Coach Hull praises squad’s character as Hong Kong women concede Asian title to Japan

Japan delivered a complete all-round performance in beating Hong Kong 30-3 to capture the 2016 Women’s Asia Rugby Championship title in Tokyo on Saturday – but Hong Kong coach Jo Hull was quick to praise the “character” of her charges.

Despite the final scoreline, Hong Kong showed plenty of fight and turned in a vastly improved performance to their opening 39-3 loss to the Sakura 15, and it was a lacklustre final 20 minutes that cost the visiting team dearly.

“The character was there today,” said Hull. “We went out with a real belief that we could win and we showed some positive signs. In the second half, our defensive structure was there but they started to generate momentum in attack and some really poor decisions put us under pressure.

WATCH: Women’s ARC final round – Japan 30-3 Hong Kong:

“We had a good 50 minutes but that’s not good enough. Whilst we did improve, which is what I asked the team to do, it still wasn’t a good enough performance at this level,” she said.

Japan looked the more switched-on in the opening minutes of the game and were rewarded with a try when prop Saki Minami drove over the line.

Hong Kong responded well and dictated play for an extended period, getting to within metres of the line on a couple of occasions.

After going off for a concussion test following a heavy hit, Rose Fong Siu-lan returned to the field and provided a spark - Hong Kong’s relentless attack playing earning a penalty which Aggie Poon Pak-yan slotted over 16 minutes in.