Hong Kong Sevens: men’s rugby team qualify for South American Challenger Series
- The men will get a chance to secure prime placement for the qualifying portion of the 2020 Hong Kong Sevens
- Other teams include Chile, Germany, Italy, Tonga, Uruguay, Zimbabwe and regional rival Japan
Hong Kong’s men’s sevens team will be a part of World Rugby’s Sevens Challenger Series which looks to boost the second tier of teams across the globe and expand the sevens game heading into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The series will take place over two legs in South America in Vina del Mar, Chile, (February 15-16) and Montevideo, Uruguay, (February 22-23) and will set placement seeding for the qualifying portion of the World Rugby Sevens Series, which will be held at the 2020 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens from April 3 to 5.
Hong Kong will join Brazil, Chile, Germany, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Tonga, Uganda, Uruguay and Zimbabwe, with the top eight making it through to the final. Hong Kong narrowly missed out on qualifying for the World Series last year after losing to Ireland in the final game while beating Chile and Tonga en route.
Hong Kong lost to South Korea in extra time early in December a a match to determine who qualified for the second Asia spot at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. They will get another shot in a repechage next summer in France against much stiffer competition, which will include Chile, China, Tonga and Ireland, to name a few.
HKRU chief executive officer Robbie McRobbie said this series will give them another chance to try and take the men’s sevens programme to the elite level, a goal they have been aiming at for years.
