No respite for Hong Kong after Canada World Cup thrashing as ‘10 per cent tougher’ match against New Zealand looms
Bruised and battered tournament debutants have only three days to prepare for their next match in Ireland after 98-0 defeat in Dublin opener
Still licking their wounds from a ruthless 98-0 whipping at the hands of Canada at the Women’s Rugby World Cup, Hong Kong must brush themselves off quickly ahead of Sunday’s clash with New Zealand in Ireland.
With only three days between games following Wednesday’s opening defeat in Dublin by the 2014 runners-up, Jo Hull’s bruised and battered tournament debutants don’t have long to prepare to face a New Zealand side who opened their pool A campaign with a 44-12 win over Wales.
“New Zealand are the second best team in the world, so I expect it to be another 10 per cent tougher,” said Hull.
“They’ve got a tough game against Wales under their belt and I expect them to come out and be very clinical.”
While Hull’s side showed plenty of fight in their encounter with Canada, they were no match for their bigger and stronger opponents and Hong Kong conceded 16 tries, while struggling to create scoring opportunities of their own.
“It’s about trying to stop their momentum at the source, we let Canada gather momentum and as soon as you let teams like this gather momentum you’re in trouble,” Hull added.