Hong Kong Sevens: city’s women learned from Challenger Series losses, coach says
Andy Vilk says lessons from Cape Town setbacks will serve players well at home tournament and National Games
An unsuccessful Challenger Series has offered positive takeaways for the Hong Kong women’s rugby sevens team before the year’s major events on home soil, head coach Andy Vilk said on Tuesday.
As they prepare for next week’s Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, the home team are regrouping after missing out on the final Challenger leg in Krakow next month, having been placed 10th of 12 teams following the first two legs in South Africa this month.
Still, Vilk was convinced that his players had learned from the outings in Cape Town and shown the attitude that would be needed at their hometown event, as well as November’s National Games.
“It was an experience that is really important for these players – we were playing at the level closest to the World Series,” he said. “It’s important for the team across all parts of our game, whether it’s the technical, tactical, physical, the conditioning.
“Certainly the way [the players] applied themselves, and their attitudes across all the games on both weekends, were a huge positive.
“A lot of the time, that’s all we can ask. We then hope that, by taking care of the process, the outcome will be the one we’re looking for.”