The 2015 Touch World Cup has come to an end in Coff’s Harbour in Australia, and Hong Kong’s first ever participation has ended with an extremely creditable 18th ranking in the Mixed Open Division with a record of played 9, won 4, lost 4 and 1 draw – full results below. Although the tournament was hit by torrential rain storms which left pitches resembling swimming pools on more than one occasion, it was a great experience for this young side who will now look forward with greater confidence to the next World Cup which will be held in Malaysia. The Mixed Open Cup Final was contested by traditional touch powerhouses New Zealand and Australia, with the hosts taking the honours and the World Cup trophy.
Hong Kong’s campaign got off to a tough start as they faced the mighty English side, but although it was a steep learning curve they managed to get on the score sheet, with vice captain Lai Yiu Pang getting in the history books with Hong Kong’s first ever World Cup try! After the completion of the pool games the team were ranked 3rd in their group and moved into division three, where they next faced 6 games against Chile, Middle East, Germany, Holland, China and Italy. A record of 3 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses meant a return match against Italy on the final day’s play-offs, and a convincing win left Hong Kong ranked 18th at the conclusion of their first World Cup adventure.
“Even against the big name opponents our team wasn’t overawed and played with aggression and increasing confidence, and thanks to our preparation our energy and fitness levels were of a good standard,” explained coach Zanio Yong. “We achieved a ranking of 18th on our debut, but with seven different try scorers throughout the competition I feel it showed we played as a team rather than individuals, and I’m very proud of all the squad members. Our thanks to our sponsors ANZ as well as the HK Touch Association and the HKRFU for making this possible.”
Day 1 – 29th April
England 8 v Hong Kong 1 (LAI Yiu-pang)
USA 6 v Hong Kong 2 (AU Chi-wai, NG Chok-shing)
Day 2 – 30th April
Chile 6 v Hong Kong 2 (WAN Kwok-kwong, LAI Siu-hong)
Day 4 – 2nd May
Middle East 1 v Hong Kong 1 (KWOK Kak-ah)
Germany 0 v Hong Kong 3 (LAM Ka-lok, NG Chok-shing x2)
Netherlands 2 v Hong Kong 3 (LAM Ka-lok, WAN Kwok-kwong x2)
China 2 v Hong Kong 1 (NG Chok-shing)
Italy 0 v Hong Kong 1 (LAI Yiu-pang)
Day 5 – 3rd May
Play-off
Italy 2 v Hong Kong 5 (FONG Chun-sin x2, LAI Yiu-pang x2, WAN Kwok-kwong)
Hong Kong final World Cup ranking – 18th
Full results www.touchworldcup.com
