Hong Kong’s men lose first 7s series game since 2019, eye improvement for defence of Asian Games title
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Hong Kong’s men lost an Asia Rugby Sevens Series leg for the first time in more than three years on Sunday, but head coach Jevon Groves said his side’s performance provided a solid platform for the Asian Games.
Groves’ team go into next month’s tournament in Hangzhou as defending champions, but with squads limited to passport holders only, must do so without the influential Callum McCullough, Alex McQueen, Seb Brien and Pierce MacKinlay-West.
The quartet would certainly have been useful in Incheon over the weekend, with Hong Kong losing 27-0 to Japan in the pool stages, before a much closer final where they lost 12-10.
Japan were the last team to beat them in the competition, 22 games ago in September 2019. Hong Kong were unbeaten in last year’s series, with only a draw against United Arab Emirates spoiling a 100 per cent record.
“I am obviously disappointed with the outcome but pleased with how the players performed in the final, especially after a heavy loss to Japan on day one,” Groves said.
