Hong Kong women stand up to be counted
Women’s sevens squad finish fourth after narrowly losing to Japan in semis
Hong Kong's home-grown heroines are "no longer easy beats" after an historic fourth-place finish at the 2015 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Women's Rugby Sevens on Friday.
It was beyond their wildest dreams, but if they'd dreamed a little bigger, what a day it could have been.
"I told them, "You're not easy beats any more. You've stood up, you're being counted and people are noticing'," said coach Anna Richards. "They're challenging for the top spot in Asia and they're not far off."
Continuing their day one hot streak, Hong Kong crushed Samoa 25-0 in a David-and-Goliath encounter in the quarter-finals, then only a few moments of hesitation cost them a ticket to the stadium for the final last night after a narrow 10-5 loss to Japan.
"Japan are a tough side. They've got a very hot defence and put us under a huge amount of pressure," said Richards. "We still created chances. I don't think the girls held back or were any less of a team in how they played. They're getting tougher."
Hong Kong had to settle for fourth place after losing 14-7 to a spirited Netherlands side in a play-off.
"After watching how Canada got creamed earlier in the day by Netherlands in the ruck, it was so good to see our girls so strong [against the Netherlands] and only let in two tries," Richards said.
