y Owen Neilson
Hong Kong comprehensively outplayed Chinese Taipei to win the Olympus Capital Asian Junior Rugby Tournament 37-0 and secure their spot as the second best under-20 team in the continent.The host side were the outstanding performers in the 7 nation competition, triumphing 69-9 against Malaysia in round 1 and 51-10 versus Sri Lanka in the semi-final. After faltering at the final hurdle in the last two tournaments Hong Kong were determined to go one better this time out and showed their class in front of a partisan crowd.
Chinese Taipei had shocked defending champions Korea in Wednesday's semi-final and started well against a nervous looking Hong Kong, edging possession in the opening stages. However once the locals regained their composure the number 5 seeds had few answers to a side superior in all departments of the game.
Niall Rowark got the scoreboard ticking over with a simple penalty then launched a kick into touch for a menacing line-out metres from the Taipei line. The forwards looked equally matched in stature but the Taipei front 8 were in for a torrid time against a drilled and clinical Hong Kong pack. Lock Robert Reid-Kay claimed the throw and was powered over for the first of six tries and an 8-0 lead.
The underdogs then had second-row Chih-Hung Li put in the bin for stopping a quick throw-in and from the resulting penalty wing Alex Raper punished his indiscipline. Spinning the ball wide the flyer managed to keep his balance near the touchline and Hong Kong backs became forwards pushing him over for a second score.
Adam Fullgrabe, the bruising no.8 who has been one of the stars of the tournament after only taking up rugby 2 years ago, got the third in typical fashion, driving from the back of the scrum with usual devastating effect, 18-0 Hong Kong at half-time.
Chinese Taipei's valiant defence wasn't going to be enough and started the half knowing they needed to score next to have any chance of getting back into the match. Only two minutes in however, buckling under the sheer relentlessness of the hosts' all-round attacking game, Taipei again found themselves pinned in their own corner. In a copy cat of the first try, Reid-Kay collected the line-out and fed prop Chris Carpio who smuggled his way over. A quarter of the way into the second half the contest was decided as flanker Andrew Bridle intercepted a Taipei defensive line-out to make it 30-0 Hong Kong.
The visitors looked to inspirational centre Hung Ching-Che and his red boots to kick-start a recovery but with the Hong Kong pack strangling the ball he had too few opportunities to show his quick feet in midfield. Time and again as he looked for space he found only a red wall of defenders closing him down and his frustration resulted in a yellow card for a high tackle.
As the game became more disjointed two more yellow cards followed for Hong Kong flanker Jackman and Taipei substitute Chen Tsung-Wei before full-back Sean Simpkins rounded off a sweeping move for the sixth try. At the final whistle the bitter memories of defeat were replaced with the huge cheers of victory echoing around Hong Kong Football Club.
Hong Kong coach Mike Allen was satisfied that the match had helped dispel the demons of past, he said, "There was a real desire and purpose today, I'm pleased for the boys, three years they've come close...half our squad was in Korea last year and they know what it's like to lose."
After training hard for 6 weeks before the tournament he also paid dues to the forwards crucial role, "Typically in Hong Kong rugby they don't pride themselves on forward play and being able to tactically exploit that, but that's exactly what we did today."
Captain Ed Rolston, part of the losing team last year was particularly pleased to have triumphed, he said, "Overjoyed. Words can't describe how happy we are. We were focused on holding them to nil and we had the advantage of the home crowd but I hope it says something about how good we are."
The scything centre also saw the victory as a platform for the future, "Hopefully that has shattered the ice and stopped us choking so hopefully we'll hold on to that mantle."
In the days' other games Sri Lanka beat a sorry looking Korea 31-15 in the 3rd place play-off after the defending champions had led 10-0. Two fine solo tries from Sri Lankan centre Darshana Ethipola sealed his sides' third consecutive year as the third best team in the tournament.
In the fifth place play-off, seventh seeds Malaysia were level with Thailand at 12 points all after 40 minutes but a devastating second half performance saw the Thai's run out comfortable 39-12 victors.
文章定位：
人氣(392) | 回應(0)| 推薦 (
0)| 收藏 (
0)|
轉寄
全站分類:
不分類
