Kong were down to 14 men in the second half – on two separate occasions when the referee had enough of flanker Matt Lamming and winger Charlie Higson-Smith trying illegally to slow down the game.

Despite the scoreline, Hong Kong’s performance was a step up compared with last weekend’s 33-26 defeat at the hands of South Korea. In defence Hong Kong were courageous, but on attack they lacked enough good ball to make an impression.

Due to the revamped home-and-away format of the championship, Hong Kong will have another crack at the Brave Blossoms when the return leg is played at Aberdeen Stadium on May 23.

“This was considerably a lot better than our effort against Korea,” said Hong Kong head coach Andy Hall. “We had a few mini-victories today, but not enough to affect the outcome of the game. Unfortunately, our set piece didn’t provide us with a platform [to attack]. If you don’t win the ball, it becomes difficult.”

Japan seemed sluggish, perhaps an effect of jet lag with the squad having returned just a few days ago from England with coach Eddie Jones believing it was more important for his side to get a feel for the venues of their World Cup matches in September than prepare for Hong Kong.