Hong Kong’s Rugby World Cup journey ends with nail-biting win, and rousing rendition of national anthem
- Lewis Evans’ side finish final qualifying tournament on a high, with a thrilling 22-18 victory over Kenya on Friday night
- There was no mistake with Chinese national anthem in Dubai, with Hong Kong singing it loudly and proudly before kick-off
Hong Kong ended their Rugby World Cup final qualifying tournament on a high, with a nail-biting 22-18 win over Kenya in Dubai on Friday night.
Tries from Luke van der Smit and Sean Taylor, plus the reliable kicking of Gregor McNeish had kept Hong Kong in the hunt at 18-17 down despite an error-strewn performance, which included three yellow cards, for Matt Worley, Nathan De Thierry and Bryn Phillips.
Still, it needed a Jak Lam try on his debut to finally put some breathing space between the two teams, and despite some desperate defence at the end in the face of one last Kenyan attack, Hong Kong held on.
The performance in the first half was easily Hong Kong’s worst of the year, and not a player was immune to the sloppy errors that handed Kenya momentum and possession on a regular basis.
Missed tackles, knock-ons, poor decisions at the breakdown and lineout, the only surprise was that Lewis Evans’ side put enough phases to score a try.
