Hong Kong China men’s XV start their Asia Rugby Men’s Championship 2023 title defence on Saturday 10th June against the losers of the opening round, Malaysia. The match will be the first time the HK men have played at home since 2019 and will be welcomed by a sell-out crowd at the HKFC.
(Feature Photo – Captain’s photo during Hong Kong China vs Malaysia of Asia Rugby Men’s Championship 2023 at Hong Kong Football Club, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, on 9 June 2023, Hong Kong SAR, China. Photo by : Ike Li / Ike Images)
The previous time the two sides met in Hong Kong, the home side were 30-24 victors in June 2019 and the visitors will have to win this match to keep their title aspirations alive after the home 3-27 loss to South Korea last weekend. Hong Kong China has yet to lose to Malaysia in 11 matches.
We still have not had 100 per cent confirmation, but we think the bottom-placed side in the ARMC this year could see relegation to Division 1 – with the winner of Pakistan vs UAE in ARD1 gaining promotion in 2024.
As Hong Kong China Head Coach said earlier in the week, for all teams this is also the start of a new Rugby World Cup cycle and all of the competing squads have seen player changes, with Malaysia and South Korea also seeing coaching changes in 2023.
For Hong Kong China, 14 of the squad who were involved in a disrupted 2022 season and part of the RWC 2023 repechage last year are included against Malaysia. Several senior players who ply their trade overseas have returned. Former captain Gregor McNeish, Alex Post, Paul Altier, Ben Higgins, Nate DeThierry and Will Panday (currently playing for London Scottish)are all in the matchday squad.
HKFC centre Tom Hill has been named captain, in what will be his 6th test for HK China and Head Coach Lewis Evans said of him: “Tom has been massive in every game he’s played for Hong Kong. He was inspirational in the repechage and always leads from the front. He is a phenomenal professional and a phenomenal person; we know he will do everything he can to ensure we are in a good place for a repechage in 2027.”
Photo Credit: HKRU – Nate deThierry against USA at RWC2023 repechage
The starting pack features mostly HK Premiership players but HKU Sandy Bay’s Alex Post, now playing at Richmond, is also included.
“We have a plan that we believe will counter what Malaysia and South Korea are putting across, and that showed for us in their game. The plan has been put in place and we are training to that plan…..The boys are really working hard. A lot of them are in full-time jobs but they turn up and put the effort in; the overseas boys have come in and we have had some very intensive sessions” said Evans.
Malaysia faces a real challenge as they are yet to win a match in the top tier of the Asia Rugby Championship, having lost all 10 matches overall and are on a six-game losing streak. They replaced Japan who no longer are involved. But Malaysia Head Coach Mohd Farid Syazwan bin Abu Bakar, who was a former international prop for the national side, is determined.
Hong Kong China Assistant Coach Joe Barker said of last week’s match: “There was an awful lot of stop, start in that game but Malaysia put in a good performance physically. They have good experience in the forwards and a big back row. They were strong in the defensive breakdown and had quite a lot of possession because of that, so we must be ready for that individual physicality and for them threatening at the breakdown.
Malaysia can rattle you; they rattled South Korea in the first half. We need to be aware of that and defensively to be aggressive and to keep hold of the ball in attack. It’s international rugby and decision-making under pressure is the key,” said Barker.
Shane Barr from Singapore Rugby Union is the match referee – he was the TMO for the opening Asia Rugby Championship 2023 match between Malaysia and Korea last weekend.
Home Crowd Sell-Out – Hong Kong China vs Malaysia 10th June 2023
There has been a fantastic response to the match with over 1,500 registrations for entry to the public areas at HKFC.
Barker added, “There is a buzz and excitement that rugby is back up and going. Now we’ve managed to get what looks like a full house at HKFC and that is what we are building to, that’s exactly what we want, and we are looking forward to it.”
Hong Kong, China squad – ARMC 2023 vs Malaysia
Team Hong Kong China captain’s run during Hong Kong China vs Malaysia of Asia Rugby Men’s Championship 2023 at Hong Kong Football Club, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, on 9 June 2023, Hong Kong SAR, China. Photo by : Ike Li / Ike Images
1. Ashton HYDE, 2. Alexander POST, 3. Faizal SOLOMONA PENESA, 4. Callum MCCULLOUGH, 5. Patrick JENKINSON (vice-capt.), 6. Sam TSOI Kin-san, 7. James SAWYER, 8. Luke van der SMIT 9. Jamie LAUDER, 10. Gregor MCNEISH, 11. Seb BRIEN, 12. Tom HILL (Captain), 13. Nate DE THIERRY, 14. Charles HIGSON-SMITH, 15. Paul ALTIER, 16. David TANG Man-chung, 17. Ben HIGGINS, 18. Keelan CHAPMAN, 19. Jamie PINCOTT, 20. Pierce MACKINLAY-WEST, 21. Bryn PHILLIPS, 22. Harry SAYERS, 23. Will PANDAY.
Malaysia squad – ARMC 2023 vs Hong Kong China
Team Malaysia captain’s run during Hong Kong China vs Malaysia of Asia Rugby Men’s Championship 2023 at Hong Kong Football Club, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, on 9 June 2023, Hong Kong SAR, China. Photo by : Ike Li / Ike Images
1) Azam ABD RAZAK, 2) Amirul AMIZAN, 3) Lawrence PETRUS, 4) Danial HAMIDI, 5) Sameer SANI SURINDER, 6) Syarif MUZHAIMEY, 7) Zul Hafeez KHALID, 8) Amin JAMALUDDIN, 9) Razali RAMLAN, 10) Fairuz AB, RAHMAN, 11) Adam Ariff ALIAS, 12) Zharif AFFANDI, 13) Kamal Hamidi MOHD RAIHAN, 14) Harith Iqbal ANHAR, 15) Anwarul Hafiz AHMAD, 16 ) Wan Azley OMAR, 17) Azri MOHD KAMAL ROSNAN, 18) Amirul ABAS
19) Shukor Iqbal AB RAMAN, 20) Shahmi SHUKOR, 21) Nasharuddin ISMAIL, 22) Nazreen FITRI NASRUDIN
23) Safiy MD SAID
Match Permutations – World Rugby Rankings
- Hong Kong China cannot improve their rating with a victory over Malaysia.
- If Hong Kong China loses – they will drop one place below Russia.
- Malaysia will regain the three places lost after last weekend’s loss to Korea if they manage a draw with Hong Kong China.
- If Malaysia beat Hong Kong China – they will achieve an eight-place climb to a new high of 44th – if they win by more than 15 points, they could jump 12 places to 40th.
How To Watch the Asia Rugby Mens Championship 2023
Hong Kong China vs Malaysia 10th June 2023 – Live Stream link
Hong Kong, China will face South Korea on 17 June at HKFC in the 2023 Asia Rugby Championship finale and we will be in attendance.
Asian Rugby Tournament News 2023
- Hong Kong China Men Look To Defend ARMC 2023.
- Asian Rugby Championship Division 1 2023.
- Asia Rugby Championship 2023 – Hong Kong China, South Korea & Malaysia.
- Hong Kong China Select World Rugby U20 Trophy 2023 Squad.
Trending Now
The Best Social 2024 Rugby Tournaments In Asia
