Hong Kong juniors tipped to make it a hat-trick of Asian titles in Singapore
U19s on course to qualify for World Rugby U20 Trophy for third time in a row
Hong Kong’s powerhouse junior Asian champions are expected to win their third straight U19s title in Singapore next week, and most pundits tip them to storm home in what is the regional qualifying tournament for next year’s World Rugby U20 Trophy.
In announcing its squad for the Asia Rugby U19s Championship at Singapore’s Yio Chu Kang rugby ground, the Hong Kong Rugby Union unveiled a strong mix of teen “veterans” and young stars of tomorrow, with 14 of the 25 squad members having been part of Hong Kong’s junior regional or international campaigns last year.
The winners of the Singapore tournament automatically qualify to represent Asia at Zimbabwe 2016 – next year’s edition of the World Rugby U20 Trophy – and having qualified as hosts for Hong Kong 2014 and in their own right for Portugal 2015 Hong Kong are on a roll.
With three matches in six days it is about all 25 players sharing the load. For us to do well everyone has to perform
Though they twice finished bottom in the eight-team global tournament, as defending regional champions Hong Kong are top seeds for next week’s three-match round-robin championship which also features Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Singapore.
The 25-man Hong Kong squad features 14 forwards and 11 backs and while youth is very much on their side, players such as Hugo Stiles, Liam Owens, Hugo Chui Ho-ching, John Markley, Matt Worley, Ron Siew and Ben Schats are all seasoned veterans at this level.
And Hong Kong U19 coach Peter Drewett, who previously coached the England U21s, expects them to provide solid leadership in the absence of lynchpins Calvin Hunter, Erick Kwok Pak-nga, Richie Lewis and Raef Morrison who moved on from the U19 set-up following the Lisbon tournament in April.
“That was a great group of players and they all went on to do well, which shows that our processes are working,” Drewett said of the HKRU’s performance and development programme.
