Too little, too late: Victory for rampant Hong Kong not enough to salvage Asian junior title
Home side beat Sri Lanka 36-10 in the final of the second round, but it was only enough for third place overall after a poor opening effort in Malaysia
Daniel Archer and Cameron Smith were the stars as Hong Kong found their groove to win the second round of the Asia Rugby U20 Sevens Series at King’s Park on Saturday with a 36-10 victory over Sri Lanka in the final.
But as impressive as their final win was, it wasn’t enough to catapult Hong Kong into first place in the series after a fifth place finish in the first round in Johor Bahru last month proved costly.
Archer crossed three times in the final and Smith twice and coach Fan Shun-kei is already looking to the future after a series in which his players “learned a lot about sevens” despite being unable to claim the title for a third time in a row.
“We didn’t win the series, but the players learned a lot about sevens and also about the intensity required at this level,” said Fan.
“Six of the side are still eligible next year and there are more schoolboys to come through yet, so I think we will still have another very strong side next season, which is encouraging as we aim to get our title back.”
The final was a procession, with Hong Kong waltzing to a 19-0 half-time lead thanks to an opening try to James Karton and two in quick succession from Archer.