Asia Rugby Championship: Hong Kong retain crown with ‘statement’ performance
- Head coach Andrew Douglas concedes Hong Kong need stronger South Korea ‘so we can keep raising our game’
Head coach Andrew Douglas said Hong Kong “made a statement” in their 67-7 thumping of overmatched South Korea on Saturday.
The victory, inspired by a fabulous Luke van der Smit hat-trick, and the near-flawless boot of Paul Altier, clinched Hong Kong’s fifth straight Asia Rugby Championship title.
South Korea’s timid, ill-disciplined performance nonetheless generated concerns over the level of competition for Hong Kong in their own region.
Douglas acknowledged Korea would be “very disappointed with their campaign”, and questioned whether the rout was “the best preparation” for next month’s three-match South American tour.
“We can only play who is in front of us, and have done all we can,” Douglas said.
Hong Kong were dominant from the outset, and led when Tom Hill crossed inside two minutes.
South Korea, who suffered a shock loss to United Arab Emirates a fortnight ago, could not handle the hosts’ physicality, aggression, and speed. They did not help themselves, either, routinely conceding cheap possession, with one knock-on in open space from Jeong Yeon-sik epitomising a sloppy display.
Douglas’s ruthless team were not in the mood to spare their opponents, and by half-time had added tries from Van der Smit, Altier, and Harry Sayers for a 34-0 lead.
“We wanted to make a statement and we did,” Douglas said.
“We knew Korea would be our toughest opponent, and it was nice we went up a level. We have battled a bit with our first 10 minutes [in ARC], so that was a focus area.
“At half-time, we spoke about going up another gear, raising our intensity, and finishing the job.”
Matteo Avitabile scored the first of Hong Kong’s five second-half tries after 48 minutes. Four minutes later, the fly-half conceded a penalty try, when he was judged to have impeded Jeong, as the Korean wing sped over the line.
Down a man for 10 minutes, Hong Kong continued to dictate play, and captain Josh Hrstich soon powered over from close range.
Outstanding No 8 Van der Smit delivered two pieces of brilliance inside three minutes to extend Hong Kong’s advantage. He resisted four challenges to storm between the posts, before chasing down Gregor McNeish’s kick over the top to score millimetres from the dead-ball line.
“The first one, we were going for a maul, I sheared off, got lucky in a one-on-one, then stepped out, and over the try line,” Van der Smit said.
“The second, I didn’t see anyone in the back field, and was calling for Gregor to put the chip in. I didn’t think he would, it was 50-50 [whether I would reach the ball], so I was really happy with that.”
Another McNeish kick released Tyler McNutt for Hong Kong’s ninth try. Altier kicked 20 points, in addition to his first-half score. Hong Kong scored 189 points, and conceded only 18, in their three ARC matches.
“There is more in us, but I am happy, and proud of that [against Korea],” Douglas said.
“Hopefully, this drives and spurs Korea. We play them every year, and need them to be strong, so we can keep raising our game.”
Van der Smit, who was the prime target for young autograph hunters flooding the field at full-time, said being rested for the victory over Malaysia two weeks ago left him “a little bit upset”.
“But I trust [Douglas’s] judgement, and felt very fresh,” Van der Smit said. “It was all towards aiding our next performance. The boys really nailed their roles, and this is a very good platform for South America.”
