Another loss, but progress for Hong Kong

For one sweet moment, Hong Kong led for the first time in the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy when, in their final pool A match against Georgia on Tuesday, they had their noses in front 8-7.

The under-20 team had come far in the space of a week but they had to accept that they are still some way behind the rest of the teams in the eight-team tournament. It showed as they ended with their third successive loss, going down 21-8 to the Europeans at Hong Kong Football Club.

Georgia, seeded fifth and three places above Hong Kong, struggled to come to terms with the officiating and were shown three yellow cards for indiscretions at the breakdown, leaving them at one stage with only 13 men.

Hong Kong capitalised, Chris Maize going over for a try by the corner flag which, together with a first-half penalty from Kevin Field, allowed the home team to edge in front. It was short-lived and the Hong Kong curse - failure to keep an eye on the ball after scoring - struck again as their opponents hit back immediately.

"We talked about our restarts once we score but for some reason there seems to be a mind block," said coach Pale Tauti. "But this is one of our better performances; the guys executed the game plan to perfection.

"We had our opportunities, but butchered a few tries. We also didn't capitalise when they were down in numbers. Most teams would realise a time to cash in, but we are getting there, getting better each game, and this comes with maturity."