Women’s Rugby World Cup place justifies gutting sevens squad, Hong Kong chief says ahead of ARC clash with Japan
- Hong Kong women begin their Asia Rugby Championship campaign against Japan at King’s Park on Wednesday
- Kazakhstan also feature in competition, with winners qualifying for Rugby World Cup, and runners-up remaining in contention
Hong Kong had to throw all their major talent at the Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) or risk losing relevance on the international stage, officials said ahead of the women’s tournament starting on Wednesday.
With the sevens team also on duty, bosses opted to gut that squad of the likes of skipper Natash Olson-Thorne and try-scoring machine Chong Ka-yan, in favour of the 15s side’s opening encounter with Japan at King’s Park.
But Jo Hull, the local governing body’s general manager of rugby performance, said the “huge implications” of the Asian competition justified the move.
A diminished sevens team, which was already out of the running for a spot at the qualifying tournament for the World Series, finished 11th in the closing Challenger Series leg in Poland last weekend.
In contrast, the winners of the ARC, which also features Kazakhstan, qualify directly for next year’s Rugby World Cup, as well as this year’s WXV2, the second-tier of the new annual competition for the world’s 18 leading teams. The ARC runners-up qualify for WXV3, where World Cup qualification is up for grabs.
“The rate at which the women’s game is accelerating, we have a small window of opportunity to keep up, and it is now,” Hull said.
“At the beginning of every year, we look at what we are trying to achieve strategically, then plan accordingly. The objective this year was always to support the women’s 15s programme for the ARC, so the decision [for sevens players to miss Challenger Series] was made way in advance.
“Rather than that decision putting pressure on the team to perform in the ARC, we see an exciting opportunity for two out of three performance teams in Asia to be at a World Cup.
“Unfortunately, Hong Kong, and a lot of women’s teams, have limited player bases, so we have to manage them carefully.
“We were clear with the players and coaches about where we were focusing. They are very professional, and I have full confidence they all understand the bigger picture, and buy into what we are trying to achieve.”
Hull said ARC selection was “not about taking players away from the sevens”, and there would be no regrets, regardless of the tournament outcome.
Overcoming Japan, ranked 11 in the world, seven places above Hong Kong, will be a tall order. The Japanese were competitive in the 2021 World Cup, and comfortably won last year’s ARC.
There is a strong chance, therefore, that a World Cup pathway place will be on the line when Hong Kong clash with Kazakhstan, ranked 19th, at Hong Kong Football Club on June 1.
“There are huge implications around this ARC,” Hull said. “The legacy from reaching a World Cup is important, but the pathway is more significant.
“Japan currently play 10 to 12 Test matches per year, we play two to three. We are striving for regular meaningful Test match competition, and want to be among the top 18 teams competing in the WXV tournament.
“It is absolutely the right decision [to focus on ARC]. In the women’s game, the expectation is they are performance players, and play both 7s and 15s.
“We are trying to build two strong programmes. [Sevens head coach] Andy Vilk has been doing excellent work with our talent ID programmes, and we have identified another handful of individuals capable of playing international rugby.”
A three-day preparation camp in Japan allowed for “quality time together”, a rare commodity given a number of Hong Kong’s 15s players are part time. “A lot of them will be back to work on Thursday morning,” Hull said.
The drive to improve and professionalise the sport has led to Hong Kong, China Rugby advertising for coaches to work full time in the domestic women’s Premiership competition. The board’s official website also invites interest from Hong Kong-qualified players living abroad.
“We want to have the best league in Asia, and attract players from overseas” Hull said. “If we get on the World Cup pathway, more players will come, our overseas programme will grow, and we will widen the net for Hong Kong players.”
Hong Kong squad: 15-Sabay Lynam; 14-Chong Ka-yan, 13-Natasha Olson-Thorne, 12-Georgia Rivers, 11-Zoe Smith; 10 Fung Hoi-ching, 9 Au King-to. 1-Lau Nga-wun, 2-Tanya Dhar, 3-Kea Herewini, 4-Chloe Baltazar, 5-Roshini Turner, 6-Chan Tsz-ching, 7-Pun Wai-yan (capt), 8-Shanna Forest. Replacements: 16-Fion Got, 17-Chan Hiu-tung, 18-Lee Ka-shun, 19-Chow Mei-nam, 20-Micayla Baltazar, 21-Wan Tsz-yau, 22-Qian Jiayu, 23-Poon Hoi-yan.
