Both the Hong Kong men and women will compete in their respective repechage tournaments to compete for the final place at the Rio Olympics in the Rugby Sevens tournament. The Men will play in Monaco at Stade Louis the Second, this weekend, June 18-19; and the Women in Dublin (Ireland) the following weekend, June 25-26. In both competitions, ‘winner-takes-all’.
Japan has qualified as the Asian representative in both the men’s and women’s events.
In the Men’s competition, Hong Kong competes against 15 other teams. The competition is divided into four groups of four. Hong Kong group includes Spain, Mexico and South Korea. On paper, Hong Kong should fancy their chances to progress from the group stage, but cannot take anything for granted.
In the other Groups, there are some formidable and reputable Sevens teams.
Pool A: Samoa, Tonga, Zimbabwe and Ireland
Pool B: Canada, Uruguay, Germany and Sri Lanka
Pool C: Russia, Chile, Morocco and Tunisia
Pool D: Hong Kong, Spain, Mexico and South Korea
The top two in each pool qualify for the quarterfinals: if Hong Kong wins Pool D, they play the runner-up of Pool A. If they come second; they play the winners of Group A. The group games are played on the Saturday June 18, so by 8:30pm that evening Hong Kong will know whether they will be in the quarter finals or not; and if they are, who they play the following day.
Hong Kong’s matches on June 18 are at the following times (in Monaco): 13:12 versus Mexico; 16:27 versus South Korea and 20:04 versus Spain.
This will be hugely competitive and tense event: and ironically it’s a kind of tournament that teams like Hong Kong need to engage in more often. Hopefully the success of Sevens at the Rio Olympics will be a precursor for more ’second level' Sevens events in future to complement the growing popularity of the sport and the main Sevens circuit.
The Hong Kong Women compete in Dublin at the University College Bowl. The tournament follows the same format as the men’s event. Four groups of four, with the top two teams competing in the quarter finals the following day. (The bottom two teams in each group, for both the men and women compete in a trophy event, to build experience and make the trip worthwhile).
For the women, the groups are follows:
Pool A: Russia, Samoa, Zimbabwe and Madagascar
Pool B: Spain, Mexico, Venezuela and Tunisia
Pool C: Ireland, China, Portugal and Trinidad and Tobago
Pool D: Hong Kong, Argentina, Kazakhstan and the Cook Islands
Hong Kong’s matches on June 25, (Dublin time), are as follows: 10:22 versus the Cook Islands; 13:28 versus Kazakhstan and at 16:34 versus Argentina.
Hong Kong women have a tough task to reach the quarter-final stage, but are capable of pulling-off an upset.
Grahame Carder is a sports enthusiast, former player and now resident in Hong Kong
