This year, the HKRFU Men’s Sevens team is competing in the HSBC Sevens World Series (HSBC SWS) Qualifier portion of the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens.  By finishing in the top three teams of this competition, Hong Kong would qualify as a core team on next year’s HSBC SWS with the right to compete at all circuit events worldwide. To do so, Hong Kong will first have to get past pool opponents Tonga, Uruguay and China.
 
HKRFU Head of Performance and Coaching/National Coach Dai Rees paid tribute to the competitiveness of the 20-man Hong Kong Men’s Sevens training squad saying, “This has been the toughest selection process in my career coaching at an international level, which is a great credit to the squad.”
 
Coach Rees has shown faith in the side that took the gold medal at last month’s HSBC Asian Sevens Series tournament in Bangkok with several of the final 12-man team having participated in Thailand.  Team mainstays Keith Robertson, Kwok Ka Chun, Anthony Haynes, Salom Yiu Kam Shing and Tom McQueen have all made the final selection. 

Hong Kong Rugby Football Union Men’s & Women’s Sevens Squads
 
Three players will make their debut at this year’s event, Ross Armour, Lee Jones and Ally Maclay. “Those three have added significant depth to the squad and have helped place positive pressure on all of the squad members in a bid to retain their places. It has been the best preparation period we have had since I have been involved and I think that it puts us into a good place for the Sevens and for our build-up to qualification for the Ruby World Cup Sevens.
 
“I am very satisfied with our preparations as an entire training squad and am most pleased that despite the intense competition for places, once the squad was named, all of the players quickly rallied behind their team-mates. With the added challenge of the Tokyo Sevens in the week after Hong Kong, we will be using a greater range of players from throughout the squad over the two tournaments.
 
“The players have done the hard yards and now it will come down to 14 minutes at 7.24pm on Friday night against Uruguay to see where we truly stand,” concluded Rees.


Men’s Squad
Rowan Varty (C)
Mark Goosen
Kowloon
Ross Armour
Valley
Anthony Haynes
HKCC
Lee Jones
Valley
Alex McQueen
HKCC
Tim Alexander
Valley
Ally Maclay
Valley
Keith Robertson
DeA
Tom McQueen
Valley



 

This article was originally posted on 18-Mar-2012, 14:02 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 18-Mar-2012, 15:02.