Andy Hall handed key role for crunch game in Uruguay
HKCC coach to take over as national side start repêchage route to 2015 World Cup
Andy Hall will take over as head coach of Hong Kong as they chart new waters and play in their first-ever World Cup repêchage match against Uruguay in August.
Hong Kong Cricket Club coach Hall will replace Leigh Jones, who has joined Japan.
Jones, who was in charge for the last three years, was officially appointed defence coach of the Brave Blossoms on Monday, the day after Hong Kong slipped to a 49-8 defeat in the Tokyo finale to the 2014 ARFU Asian Five Nations.
Our World Cup dream is still alive and we will go to Uruguay feeling confident
"Andy will move into the slot and will be coach in the short term," said Dai Rees, the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union's head of technical development and performance.
"We will not be looking at appointing anyone new as we have a very short time frame before our key game against Uruguay," Rees added.
Sam Pinder will continue as assistant coach and he will be joined by Hong Kong Scottish coach Craig Hammond, who will come in as forwards coach. Rees will continue in his other role as team manager.
"Nothing will change in the short term. Our World Cup dream is still alive and we will go to Uruguay feeling confident. The players will take a few weeks off to rest and we will all come back as a squad in July when training will begin in earnest again," Rees said.
