Hong Kong Sevens: hosts told to ‘finish the job’ following more thrills at Kai Tak
City’s men overturn half-time deficit to beat Japan and secure final spot, while women’s hero Sabay Lynam plans passport switch
Hong Kong captain James Christie warned his team that their landslide 43-21 victory over Japan on Saturday would mean nothing if they do not finish the job in Sunday’s Melrose Claymores final.
For the second straight day, the city’s men overcame a sticky start to thrill a raucous Kai Tak Stadium. There was a sense of deja vu, too, in the way the Hong Kong women got the ball rolling, walloping Thailand 47-0 about 24 hours after they inflicted similar pain on Kazakhstan.
For the men, there is a sense of trying to atone for this month’s Challenger Series disappointment, when poor performances in successive legs blew their chance of promotion to the HSBC SVNS Series. It is the teams in that elite-level series who contest the main prize in their hometown tournament, while Hong Kong play in the lesser Melrose Claymores section.
Christie, who replaced former long-standing skipper Max Woodward last year, said trying to help his team out of the hole they found themselves in after Cape Town had been among the toughest challenges of his career.
“It was a big surprise for me to be named captain,” Christie said. “It was a good start in the Asia Rugby Sevens Series, when we won 15 out of 15, [but] then the Challenger was the lowest of the low.