Hong Kong men seal Asian rugby 7s leg after Japan scare, women lose semi to top guns China
Jevon Groves’ men win second straight Asia Rugby Sevens Series title, with chance for clean sweep in November’s final leg of series in Bangkok
Hong Kong’s men staged a dramatic last-minute recovery to beat Japan 24-19 and win their second straight Asia Rugby Sevens Series leg on Sunday.
Jevon Groves’ team trailed 19-17 entering the closing 60 seconds in Hangzhou, after Japan delivered a compelling response to falling 12-0 behind early in the contest.
A yellow card for Josua Kerevi deep into the match left Japan one man short as they tried to protect their advantage. And Hong Kong exploited their numerical supremacy when captain James Christie crashed over for his second try of the match.
Head coach Groves’ side had appeared poised to breeze through the final when tries from Christie and Harry Sayers secured a 12-0 lead after three minutes. Japan hauled themselves level shortly after half-time, but Hong Kong seemed to have overcome their wobble when Liam Herbert quickly scored to re-establish his team’s lead.
Japan, who ran Hong Kong relatively close in a semi-final in South Korea a fortnight ago, remained unbowed. Toma Shiwachi’s try levelled the scores, before Kota Nakama’s conversion nudged Japan in front and left Hong Kong needing a captain’s intervention from Christie.
Paul John, the head of Hong Kong’s elite sevens athlete programme, said: “It was a real nip and tuck affair, and it was a great try by James Christie to seal a win right at the end.”
