First Nations Pasifika, Shogun dominate opening two days of Hong Kong 10s

Ahead of the HSBC SVNS World Championship Series kicking off in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong 10s have delivered some pulse-pounding action across the first two days of competition at the Hong Kong Football Club.

Twelve men’s teams and eight women’s teams from all around the world have converged on Hong Kong for three days of action, the tournament serving as a perfect overture to the world-famous sevens tournament kicking off this weekend as the final leg of the new-look World Championship final.

Amongst the clubs represented are clubs from Japan, France, New Zealand, East Africa, China, India and Hong Kong, with Australia also sending a First Nations & Pasifika representative side and several international invitation clubs completing the ranks.

After two days of action across three pools of four in men’s competition, the finals are set to be played out this afternoon in Hong Kong, with the top two sides of each pool qualifying for quarter finals and the best third-placed finishers completing the eight sides qualifying.

Pool A saw French 7s club Froggies Club complete a clean sweep of Yokohama, Chennai Bulls and the Tsunami East Africans, with the Japanese side pulling big wins in their other fixtures to qualify in second.

Shogun International RFC, a Japanese 7s rugby club topped Pool B with tight wins over Old Boys Hong Kong and international side the Ashbury Tropics, before blowing away the Scottish Exiles to signal themselves as a key side to watch come finals.

Old Boys would finish in second place, but Ashbury Tropics would still qualify for quarter finals with a favourable points differential, despite picking up only one win in the Pool stages.

However, Pool C is where things really heated up, with the First Nations & Pasifika side making their intentions clear in their first appearance at the tournament.

The side signalled their tournament credentials with a 31-7 win over the Rugby Tens Selects international side, and a 33-7 win over the Hong Kong Natixis Club.

The side had to dig deep in their final pool match against the Bordeaux Bègles 10s side, but eventually prevailed 21-19 to top the pool and qualify for the quarter finals.

Rugby Tens Selects finished in second with wins over Natixis and Bordeaux, with the French side becoming the last side to qualify for quarter finals, their 21-7 win over Hong Kong proving enough.

The final day of action will see the four sides who missed out on quarter finals play for the Men’s Bowl, while the remaining eight sides will be decided through quarter finals and semis, with Men’s Cup set to be awarded in the final.