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Paul McNamara

Andrew Douglas says he has “full faith” that his Hong Kong team will handle the pressure of a “hugely important” WXV3 clash with Madagascar under the Friday night lights in Dubai.
Head coach Douglas said “some soul searching” had taken place after Hong Kong’s women lost their opening game against Fiji 38-3 last Saturday.
“We have now dumped Fiji – it is in the past and we have to move on,” Douglas added.
Hong Kong have no room for error against lowly Madagascar. They will have to beat the team ranked No 25 in the world, probably by a convincing margin, then overcome 16th-ranked Netherlands next week to qualify for the 2025 Rugby World Cup in England.
“We are putting out what we believe is our strongest team and not taking any game for granted,” Douglas said.

“There has been some soul searching, and clear messages delivered from our coaching staff and leaders, so hopefully those have been absorbed and we can look forward to Madagascar.
“I have full faith in our squad – it is a really important game but I don’t want to dump pressure on the players. I want them to enjoy the experience, and winning is more enjoyable than losing. But we all know the importance of Friday for our World Cup dream.”
Douglas said his players suffered against Fiji because of their paucity of Test match experience. The Fijians were playing their ninth match of 2024, compared with only two Asia Rugby Championship games for Hong Kong back in May and June.
“The players are a great bunch to work with … but they do not have enough exposure to this level of rugby to get used to the pressure of it,” Douglas said.
“You can get used to that pressure, and the more exposure we have, the more we will improve.
“[Playing strong opposition] has to be the norm. It can’t be a one-off scenario. We have players with the desire to achieve at the highest level. They want to be high-performing players, so they need the opportunity to experience that pressure.”
Douglas, whose team slipped one spot to world No 18 following the Fiji loss, has made a change at No 10, with Georgia Rivers coming in for Fung Hoi-ching. “Georgia has a big kicking game and we want to keep Madagascar on the back foot,” Douglas said.
The injured Lucia Bolton, meanwhile, is replaced by “our best goal kicker”, Zoe Smith, who was outstanding when Hong Kong beat Kazakhstan four months ago to book their WXV3 spot.
“Last week, we lacked a little bit of composure, which made our decision making not so accurate or tidy,” Douglas said. “We have simplified our game plan and been much more direct in our instructions to the players to make sure they are more decisive in what they want to do.
“As coaches, we might have given too many messages and overcomplicated things.

“We want to play at speed, but that doesn’t mean we have to play chaotic rugby. We have to be controlled, do the hard work and then build. We don’t have to win the game in the first minute.”
Madagascar shocked Kenya 29-22 at the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup to reach WXV3. Their form has nosedived, however, with the island nation losing a warm-up against Kenya 63-19 before being thrashed 83-0 by Spain in their first WXV3 fixture last week.
Pun Wai-yan, Hong Kong’s redoubtable captain, was part of the side that reached the 2017 World Cup.
“We are treasuring this opportunity [to play a variety of opposition],” Pun, 29, said.
“We are excited and want to show Hong Kong rugby on the world stage. As players, we need to adapt to the pressure and be professional.
“We have to apply the skills we learned from the coaches – [how we perform] is under our control. We have to keep a strong mindset and believe we can play our best rugby … and chase our World Cup dream.”


Coach Andrew Douglas backs Hong Kong to handle pressure with Rugby World Cup hopes on line

Kai Tak Sports Park to host Hong Kong rugby international match in November

Hong Kong rugby sevens captain James Christie reveals ambitious world and Olympic goals

Coach urges Asia Rugby to step up player welfare efforts as Hong Kong World Cup bid begins

Hong Kong Rugby Union

The tough Fijians stop Hong Kong inside-centre Natasha Olson-Thorne in her tracks as the Pacific islanders triumphed 38-3 last Saturday. Photo: Charles Verghese

Hong Kong centre Gabby Rivers tries to crash through in the 38-3 loss to Fiji on Saturday. Photo: Charles Verghese

Hong Kong backrower Micayla Baltazar leaps to collect the ball at a line-out against Fiji. Photo: Charles Verghese

New captain James Christie is setting lofty targets for Hong Kong. Photo: Eugene Lee

Christie with women’s star Chloe Chan at the official sevens relocation announcement event. Photo: Ike Images

Max Woodward left ‘big shoes to fill’ after a successful spell as Hong Kong skipper. Photo: Handout

‘Upgraded’ Hong Kong Sevens set for Kai Tak in 2025, but no word on test events for venue

The 2025 Hong Kong Rugby Sevens tournament will take place at the Kai Tak stadium. Photo: Ike Images

The Hong Kong Sevens tournament is in line to be the first sports event at the new Kai Tak Stadium. Photo: Ike Images

Rugby chiefs have promised an “upgraded” Hong Kong Sevens, which will be staged at the new Kai Tak Stadium. Photo: Ike Images

Lee Ka-shun in action against Kazakhstan in 2022. The prop will become Hong Kong’s most capped player against Fiji. Photo: HKRC

Pun Wai-yan will captain Hong Kong in their bid to achieve World Cup qualification. Photo: HKRC

Head coach switch designed to maximise Hong Kong ammunition for Rugby World Cup quest

Pun Wai-yan will captain Hong Kong in their bid to achieve World Cup qualification. Photo: HKCR

Hong Kong head coach Andrew Douglas (centre) will still take charge of the men’s team as well. Photo: HKCR

Wan Tsz-yau and her Hong Kong teammates have been preparing hard for three formidable encounters in Dubai. Photo: HKCR

Sport

Rugby

Fifteens

International Rugby

Women’s XV will target their first WXV3 victory when they play against Madagascar on Friday night, following a big defeat to Fiji last week


Women’s XV will target their first WXV3 victory when they play against Madagascar on Friday night, following a big defeat to Fiji last week.


Hong Kong International Test Rugby