HK Men’s 7 claim cup at UK Super Sevens, Women lose semi in extra-time
The HRKU men’s seven won the cup on their second outing of the UK Super Sevens Series 2022 on Saturday (28 May) at London Irish, beating Apache Sevens 63-14.
The Women’s Seven were beaten by eventual champions Hammerhead Sevens, 12-17, in golden point extra-time in the cup semi final for their second straight top four finish.
As expected in the second of a four-leg swing the route to the finals was more challenging for both teams, with the men battling back from some uncharacteristically slow starts, and an early pool loss to Wooden Spoon, before righting the ship at end day.
The women put in a composed 36-19 win over Lionesses before beating the eventual cup winners Hammerhead 7s, 29-7 in their second pool outing. They later added an impressive 29-0 shutout of the British Army in a game dominated by some of the newer players in the squad with Shanna Forrest and Rosie Wright shining. Chloe Chan also announced her return to the squad with some impactful forward carries helping launch numerous attacks for Hong Kong on the day. But things derailed in the cup semis when Hong Kong fell to Hammerhead in their second meeting of the day, despite jumping out to an early 12-0 lead.
“Obviously, losing golden point in the semi was frustrating,” said coach Iain Monaghan. “The girls were disappointed with their discipline not to close the game in the first half as we raced ahead, and then missed two scores though poor accuracy of skill, which would have put us out of touch, but that is sevens.” It was still a hugely positive outing for the women, with eight changes from the opening squad and the return of some experienced players like Chan from injury lay-offs. “We had lots of U21s playing their first senior tournament and even their first sevens tournament in over three years, which I think reflected in their performances. The big learning today is being consistent, but we have blooded a lot of players including some from the Premiership which is great. “I think the tournament reflected their experience ultimately, but we cannot fault their commitment. We need more competitive experiences, but this puts us in a great place for some really competitive training and playing in the Algarve and we are hungry to improve on our UK performances and experiences,” adds Monaghan.
With coach Paul John liberally mixing and matching the men’s starting seven, Hong Kong started a bit slow in the pool stages. They struggled early on in the opener against Stunts, trailing 10-0 at half-time. As was the case throughout the day, crucial second half substitutions would help right the ship. Harry Sayers, Kane Boucaut and Alessandro Nardoni all came on in the second against Stunts to give pivot Russ Webb some room to operate as Hong Kong produced 29 unanswered points in a massive comeback win. For a second straight week, Sayers looked the class of the tournament. He was again disruptive for Hong Kong at the restart, a crucial element of the game, where his acrobatic leaping efforts helped his side maintain the lion’s share of ball down the stretch against Stunts. Liam Doherty, Bryn Phillips and Boucaut all scored second half tries, with Sayers adding one of his own in the win.
An even slower start against Wooden Spoon would prove impossible to overcome later. Hong Kong trailed 19-0 at half, and fell back 24-0 early in the second as John again turned to his bench. Sayers and Salom Yiu Kam-shing both helped spark the fightback, along with Hong Kong XVs scrumhalf Phillips, who saw significant minutes. Tries from Nardoni and Webb closed the gap to 24-14 with Sayers making it 24-19 with his try in the far corner leaving Wooden Spoon in disarray. But time ran out on Hong Kong and they fell to a 24-19 loss.
Stung, Hong Kong then turned the heat on in a gritty 29-10 encounter with Emerging Spain to reach the semis where they blitzed a British Army seven laden with naturalized Fijian servicemen for the win.
John went heavy in his selection to open the match, with Yiu, Sayers, Nardoni, Webb and Mike Coverdale all adding experience and heft, while Pierce West continues to cement his place in the squad after two tournaments on tour.
That seven produced the intended result as Hong Kong amassed a patient 14-0 lead, narrowly missing out on pushing it to 19-0 when a kick pass went overlong for Phillips as the hooter sounded. After the break, Army exploited the rare gap in the Hong Kong line to halve the deficit with four minutes left at 14-7. Composed and clinical, Hong Kong starved Army of the ball down the stretch with James Christie capping the long period of possession with a try to push the gap to 19-7 and put Hong Kong through to its second final in as many tournaments.
In the final against Apache, Sayers once again came into his own, accounting for a natural brace in the opening three minutes to help Hong Kong out to a 14-0 lead. The squad never looked back as they kept Apache in its own 22m for the entire first stanza. Hong Kong added seven more scores down the stretch in the 63-14 rout.
The HRKU men’s seven won the cup on their second outing of the UK Super Sevens Series 2022 on Saturday (28 May) at London Irish, beating Apache Sevens 63-14.
The Women’s Seven were beaten by eventual champions Hammerhead Sevens, 12-17, in golden point extra-time in the cup semi final for their second straight top four finish.
As expected in the second of a four-leg swing the route to the finals was more challenging for both teams, with the men battling back from some uncharacteristically slow starts, and an early pool loss to Wooden Spoon, before righting the ship at end day.
The women put in a composed 36-19 win over Lionesses before beating the eventual cup winners Hammerhead 7s, 29-7 in their second pool outing. They later added an impressive 29-0 shutout of the British Army in a game dominated by some of the newer players in the squad with Shanna Forrest and Rosie Wright shining. Chloe Chan also announced her return to the squad with some impactful forward carries helping launch numerous attacks for Hong Kong on the day. But things derailed in the cup semis when Hong Kong fell to Hammerhead in their second meeting of the day, despite jumping out to an early 12-0 lead.
“Obviously, losing golden point in the semi was frustrating,” said coach Iain Monaghan. “The girls were disappointed with their discipline not to close the game in the first half as we raced ahead, and then missed two scores though poor accuracy of skill, which would have put us out of touch, but that is sevens.” It was still a hugely positive outing for the women, with eight changes from the opening squad and the return of some experienced players like Chan from injury lay-offs. “We had lots of U21s playing their first senior tournament and even their first sevens tournament in over three years, which I think reflected in their performances. The big learning today is being consistent, but we have blooded a lot of players including some from the Premiership which is great. “I think the tournament reflected their experience ultimately, but we cannot fault their commitment. We need more competitive experiences, but this puts us in a great place for some really competitive training and playing in the Algarve and we are hungry to improve on our UK performances and experiences,” adds Monaghan.
With coach Paul John liberally mixing and matching the men’s starting seven, Hong Kong started a bit slow in the pool stages. They struggled early on in the opener against Stunts, trailing 10-0 at half-time. As was the case throughout the day, crucial second half substitutions would help right the ship. Harry Sayers, Kane Boucaut and Alessandro Nardoni all came on in the second against Stunts to give pivot Russ Webb some room to operate as Hong Kong produced 29 unanswered points in a massive comeback win. For a second straight week, Sayers looked the class of the tournament. He was again disruptive for Hong Kong at the restart, a crucial element of the game, where his acrobatic leaping efforts helped his side maintain the lion’s share of ball down the stretch against Stunts. Liam Doherty, Bryn Phillips and Boucaut all scored second half tries, with Sayers adding one of his own in the win.
An even slower start against Wooden Spoon would prove impossible to overcome later. Hong Kong trailed 19-0 at half, and fell back 24-0 early in the second as John again turned to his bench. Sayers and Salom Yiu Kam-shing both helped spark the fightback, along with Hong Kong XVs scrumhalf Phillips, who saw significant minutes. Tries from Nardoni and Webb closed the gap to 24-14 with Sayers making it 24-19 with his try in the far corner leaving Wooden Spoon in disarray. But time ran out on Hong Kong and they fell to a 24-19 loss.
Stung, Hong Kong then turned the heat on in a gritty 29-10 encounter with Emerging Spain to reach the semis where they blitzed a British Army seven laden with naturalized Fijian servicemen for the win.
John went heavy in his selection to open the match, with Yiu, Sayers, Nardoni, Webb and Mike Coverdale all adding experience and heft, while Pierce West continues to cement his place in the squad after two tournaments on tour.
That seven produced the intended result as Hong Kong amassed a patient 14-0 lead, narrowly missing out on pushing it to 19-0 when a kick pass went overlong for Phillips as the hooter sounded. After the break, Army exploited the rare gap in the Hong Kong line to halve the deficit with four minutes left at 14-7. Composed and clinical, Hong Kong starved Army of the ball down the stretch with James Christie capping the long period of possession with a try to push the gap to 19-7 and put Hong Kong through to its second final in as many tournaments.
In the final against Apache, Sayers once again came into his own, accounting for a natural brace in the opening three minutes to help Hong Kong out to a 14-0 lead. The squad never looked back as they kept Apache in its own 22m for the entire first stanza. Hong Kong added seven more scores down the stretch in the 63-14 rout.