Hong Kong fall just short against Russia
Hong Kong came agonisingly close to taking down Russia in their opening match of the Regal Hotels Cup of Nations at King’s Park on Friday night, ultimately falling 16-13 to a last-minute penalty.
After fighting their way back from 10 points down at half-time to level the scores, Hong Kong were left shattered as Russia fly half RamilGaysin slotted the winning penalty.
“On the whole, reasonably happy we are making progress, utterly disappointed with the result,” Hong Kong coach Leigh Jones said.
“We are becoming more physical, we stood up to the physical onslaught of Russia and bounced back and came at them in the second half. So that shows the benefit of our professional programme, being able to do that.”
Hong Kong got off to a shaky start, with debutant Conor Hartley dropping the opening kick-off and Gaysin opening the scoring with a penalty.
But the hosts settled quickly and fly half Matt Rosslee squared things away with a penalty of his own on 10 minutes.
What followed was an intense period in which both sides defended and attacked with vigour, with Hong Kong moving the ball well but also snuffing out any of Russia’s attacking moves when needed.
The next score came in the 30th minute, with Gaysin converting a straightforward penalty that led to Hong Kong hooker DayneJans receiving a yellow card.
The score remained 6-3 until the dying stages of the first half, with Russia again on the board through a lineout drive.
It was hooker StanislavSelskii who dotted down, with Gaysinadding the extras to make it 13-3 at the break.
Hong Kong drew first blood in the second half, with Rossleeknocking over a 52nd-minute penalty.
Russia began to build momentum as the second half wore on, however a number of misplaced kicks halted their progress and ensured some respite for the hosts.
Hong Kong refused to lie down and a number of handling errors indicated Russia were beginning to tire.
Hong Kong capitalised on 67 minutes, with Cado Lee Ka-to dishing off to winger SalomYiuKam-shing for a try, with Rosslee’s extras levelling proceedings at 13-13.
But try as they might, Hong Kong couldn’t quite keep the Russians out despite defending grimly in the dying minutes.
Gaysin first missed a drop goal while the referee was playing advantage, before returning to split the middle from the earlier penalty.
“Our scrum against Russia I thought was outstanding, our line-out needs to continue to improve,” Jones said.
“I think if I had to point to an area where we couldn’t secure enough ball, it would have been our line-out.
“Then we can’t secure enough territory and then we are getting into this downward spiral.
“If our line-out functions, we can get a foothold in their territory and we can build our game, so our line-out needs to improve.”
Jones was pleased with the overall effort of his team and was loathe to single out players, however he admitted hooker DayneJans and captain Nick Hewson, in his 50th test, both showed plenty.
LexKaleca was also at his imposing best, while Toby Fenn, James Cunningham and Jamie Hood all made an impact.
Jones also praised the work of his replacements, with the likes of second rower Kyle Sullivan and Lee coming on and making their presence felt.
“The bench actually made a difference, they added some zip which is what you want to see as a coach,” Jones said. “I’m quite pleased with what the subs added to the game, all credit to them.”
The earlier match between tournament debutants Chile and Kenya saw Chile lead 6-3 after a tight first half before pulling away to win 23-3.
Comments on RugbyPass
It’ll be very interesting to see how Razor’s AB’s handle the new England rush D. It’s basically the Bok recipe they copied, so if England goes well then we know most likely the Boks will go well too. If England cops a hiding then we’ll have to study and adapt.
4 Go to commentsTypical trait of an australian is to moan. Goes well with there lack of humbleness as evident by the Reds bench on the weekend.
2 Go to commentsSBW’s bro’town commentary and lazy default to hyperbole should be ignored, a technical analyst he is not. Sotutu is a good player when games get goosey loosey, high skill set that fans of Zinzan recall with starry eyes. But you need power and mongrel at no8 in the Test arena and Sotutu gets found wanting there, much like Akira Ioane. No8’s like Zinzan and Ardie have bucketloads of mongrel and power and tenacity which allow the skill sets to flourish.
11 Go to commentsAn inside pass to attacker on the angle can make a drift defence look lead footed. Relies on fleet footed forward/s to get across from the breakdown. An argument for the smaller faster 7 perhaps?
4 Go to commentsSensational tackle. The reds one was late and rightly penalised. The other two were simultaneous with the pass. If nitpicking TMOs can’t find fault there clearly isn’t any.
2 Go to commentsBrumbies fully deserved their win on the back of their physicality and desire to control the ball. Xavier Numia, Asafo Aumua and Tyrel Lomax should be the ABs starting front row when we start our test schedule. They have “come of age” and have bested all they have faced as well as been dominant with ball in hand in making the gainline. With De Groot, Tamaiti Williams and Fletcher Newell backed up by Taukei'aho and Cody Taylor there's not an international front row that can trouble us. Can't wait to face the Boks over there, won't be no one point game this time.
5 Go to commentsKinda strange that he wasn’t with a premiership team or a higher level of rugby? Start playing late or something? With that kind of size and athleticism you’d think someone would have picked him up?
2 Go to commentsShows how much attitude matters. Last week the Brumbies got done, this week they dominated the tournament leaders, who were likely thinking they could cruise to victory.
5 Go to commentsA Turtle has more pace and leg drive than Owen Franks, so it’s a good thing he only had to run 90 metres for that try.
2 Go to commentsOh Tamati Tua was in the vastly over-rated Leon MacDonalds Blues system? Well, no wonder he was wasted, much like Emoni Narawa and Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens under MacDonald. now look at them. Good thing Tua isn’t eligible, the Aussies latch on to any player who isn’t tied down.
5 Go to commentsMark Telea is a lot of things, but a defensive juggernaut has never been one of them. There will be far bigger tests in that regard for the youngster.
11 Go to commentsLove and respect to Fiji but not a chance outside of 7s
4 Go to commentsGood summation Ned. Agree the Canes were out-muscled for once (except at the scrum!) by a focused Brumbies outfit. Tua deserves consideration for higher honors after the way he humbled Jordie and the Canes defense. Thankfully, his lack of eligibility for Oz keeps him from Joe’s plans. While I also agree the injuries affected the Canes performance, some players seemed to lack focus and intensity for this match. Perhaps after the Blues demolished the Brumbies, they thought it was going to be easy? A good reminder that any slip up in preparation can have a big affect on the result. Brumbies deserved that win.
5 Go to commentsKarl Dixon should never have been appointed this fixture, absolute disgrace, He’s not much of a referee anyway, didn't have the balls to send his mate care off
5 Go to commentsBrilliant article! Harry of 8/9
4 Go to comments‘UK athletes' have been in the NFL from the start.
2 Go to commentsIt’s going to be Scott Barrett. He’s the coaches mate and captain of a previously elite team. Ardie a great option but scooter has worked with the coach and Ardie still as big a leader as needed.
23 Go to commentsI commend Colin Scotts bio All Balls. He was the first Aussie to make it to NFL. But he was poached and did a full apprenticeship at the University of Hawaii. He was 130kgs surfed played 1st grade cricket etc. big guy by normal but not NFL standards and a top athlete. Even then the nfl were picking up Tongans and Samoans for their natural size and explosive power. They want explosive power not cardio from the big boys so a guy like Taniela Tupou would have been good if picked up young enough. He has fast twitch and they’d bulk the little lad up and give him something to do. soccer teams set up academies and look for Over Sara’s talent eg Messi was at Barcelona since a teenager and harry kewell went to Leeds as a teenager like 16 or something.
11 Go to commentsThe article alludes to the fact that this isn’t about picking a captain. But picking a great captain. So who would make for a great All Black captain - not just an obvious or safe shoo-in? I’m not sure Ardie’s the guy and Barret doesn’t stand out either.
23 Go to commentsI guess we may all agree on the fact, that the ABs and Boks are the two in contest for No 1 in rugby history (the triple-A sort of) …. the Wallabies, England and France are the next tier, with Ireland being the new kid in town (AA) …. in my view it makes little sense creating imaginary competitions (unless you have too much time to waste)
45 Go to comments