Hong Kong rugby bosses eyeing solution to shortage of quality tests ahead of World Cup bid
City team beat Brazil at Kai Tak on Saturday for series victory, ‘new home’ backed to encourage wider rugby audience
The head of Hong Kong rugby said innovative moves were under way to secure regular high-level opposition for the city’s men, ahead of a potential World Cup debut in 2027.
Hong Kong served up a terrific display of aggressive, resourceful rugby to christen their new Kai Tak Sports Park home with a 38-17 victory over Brazil on Saturday. The result was enough for the hosts to win a competitive two-match series on aggregate, following a 23-10 first-Test defeat seven days earlier.
As it stands, the team will not play again until next year’s Asia Rugby Championship, where the prize for the winners is a place at the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Chris Brooke, the chairman of Hong Kong, China Rugby, said it was “absolutely critical” for Hong Kong to encounter strong opposition on a more regular basis. “To improve, you have to play better sides,” he added.
But Hong Kong are hamstrung by having only July and November windows to arrange Test dates. A potential solution, Brooke said, could be to organise matches against sides from the Super Rugby Pacific and Japan Rugby League One competitions.
Hong Kong prepared for their Brazil series with a four-day camp in the Japanese city of Fukuoka last month.
