Heat-of-moment decisions will decide who goes to Rio Olympics, says Hong Kong sevens coach Gareth Baber
Sevens coach Gareth Baber says the margins between the Asian nations are small as Hong Kong try to find a way to beat arch-rivals Japan for the qualifying spot at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Sevens coach Gareth Baber says the margins between the Asian nations are small as Hong Kong try to find a way to beat arch-rivals Japan for the qualifying spot at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Hong Kong lost 29-22 to Japan in Sunday's Cup final at the Sri Lanka Sevens, the third and final leg of the 2015 Asia Rugby Sevens Series, and ended up finishing second to the unbeaten Brave Blossoms in the overall standings.
We made a few individual errors and didn’t quite deal with some of the pressurised situations as well as [Japan] did
The Colombo final could be a preview of the battle for Asia’s sole guaranteed place in the men’s sevens competition in Rio when rugby returns to the Olympics.
The qualification tournament, the Asia Rugby Olympic Qualifiers, will be held in Hong Kong from November 7 to 8. Asia’s women’s sevens teams will play in a two-leg qualification series starting in Hong Kong and finishing in Tokyo later in November.
“There wasn’t much between the two teams in the final or on the series,” Baber said. “We have now played Japan twice, with two tries being the difference across those matches. We made a few individual errors and didn’t quite deal with some of the pressurised situations as well as they did.
“It is a tight competition with Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and China all pushing for positions but we are satisfied with what we have achieved in the series.