Asia Rugby Men’s U19 Championship: Hong Kong chase 7th title on the bounce
- Logan Asplin’s team have not played in three years and know little about their opponents as they return to action in Malaysia
- But Asplin has set out his metrics for success, and a place in the World Rugby Under-20 Trophy is also up for grabs
Malaysia, the hosts, are the first opposition for Hong Kong on Monday as the Asia Rugby Men’s U19 Championship gets under way.
A 29-strong squad will be chasing Hong Kong’s seventh title in a row, as well as the place in next year’s World Rugby Under-20 Trophy that would come with it.
New coach Logan Asplin, also director of rugby at Hong Kong Football Club, admitted there was an element of the unknown about the trip, with Hong Kong under-19s having not played since December 2019 – when they won their sixth title – and their opponents being even less of a known quantity.
He has, however, a decade of youth coaching experience with New Zealand Harlequins, Super Rugby team the Chiefs and Waikato.
“We don’t have anything recent on our opponents,” Asplin said. “You can look at old footage to see general themes and national profiles, but with the lack of rugby in this space, it is a bit of an unknown.
