Borneo gets set for Sevens

The pools have been drawn for the Borneo Sevens, the second ranking event on the HSBC Asian Sevens Series to be played this weekend at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

The Borneo event features 12 top Asian teams drawn into three pools of four, with the seedings based on the results of last month’s Shanghai Sevens.

Shanghai champions Korea start as top seeds in Pool A. Hong Kong, defending Borneo champions and beaten Cup finalists in Shanghai, are seeded top of Pool B. Japan, the third-ranked team on this year’s HSBC Asian Sevens Series so far, tops Pool C.

While Korea have won three consecutive Shanghai titles, Japan and Hong Kong have been the dominant teams in Borneo over the past two years.

Japan won the inaugural tournament in 2009, beating Hong Kong in the final, and last year Hong Kong earned its revenge by pipping the Japanese 31-28.

“We made a good start in Shanghai but we failed to complete the job in the final with some poor decision-making when we were up 17-5 in the closing minutes against Korea," said Dai Rees, Hong Kong head coach.

"The team knows we are capable of winning in Borneo but only if we are focused and work hard for the duration of the tournament and in every game.

"A win will give us the top spot on the HSBC Asian Sevens Series so there is everything to play for.”

Borneo Sevens - Round 2, HSBC Asian Sevens Series

Pool A
Korea
China
Thailand
Sri Lanka

Pool B
Hong Kong
Malaysia
Chinese Taipei
Brunei

Pool C
Japan
Kazakhstan
Philippines
United Arab Emirates

Cross-regional women's Sevens 

Running alongside the men’s competition, the Borneo Sevens will feature a combined Asia / Oceania women’s Sevens tournament and a Malaysian Schools Sevens tournament.

The women’s tournament will begin on Friday 23 September.

HSBC Asian Sevens Series 2011
Aug 27–28, Shanghai Sevens, Yuanshen Stadium, Shanghai, China (winner - Korea)
Sep 24 – 25, Borneo Sevens, Likas Stadium, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Nov 12 – 13, Thailand Sevens, Bangkok      
Nov 19 – 20, India Sevens, Goa
 
Borneo Sevens – men’s teams: Brunei, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates.

ARFU-FORU women’s Sevens teams: China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore (ARFU); Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga (FORU)