HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series: bronze for Hong Kong’s men keeps core series hopes alive, as women end on high
- Jevon Groves’ side shake off heavy defeat at hands of Tonga in semi-final to win third-place play-off
- Hong Kong’s women beat Mexico 15-12 to win third game in a row and claim ninth place
Hong Kong’s men have left themselves an uphill task to qualify for the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series after finishing third at the challenger event in South Africa on Saturday.
Jevon Groves’s side were hammered 33-0 by eventual winners Tonga in the semi-final at the Markotter Stadium in Stellenbosch, but recovered to beat Belgium in extra time in the third-place play-off.
With a second tournament next weekend, Hong Kong could still win the Challenger Series and qualify for a four-team tournament in London next month.
“We are disappointed in our performance this weekend,” Groves said. “We were outplayed by Tonga. We couldn’t control possession and we missed our tackles.
“We started poorly and we couldn’t make it up against them. Mostly, we are disappointed because we felt well prepared in terms of what we expected Tonga to do, but we just failed to stop it.”
Having conceded five tries to against Tonga, Hong Kong made hard work of the game against Belgium, which went deep into extra time after a match that went back and forth from the start.
