Asia Rugby Championship: Hong Kong seek ‘more bang’ for Kai Tak clash with Sri Lanka
Coach Andrew Douglas hints at changes for match at Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground after convincing win over UAE in Asia Championship opener
Hong Kong will make changes to the squad that beat the United Arab Emirates so convincingly last weekend in their opening Asia Rugby Championship match – despite not knowing much about Sunday’s next opponents, Sri Lanka.
While not “changing for the sake of changing”, head coach Andrew Douglas said the likes of No 8 Luke van der Smit could return to the match-day 23, as his side take an approach with “a bit more bang” than they employed in the 43-10 win in Dubai.
Flanker Pierce MacKinlay-West, who was forced off after 24 minutes against the UAE and remains in concussion protocol, and centre Ben Axten-Burrett, who has a swollen right hand, are most likely to be replaced.
Both face late fitness tests on Friday, but with forward Kyle Sullivan fit again and Max Threlkeld banging on the door, Douglas is in the happy position of having an almost full squad to pick from for the game at Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground.
“[Axten-Burrett] basically took a blow to the hand and it’s still quite swollen, still not a lot of mobility in it,” Douglas said. “We’ll monitor him this week, but if Ben’s OK on Friday, he’ll probably play.”
The significant unknown is Sri Lanka, who are playing Hong Kong in the top tier for the first time since 2014, when the city side beat them 41-10 in Colombo.