Hong Kong China vs the Netherlands WXV3 2024 Preview

Hong Kong China go into the final WXV3 2024 match on Saturday 12th October with their RWC 2025 dreams on a knife edge following the results in the second round, in which they beat Madagascar 38-7, but the Samoans upset win over Fiji means even a win over Holland wouldn’t guarantee qualification for Hong Kong China.

The Netherlands beat Hong Kong China when they faced each other in Amsterdam in May 2023, with the Dutch winning a closely fought match 19-17. Prior to that, HKCR had won the only other encounters when they also played in Amsterdam in 2019. The opposition drew their first game against Samoa in WXV3 and lost to Spain last weekend.

For Hong Kong China, there was a cost in the win last weekend with some players picking up injuries and being ruled out of this vital match. Lock Roshini Turner passed her HIA and concussion protocol to be selected but her second-row partner Micayla Baltazar is not available, nor is Tanya Dhar.

Morena Grierson has also been selected in the reserves and could earn her debut cap in her role covering the second row or #8, while Au King To comes in as does So Karen Hoi Ting in hooker (another RWC 2017 experienced player).

Head Coach Andrew Douglas said of the changes “Morena comes in to cover the second row and she’s done well this campaign and she’s a strong, physical type player, so we’re really excited to see how she goes. She’s probably the future of that forward pack going forward.”

There were lots of positives last week as Hong Kong China enjoyed a round-high share of possession (62 per cent) with more than half in their opponents’ 22. HKCR were made to work and flankers & captain Wai Yan Pun and Shanna Forrest each completed a round-high 24 tackles. The lineout also improved from a 60% success rate against Fiji to 94%!

Of the physical threat the Dutch will pose HKCR, he added, “They’re a very structured team, very organised in how they play and very deliberate in what they do. They like to be a set-piece-based team. It’s a different type of challenge for us from Samoa or Fiji but I think it hopefully suits us a bit better, that ability just to keep working hard and outwork them.”

Natasha Olson-Thorne is key player in the midfield and an experienced XVs and Sevens player and and she said of the camp and WXV, “This is the first time we’ve been together for this long, probably since the last World Cup. It’s been a really good bonding experience for all of us and we’ve got to know each other really well, which helps us in our games. We definitely haven’t hit our full potential yet. We want to give our wide players the ball the time and space so they can really exploit in attack.”

HKCR Women’s Captain Pun Wai Yan, hoped the pack and set-piece will fire again, as they were on song against Madagascar. “Our set piece is getting better and better, so I will be happy if we can bring that impact from last week, and make another big impact this weekend.”

Finally, #8, Shanna Forrest, added of the excitement of playing. “I’m always super proud to wear the jersey, and I’m so grateful to have my teammates back me up on the field. Playing WXV has given me a lot of exposure in how teams play outside of Asia; the different playing styles, and different levels of physicality. This means it’s allowed me to grow as a player and I am confident that we’ll put up a good fight against the Dutch.”

The Netherlands side has the best discipline record in WXV3 and only gave away seven penalties in the loss to Spain, they are the only team in WXV 3 yet to receive a yellow or red card. They have also done a lot of defending but not conceded that many tries, so they could be tough to crack (more than 300 tackles in their two matches!).

The Dutch Head Coach Sylke Haverkorn has made four personnel changes to her starting line-up with three in the pack and on the right wing, where 19-year-old Senne Sophie Anne Hoog has been selected to start.

Tyler Miller (Australia) will be the match referee for the Netherlands v Hong Kong China.

WXV Format and RWC 2025 Qualification

At WXV3, two spots for the Rugby World Cup 2025 in England are up for grabs and has Fiji already qualified. This means that the remaining places will be contested by Hong Kong China, Spain, Samoa, Madagascar and the Netherlands with the top two sides at the end of this weekend (excluding Fiji) securing qualification.

If Fiji, who have already qualified for next summer’s tournament, finish in the top 2 places in Dubai, then the team in 3rd place will qualify. At the moment, HKCR, Samoa, the Dutch and Spain are all in with a chance, the Samoans are most likely to claim one of the two places as they face Madagascar and the final game is Spain playing Fiji.

HKCR, Spain, Samoa, and the Netherlands all still have a chance of doing so heading into the final matches.

HKCR Head Coach Douglas said, “This is an intelligent group. They know the sums and the maths and what it takes. So we’ve tried to focus on what we need to do. I hope they make themselves proud and express themselves in the way they can as they deserve to do well from all the work they’ve put in.”

The fixtures and results for WXV3 can be seen here.

Dutch women practising in Dubai – WXV3 2024

Match Permutations  –  HKCR vs the Netherlands WXV 3 (October 2024)

• The Dutch are ranked 17th and Hong Kong China are 18th.
• Hong Kong China will become the higher-ranked of the two if they win, and could potentially climb as high as 15th (equalling their highest-ever ranking) –  this would require them to win by more than 15 points and both Samoa and Fiji to lose.
• The Netherlands can only improve on 17th place in victory if Fiji or Samoa lose and they would climb to 15th.

HKCR Squad vs the Netherlands – WXV3 2024

You can read more in our collaboration piece with HKCR here.

1 LAU Nga Wun
2 GOT Fion
3 HEREWINI Kea
4 TURNER Roshini
5 BALTAZAR Chloe
6 PUN Wai Yan ©
7 CHAN Tsz Ching
8 FORREST Shanna
9 HO Jessica Wai On
10 RIVERS Georgia
11 SMITH Zoe
12 RIVERS Gabriella
13 OLSON-THORNE Natasha
14 CHONG Ka Yan
15 LYNAM Sabay

Reserves
16 SO Karen Hoi Ting
17 CHAN Hiu Tung
18 LEE Ka Shun
19 GRIERSON Morena*
20 CHOW Mei Nam
21 AU King To
22 FUNG Hoi Ching
23 UEMATSU Haruka

Netherlands Squad vs Hong Kong China – WXV3 2024

TBC

How To Watch WXV 2024

The WXV3 2024 will be available to watch on RugbyPass TV or your local broadcaster which be found on the fixtures page of the WXV website. For fans in Dubai, the matches are free to attend.

WXV Rugby News 2024

• Hong Kong China vs Madagascar WXV3 2024 Preview.
• Hong Kong China vs Fiji WXV3 2024 Preview.
• Pools & Schedule Confirmed For WXV 2024.