Double happiness as ‘perfect’ Hong Kong teams power into Cup quarters in Qingdao

Flying winger Aggie Poon Pak-yan gave Hong Kong an electric start to their 2015 Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Series campaign on Saturday, running in seven tries on the first day of the China Sevens in Qingdao where both the women’s and men’s teams advanced to the Cup quarter-finals without loss.

Hong Kong’s men eased their way through to the last eight at the top of pool A following wins over the United Arab Emirates (24-0) and the Philippines (45-0). Asia’s defending champions will now face tournament hosts China in Sunday’s second men’s Cup quarter-final which kicks off at 11:05 (HKT).

The Hong Kong women punctuated a strong first day with a 19-10 victory over defending Asian women’s champions China.

They had earlier cruised past Singapore (53-0) and Sri Lanka (27-5) to make a strong statement about their intentions in this year’s regional series, with Hong Kong coach Anna Richards encouraging her charges to settle for nothing below a top-two finish after they ended up third in Asia last time out.

“It was a good day and I’m really pleased with the girls,” Richards said. “One of our focuses was getting off to a good start and we did that … we started well and were consistent. Even when we got down early, like against China, the girls stayed calm and kept working hard and we earned the results we achieved.

“We just need to keep playing our game, keep making our tackles and attacking the rucks, and just keep our control. If we can go out tomorrow [Sunday] and do it all again like we did today we will be in a good place to advance.

“I’m actually excited at the prospect of playing Japan in the semis. If we want to win at this level or in the Olympic qualifier, we are going to have to play the best in pressure situations and that will hopefully start tomorrow,” Richards added.