AFTER three tournaments and 170 games, the HSBC Asian Rugby Sevens Series 2013 potentially boils down to a final showdown between defending Series champions Hong Kong and Asian rugby superpower Japan this weekend at the Singapore Sevens, which takes place on Saturday and Sunday at Yio Chu Kang Stadium.AFTER three tournaments and 170 games, the HSBC Asian Rugby Sevens Series 2013 potentially boils down to a final showdown between defending Series champions Hong Kong and Asian rugby superpower Japan this weekend at the Singapore Sevens, which takes place on Saturday and Sunday at Yio Chu Kang Stadium.
Ahead of the final 40 games of the 2013 Series, Japan leads Hong Kong by a single point in the table with 35 points to 34. The parity in this year’s Series comes as no surprise to veteran Asian sevens watchers as last year’s title was won by Hong Kong with just a ½-point margin. Hong Kong’s title last year was its first-ever Asian Sevens crown.
Japan has the edge over Hong Kong in tournament titles this year at two events to one, after defeating Hong Kong in the championship matches in Malaysia (14-10) and Thailand (17-12). Hong Kong turned the tables at the India Sevens last month, topping Japan 24-14 in the title match. That victory was crucial in keeping Hong Kong’s hopes of defending its title alive. If Hong Kong wins the Singapore Sevens and Japan finishes runner-up, they will be tied atop the standings and the point differentials in the teams’ head-to-head meetings will be the decider for the ultimate champion. Hong Kong leads the stakes in that category with 46 points compared to Japan’s 45.
“We have put ourselves in a good position with the win in Mumbai,” said Hon Kong coach Dai Rees. “There is a confidence now that we can retain our title and keep our position as Asian No. 1.”
Ahead of this weekend’s action, Japan coach Tomohiro Segawa also remained confident, saying: “Our domestic professional league is on a bye this week, so we were able to strengthen our squad with some talented players. With this boost, we hope that it will make a difference at the Singapore Sevens.”
Following its win in Mumbai, Hong Kong is the top seed in the final leg and will begin play in Pool A alongside host Singapore and China. Japan is the second seed and leads Pool D alongside Thailand and Chinese Taipei.
Rees commented on his pool opponents by saying: “Singapore is no pushover, and although we beat them in the Cup quarter-finals in Mumbai, we know they will be tough. China is an unknown quantity. They have come in with a different side in all Delta
events to date and they will probably do so again. They will be a danger and we just have to keep our focus.”
Singapore vice-captain Bryan Ng said, “We know we have a tough draw, but a top-six finish is still realistic for us. We’re a good side and we are confident that we can challenge anyone in this tournament.”
Japan and Hong Kong have built a significant lead over the rest of the field and appear to be the front-runners to advance to the HSBC Sevens World Series qualifier tournament at the Hong Kong Sevens next March, with a chance to qualify as the only promoted side to the 2014/2015 HSBC Sevens World Series. However, neither team will be content finishing the 2013 Series as the runner-up, as this intense rivalry will have both teams angling to be outright Asian No. 1.
The action starts at 1 p.m. Saturday at Yio Chu Kang Stadium.
Follow all the results at www.asian5nations.com/asian-7-series or on the event’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Asian7s.
Live streaming of this week’s matches will be on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/asian5nationstv.
Sourced from http://www.arfu.com/
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