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Hong Kong could be next underdog to land shock spot at World Cup

Ball carrier Lewis Evans (c) of Newport Gwent Dragons during the Guinness Pro14 match between Southern Kings and Newport Gwent Dragons at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on March 02, 2018 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. (Photo by Richard Huggard/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

Former Dragons forward Lewis Evans is expecting his Hong Kong team to face a ferocious assault from Tonga in their Asia/Pacific 1 play-off Rugby World Cup clash on the Sunshine Coast in Australia with victory earning a place in Pool B alongside champions South Africa, Ireland, Scotland and Romania in France next year.

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Rookie head coach Evans is taking heart from Tonga’s winless performances in the recent Pacific Nations Cup and the absence of stars such as Israel Folau, Malakai Fekitoa and Charles Piutau for various reasons.

The loser has one more chance of making the 2023 finals in France by winning November’s Final Qualification Tournament in Dubai for a spot in Pool C with Australia, Wales, Fiji and Georgia.

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Hong Kong earned their shot at Tonga after a narrow 23-21 win over South Korea, achieved despite having a player sent off in the first minute. It has been a disrupted period for Hong Kong with the pandemic hitting their union’s finances with the postponement of the Hong Kong Sevens.

A lack of matches has also been a major headache for Evans, who is taking charge of only his second game as head coach, having quit playing for the Welsh regional side a year ago after 15 seasons at Rodney Parade. Evans was originally appointed as assistant to Simon Amor but took over when the former England attack coach joined the Japan coaching setup.

Evans told Rugby Asia 247 : “It is daunting in some respects but this group of players are very excited to get out there and very keen to play against some of the best players in the world and it’s something some of these guys have been dreaming of for a few years. We know Tonga will be ferocious with the ball carrying and spot blitzing so we know we are going to feel that heat.

“Our first 40 minutes against Korea showed our potential and it demonstrated that we have the attacking ability in our team. The second half showed resilience when we had to dig in and the ability to stay switched on and belief.”

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S
SK 38 minutes ago
What is the future of rugby in 2025?

Set pieces are important and the way teams use them is a great indication of how they play the game. No team is showcasing their revolution more than the Springboks. This year they have mauled less and primarily in the attacking third. Otherwise they have tended to set like they are going to maul and then play around the corner or shove the ball out the back. They arent also hitting the crash ball carrier constantly but instead they are choosing to use their width or a big carrying forward in wider areas. While their maul is varied the scrum is still a blunt instrument winning penalties before the backs have a go. Some teams have chosen to blunt their set piece game for more control. The All Blacks are kicking more penalties and are using their powerful scrum as an attacking tool choosing that set piece as an attacking weapon. Their willingness to maul more and in different positions is also becoming more prominent. The French continue to play conservative rugby off the set piece using their big bruisers frequently. The set piece is used differently by different teams. Different teams play different ways and can be successful regardless. They can win games with little territory and possession or smash teams with plenty of both. The game of rugby is for all types and sizes and thats true in the modern era. I hope that administrators keep it that way and dont go further towards a Rugby League style situation. Some administrators are of the opinion that rugby is too slow and needs to be sped up. Why not rather empower teams to choose how they want to play and create a framework that favours neither size nor agility. That favours neither slow tempo play or rock n roll rugby. Create a game that favour both and challenge teams to execute their plans. If World Rugby can create a game like that then it will be the ultimate winner.

34 Go to comments
J
JW 5 hours ago
'Let's not sugarcoat it': Former All Black's urgent call to protect eligibility rules

Yep, no one knows what will happen. Thing is I think (this is me arguing a point here not a random debate with this one) they're better off trialing it now in a controlled environment than waiting to open it up in a knee jerk style reaction to a crumbling organtization and team. They can always stop it again.


The principle idea is that why would players leave just because the door is ajar?


BBBR decides to go but is not good enough to retain the jersey after doing it. NZ no longer need to do what I suggest by paying him to get back upto speed. That is solely a concept of a body that needs to do what I call pick and stick wth players. NZR can't hold onto everyone so they have to choose their BBBRs and if that player comes back from a sabbatical under par it's a priority to get him upto speed as fast as possible because half of his competition has been let go overseas because they can't hold onto them all. Changing eligibility removes that dilemma, if a BBBR isn't playing well you can be assured that someone else is (well the idea is that you can be more assured than if you only selected from domestic players).


So if someone decides they want to go overseas, they better do it with an org than is going to help improve them, otherwise theyre still basically as ineligible as if they would have been scorning a NZ Super side that would have given them the best chance to be an All Black.

147 Go to comments
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