Hong Kong ‘here to stay’ despite falling short at World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series
- Hong Kong lost to eventual finalists Georgia in quarter finals, but recovered to beat Uganda in fifth place play-off in Santiago.
- Veteran star Russell Webb vows that the team will keep fighting to secure core status on Sevens series despite the setback
Russell Webb vowed that the Hong Kong team would keep fighting to secure core status on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens series, after the side came up just short in their bid at the Challenger Series tournament in Chile.
Hong Kong lost 19-14 to eventual finalists Georgia in the quarter finals, but recovered to beat Uganda 12-7 in the fifth place play-off at the event in Santiago.
Uruguay and Japan claimed the men’s and women’s titles respectively, earning their places on the main series for the 2023 season.
“At the end of the day we’ve fallen short. Our goal, of course, was to win this thing, and the players we’ve got were more than capable,” Webb said.
“It was such a disappointment yesterday [against Georgia] that to come back today says a lot about us. We’re here to stay, Hong Kong. We’ve got a goal to achieve and we fell short this time around, but we’re not going anywhere, we’re going to keep pushing.”
The veteran member of the squad said the past couple of years had brought the team closer together, but there were “exciting things happening” and he was “looking forward to the future”.