ASIA RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP: HONG KONG HOPE HIGH-RISK GAME AGAINST KOREA WILL WIN OVER LOCALS

• Victory over South Korea will secure fifth successive ARC title and cement team's spot as second-best side in region

Head coach Andrew Douglas said an "expansive, high-risk" Hong Kong want to convince locals to "fall in love with rugby".

Douglas's team know victory over South Korea at Hong Kong Football Club on Saturday will seal a fifth straight Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) title, after the team comfortably beat the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia in their opening two matches.

But Hong Kong must be wary of a reaction from Korea, who tossed away a 14-point half-time advantage to lose 36-32 against tournament newcomers UAE a fortnight ago.

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Douglas acknowledged Hong Kong had a "clunky" training week, as he "tweaked" the playing style to surprise South Korea.

"They probably looked at our past two games, and saw certain patterns in our play ... we have shifted points of attack we want to target," Douglas said. "We know Korea is a different beast [from Malaysia and UAE]."

Douglas also hinted that starting and squad places for next month's three-match tour of South America remained up for grabs.

Regardless of how much is on the line, however, he urged his players to remain faithful to a collective desire to entertain.

"We play expansively, with high risk, and we do that for a reason," Douglas said. "Firstly, we enjoy playing that style. Secondly, we want people to fall in love with rugby. In Hong Kong, a number of people don't know the game well, and would like to know it.

"We want to put on a performance they can be proud of. We will strike from anywhere ... we are prepared to cop a few errors, if it means we are playing and risking."

Douglas said the kinks in training "should not be an excuse if things don't go well".

"We have been working at the game plan for a while, so I think we'll be OK," he said. "We've got to own our errors together. I don't jump up and down and yell and throw my toys out of the cot. We just look for the solution and the process, going forward."

South Korea dropped three places to 33rd in the world rankings after losing in the UAE, an outcome Douglas said complicated Hong Kong's task.

"South Korea are a proud nation, they will be hurt," he said. "They will have more fire in their belly, so it's probably not made our situation any easier.

"This means a lot to the players. We need to stamp our mark and show we're still No 2 in Asia, behind Japan."

Captain Josh Hrstich echoed Douglas's views on both the incentive for victory and the uneven training week. Nonetheless, he has detected "noticeable improvement" over the course of the three-week tournament.

"We're always trying to raise the bar in terms of what we expect from ourselves, and where we want to go," Hrstich said. "Any time we pull on the jersey is a huge honour - the level of dedication and passion never changes. [Before a decisive match] the intensity and emotions ramp up."

Next month, Hong Kong, the world's 24th-ranked team, go to South America to play Chile (23), Brazil (29) and Paraguay (38).

"We're a semi-professional organisation, so have limited time together," Hrstich said.

"Opportunities to focus solely on rugby are hugely valuable. Everyone has families, jobs and other priorities to take care of - sometimes rugby is not the most important thing on your plate. [When together] you have to make rugby the priority, because of the time, dedication and care you're investing."

Hrstich is celebrating his two-year anniversary as skipper this week.

"I'd like to think I lead by example," he said. "The core group's been together a while, and the players are hugely professional, so there's not a lot I need to say. It is not just myself, we have some great leaders for young guys to look at, and understand the work they need to do to represent the jersey."

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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2024-06-22T01:26:38Z dg43tfdfdgfd