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Hong Kong win Bowl at the IRB Women's 7s Qualifiers

Hong Kong win Bowl at the IRB Women's 7s Qualifiers

Chris Davies Director of Rugby15 Sep 2014 - 05:54
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Hong Kong women bounce back on Day 2 to claim the Bowl

The Hong Kong national women's sevens team bounced back from a poor day one to claim the Bowl at the IRB Women's Sevens World Series Qualifiers, beating Argentina 26 - 7 in the bowl final.

Fiji's Women's Sevens team, the Fijiana, continued the island nation's tradition of sevens mastery in Hong Kong, beating France in a thrilling cup final 24-19. Fiji, France, South Africa and China were the four victorious cup quarter final teams - each earning a place as a core team on the 2014/15 IRB Women's Sevens World Series, which opens in Dubai in December.

After calling out her team for not putting in a full 14 minute performance in during yesterday's pool rounds, Hong Kong coach Anna Richards was pleased with her side's more complete effort today.

"Yesterday, the girls gave me seven minutes of good endeavour but today they finally gave me a 14-minute performance," Richards said.

"Sevens is a game where you have got to have good attitude on defense and we finally brought that to the table today," Richards added.

It was a tough final with temperatures at pitch level reaching over 40 degrees during the afternoon.

"Conditions were hard for both teams but we weathered it a wee bit better," said Richards.

"After yesterday's disappointment, we spoke about refocusing and about what we wanted to achieve. We had a frank and honest discussion about the amount of effort some people were putting in on the field and how we need to be honest with each other.

"We are not going to be a championship team unless everybody leaves it out on the field. And that's what the girls gave me today," said a pleased Richards.

Hong Kong's sights were always set on using the IRB Qualifiers as a platform for some last minute preparations against international competition ahead of the Asian Games at the end of the month and from that perspective the weekend remained a success.

"As we look forward to our next challenge at the Asian Games, we know that the girls need tournament play. It's a tough two days in tournament play and the winners are the ones that keep a consistent game on the field for six games.

"We did it for one game in this tournament. Now we just need to keep on improving until we get three out of six games, then four out of six and so on. When we reach that stage then you will hopefully see us on the IRB Women's Sevens World Series," Richards added.

Hong Kong beat Kenya 14-12 in the Bowl Semi Final with Borrelli Walsh USRC Tigers player Natasha Olson-Thorne continuing her strong play on the weekend. Olson-Thorne scored Hong Kong's first try setting up a Bowl final versus Argentina.

The Hong Kong, China squad for the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea will be announced on Monday afternoon at King's Park.

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