Hong Kong rugby coach ‘pretty happy’ with new-look side despite narrow loss to Japan club
Andrew Douglas impressed by performances of six debutants in fast-paced display, with only blip an injury to young scrum-half Eric Chui
A much-changed Hong Kong slipped to a 28-21 defeat against Mazda Hiroshima Skyactivs on Saturday, with head coach Andrew Douglas “pretty happy” with what he saw from a side including six debutants.
Wing Dylan McCann, young scrum-half Eric Chui Wai-lap and forward Max Murphy all made a strong impression in Fukuoka, as did veteran lock Kyle Sullivan, whom Douglas singled out for his “outstanding” performance.
Tied 21-all at half-time, the home side, who play their rugby in League One, got the decisive score with an hour gone, and despite plenty of possession, Hong Kong could find no way through.
“There are some areas to improve on, obviously,” Douglas said. “Our goal-line defence, our line-out and our scrum were inconsistent, things we haven’t worked on a lot in training to be fair, but there are enough positive signs there for us to say we are going to be OK.
“It was even in the second half. We created a lot of line breaks, [but] we just couldn’t finish them, which is unusual for us, it’s a combination thing and an understanding of how we are going to play. That will come with more time together.”
Brendon Nell made his debut as a replacement for Chui, while Harrison King played his first match at hooker and Penetana Carter-Smith got his first run out in the backs.