‘Ordinary’ Hong Kong have to lift their game, insists Gareth Baber
Coach says team, playing as pros for the first time, have to improve despite winning start
Gareth Baber called on Jamie Hood and his men to "earn their money" after Hong Kong emerged unscathed from a patchy first-day performance in the 12-team qualifying competition at the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens on Friday.
Fielding a team of full-time professionals for the first time in the competition's history, Hong Kong were off the pace against North African part-timers Tunisia, scrambling to a 19-7 victory.
They picked up their tempo in the second pool game against another strictly amateur side, American Samoa, running in seven tries in a 38-7 win.
Coming away with two wins means the task was done. But it was a slow start
While happy with the victories, Hong Kong head coach Baber believed the team had not performed to their full potential and had been struck down by a common malaise - starting a tournament slowly.
"We seem to grow into things. I have seen it happen in the past few weeks.
"We grew into Darwin and we grew into Zimbabwe [two warm-up tournaments], so I think we are growing into this one as well.
"Hopefully, we can put a performance together tomorrow, which will see us through," Baber said.
"Coming away with two wins means the task was done. But it was a slow start. We play Italy next and then it's into the knockout stages. It is now where everyone starts to earn their money."