Asia Rugby Championship: Hong Kong boss Lewis Evans wary of South Korea threat – ‘they’re not going to make it easy’
- Head coach ‘very much a realist’ and is not expecting Saturday’s opponents to be pushovers
- ‘If we play really well we’ve got it in our ability to get a good scoreline,’ Evans insists, however
Hong Kong head coach Lewis Evans would love to be able to sit back and relax for the last 15 minutes of Saturday’s Asia Rugby Championship clash as his team cruise to victory against South Korea, but he is not expecting that to happen.
The confessed realist and his fellow coaches have prepared for a close game, and the five-three split between forwards and backs among the replacements in the match-day squad of 23 reflects that.
And while Evans knows his side are capable of running up a score, his caution comes from the fact the players have only been together as a group for a week, with several members flying in from overseas.
“If we play really well we’ve got it in our ability to get a good scoreline, but I’m very much a realist,” he said “When they’ve clicked really well in these last three days they are a formidable force.
“But I know Korea are a good team, they’re certainly not going to make it easy, so we’ve got get a good platform upfront for the likes of [wing Charles] Higson-Smith and [full back] Jack Neville to get on the scoreboard.”
For Evans, the important moment is likely to be around the 65-70 minute mark, when “a game can get away from you, 100 per cent”.
