Hong Kong China vs Brazil 2024 Match 2 Preview (November 2024)

rugbyasia247 Posted On November 14, 2024

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Hong Kong China vs Brazil 2024 Match 2 Preview (November 2024)

Hong Kong China Men’s XV play Brazil on Saturday 16 November at the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground looking to avenge the 10-23 defeat last weekend at HKFC.

This is the first rugby international (and first international sporting event) to be played at the new ground which sits near the new Kai Tak Stadium to be used at the Sevens in Hong Kong in 2025. The venue on Saturday has a grandstand which usually can accommodate 5,000 spectators, but this event has been set at 3,000 due to ongoing operational testing.

Photo Credit- HKCR- Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground

This second Autumn International Series game is bound to be a fierce contest if the first match was an indicator. The series is being played using a points differential to decide the series champions if each team wins one match.

Brazil rose in the World Rugby rankings from 30th to 26th following their first-ever win over Kong Kong China.

Os Tupis captain Cleber Días told Rugby Asia 247, “I was really happy with how the first game went as we had a challenging week adjusting to the timezones and dealing with the jetlag. But we trained intensely and we wanted to right the result and improve on areas from the loss in July. We managed to keep the scoreboard ticking and keep two scores ahead which was important as we knew it would be close.

We need to focus on improving the lineout and maul from the first game. Our scrum was very solid but we had some small details we need to fix in the lineout and mauls. We also need to connect better between the forwards and the backs as it wasn’t quite gelling.”

Os Tupis captain Cleber Días - Brazil Rugby Men XV

Photo Credit: HKCR- Brazil Men’s XV “Os Tupis’ captain Cleber Días

The Brazilians have the upper hand and the physicality was something Hong Kong China didn’t quite match last week. Dias added, “We have travelled halfway across the world to win both games, so the focus has been to get the details right and get closer to perfection for the second game.”

Brazil’s impressive captain said they were still impressed by Hong Kong China and the speed of their attack as well as their ability to create opportunities by opening the ball really quickly to attack space.

Photo Credit- HKCR -Luke Van Der Smit vs Brazil at HKFC – Nov 9 2024

A disappointed Hong Kong China Head Coach Andrew Douglas reflected on the loss last week, saying, “They won the game with physicality and by putting themselves in the right place on the field. They were better than us and they deserved the win. The great thing about having a series is that we have a week now to turn it around.”

On the fixes for the second game, Douglas added, “We can play the game at our tempo and I think we can open them up more, but we didn’t get enough front-foot ball to do that because we lost the collision battle.”

The coaching team has selected a new front row to start, with Sunia Fameitau earning his first start after making his debut off the bench last week, and he is joined by Jak Lam (hooker) and Keelan Chapman.

There are other positional switches and changes – other notably Matt Worley moving from wing last week to starting fullback and Tommy Hill returning from injury to start at centre. Josh Hrstich once again captains the side.

Katsuki Furuse (JRFU) is the match referee while the assistant referees are Reuben Keane (RA) and Morgan White (HKCR).

You can watch the first match highlights between Hong Kong China and Brazil.