Brave Hong Kong fail to stop Japan from taking Asia’s place at RWC

Hong Kong can take heart from a courageous defensive performance against Japan as they face a long and hard repêchage road to the 2015 World Cup, after the Brave Blossoms claimed the one automatic berth for Asia with a 49-8 win at the National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on Sunday.

The scoreline wasn't a true reflection of the guts and grit showed by Asia's second-best team, who held Japan scoreless for long periods and forced their opponents into making uncharacteristic errors.

The professional Japanese outfit, fielding three Super Rugby players, scored in bursts at the end of each half to inflate the score, with Hong Kong struggling to win possession from their scrums and lineouts, making life harder for themselves.

"We didn't deserve that score," said Dai Rees, Hong Kong Rugby Football Union's head of technical development and performance. "I'm proud of the way we defended but there is only so much you can do without the ball. Something's got to give and it did sadly."

Hong Kong tackled their hearts out in front of 16,370 spectators and held on grimly in the first 30 minutes with the score reading 8-3, but three quick tries before the break saw Japan go into half-time leading 27-3, with the solitary points coming from a drop-goal by Chis McAdam.

A bad ankle injury robbed Hong Kong of skipper and flanker Nick Hewson in the second half but they fought on bravely, frustrating the Japanese, who made 20 handling errors in the face of some solid defending, with Hong Kong also cleverly slowing down play at the breakdown.