Hong Kong rally late but fall short against Portugal in World Rugby U20 Trophy
Tries to Jack Scanlon, Oliver Duffy and Matt Worley see Andy Hall’s side get within a point late in the game in Montevideo
Hong Kong suffered their second loss from as many matches at the World Rugby U20 Trophy in Uruguay, going down 31-24 to Portugal despite a gutsy fightback.
Hong Kong surged back from an 18-3 deficit in Montevideo to get within one point in the dying stages, but two late penalties saw Portugal home.
The narrow loss marked an improved performance for Hong Kong from their round one loss to Fiji, but coach Andrew Hall bemoaned a poor first half that hurt his side’s chances.
“It was a far better performance from Fiji,” Hall said. “The collective improvement was pleasing but the reality is that individual errors cost us that game – the penalties we conceded, our support kicking, simple and unforced errors in our handling.
“They are a strong side. They took their chances when they were in our territory, but they weren’t overly creative. We allowed them those chances. We might get away with that in Asia, but we won’t here.”
