Bigger player-base way forward: Rees
Defeating South Korea in next month's HSBC Asian Five Nations is not top of the priority list for new Hong Kong coach Dai Rees.
Defeating South Korea in next month's HSBC Asian Five Nations is not top of the priority list for new Hong Kong coach Dai Rees.
His main aim is to create a bigger pool of players who can consistently perform at the top level.
Having dropped one bombshell by picking the unheralded Jon Abel as his captain for the top tier regional tournament on Thursday, Rees then carried on in his unconventional streak by saying victory over South Korea would take second place behind putting in place a structure for the long-term benefit of the game.
'This is just not about one-off wins against South Korea. What matters first is creating a player base at the top end before we can start to think about qualifying for the World Cup or beating Korea,' Rees (pictured) said.
The former Welsh Gwent Dragons assistant coach, who took over as national 15s head coach late last year, said his task of picking the training squad for the Asian Five Nations had been one of the most difficult tasks in his career.
'Selection was difficult because I was picking from a small player base,' Rees said.
'It was difficult to select 29 quality players because of the very nature of Hong Kong.
'You have pilots off flying, or players who will be fathers in May.' Hong Kong will take on defending Asian Five Nations champions Japan in their opening game on May 2 at Hong Kong Football Club with their other home game being against Singapore on May 16.
They will also play away to South Korea (May 9) and Kazakhstan (May 24).
'The goal is to get some consistency over our next four games, and further ahead, I would like to perform well next year,' Rees said. 'But right now it is all about developing a player base.'
Next year's A5N will be the final Asian qualifying round for the 2011 World Cup.
Hong Kong's aim this year will be to remain in the elite division.
