Valley fly-half Ben Rimene called up as Hong Kong squad cover
Keith Robertson out as Hong Kong squad head to Shanghai Sevens
Valley flyhalf Ben Rimene has been called up for national duty as coach Dai Rees tries to expand his player base while at the same time taking out an insurance policy in the run-up to the Rugby World Cup Sevens qualifiers in Singapore in November.
The loss of playmaker Keith Robertson, who has dropped out of the picture as he tries to earn his pilot’s wings, has left Jamie Hood carrying the responsibilities in the pivot position.
Rimene will earn his first cap at the Shanghai Sevens, the second leg of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series, this weekend.
“Jamie played every minute of every game at the last tournament [Borneo Sevens] and we need some cover for him in case of injury. But more importantly we need some strength and depth in this crucial position and that’s why we have decided to bring in Ben,” Rees said. “He has just become eligible to play for Hong Kong and I have had a good look at him in the past couple of weeks. He is just about ready.”
Hood performed admirably three weeks ago as Hong Kong reached the final against Japan. But reduced to six men, after Alex McQueen was harshly sin-binned, Hong Kong lost 33-22, conceding the opening leg of the three-pronged ranking build-up to the World Cup qualifiers.
“We have a very small player base and in the three tournaments before the World Cup, I need to expose at least 16 players so that when the time comes to pick the final 12 for Singapore we will have a squad which is peaking,” Rees said. “While one eye is on the Asian Sevens Series, the real focus is to be ready for the World Cup qualifiers.”
Hong Kong’s aim at the Asian Sevens Series is to finish ranked in the top two so they will miss meeting Japan until the final of the World Cup qualifiers.
Apart from Rimene, the only other change will see Valley teammate Lee Jones coming in for Tsang Hing-hung. Rimene replaces Simon Leung Ho-yam as Rees makes two changes to the squad. “We will be rotating players during the first three tournaments,” Rees said.
The rest of the squad, led by Rowan Varty, remains unchanged, and includes Ant Haynes, Eni Gesinde, Nick Hewson, Kwok Ka-chun, Salom Yiu Kam-shing, Jamie Hood, Cado Lee and the McQueen brothers – Alex and Tom.
