Hong Kong swept to an emphatic 31-0 victory over Japan in the Cup final at the Bangkok Sevens on Sunday.
Fly-half Keith Robertson bagged a hat-trick while Anthony Haynes and Ross Armour also crossed as Hong Kong dominated a Japanese outfit missing their top players who were on national duty at the fifth leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Las Vegas.
Robertson’s three tries and three conversions accounted for 21 of Hong Kong’s 31 points in the final.
“This is a great performance from us. While Japan might not have had their best side out here, they have great depth and this team is made up of full-time professionals. It is always satisfying to beat them,” said Hong Kong National Coach, Dai Rees.
Hong Kong, who had been dominant throughout the tournament, swept into the Cup final with wins over Laos (43-0) in the quarter-finals and Thailand (29-14) in the semi-finals.
Japan had booked their berth in the Cup by defeating the Philippines 38-5 in the quarter-finals and Malaysia 31-0 in the semi-finals.
The tournament, postponed from last November due to the floods which hit the Thai capital, gave Hong Kong a rare competitive outing before their home event – the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens on March 23-25.
“This is the perfect build-up. We are now six weeks ahead from where we were last year as far as our preparations are concerned. But we won’t get carried away, even though it is morale-boosting,” Rees said.
With the IRB using the Hong Kong Sevens as a qualifier to decide the three additional core teams in the 2012/13 World Series, the pressure is on Hong Kong, who will be in with a chance in front of their partisan support at the Hong Kong Stadium next month.
“It has been a very good season for us considering that we won two HSBC Asian Sevens Series tournaments, Goa and Bangkok, finished runners-up in Shanghai and third in Borneo to be ranked number two behind Japan," added Rees.
In a tight Plate final, Malaysia edged the hosts Thailand after being drawn 7-7 at the half. It wasn’t until the 14th minute that Malaysia dashed the hopes of the home supporters with a converted try that put them onto the winner’s podium 14-7.
The two teams making their debut on the HSBC Asian Sevens Series, Laos and Pakistan, reached the Bowl final, Laos recording a resounding 38-5 win.
“I am very pleased, each game of the tournament we improved and it was exciting to see their mindset change over the weekend, from hoping to win to expecting to win," said Laos’ Japanese coach Katsuo Masa. "I think if Laos continues to work on their fundamentals and puts greater resources and time into training, we can come back and contest Plate competitions next year on the Series.”
In the Shield final the UAE, came from 17-5 down against the Philippines to win 22-17.
