Japan lift cup, while minnows impress
Japan gained revenge over Shanghai Sevens champions Korea, in a tight cup semi-final and then gave a polished performance against an injury ridden Hong Kong in the final to lift the Borneo Sevens Cup and top the Asian Rugby Sevens Series ranking table after the two qualifying tournaments.
Although it will only be used as a guideline for selecting teams to participate in the IRB World Sevens Series events, both finalists can be confident in booking their flights to Hong Kong for next March.
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Japan recieving the Borneo Sevens Cup |
Japan in only conceding 4 tries, whilst amassing 189 points in six matches cemented their status as Asia’s leading rugby nation in the abbreviated form as well as the fifteen a-side game. They had kept a clean sheet throughout their pool games on day one and looked to be playing entirely within themselves. They managed to put 22 points on Malaysia who were by some distance the second best team in a pool where all of the losers went scoreless. Thailand in particular failed to meet pre tournament expectations and only managed to avoid the embarrassment of a berth in the bowl competition, by having a marginally better point’s difference than the equally disappointing Chinese Taipei team.
Korea’s first day progress was not by any means plain sailing. They were beaten 14-12 by Hong Kong in a bruising encounter in their final match, but what was far more of a shock was their difficulty in overcoming the tenacious Guam team. With a population of less than 200,000 and only four senior rugby teams the boys from Guam pack a big punch and it took all of Korea’s resolve to overcome the islanders and scrape home with a 19-14 win.
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Korea had to work hard to overcome Guam |
Guam also managed to score two tries in their match against eventual runners-up Hong Kong and ran roughshod over Brunei to proceed to the cup quarter finals and in doing so win the respect of all present.
Hong Kong advanced with a one hundred per cent record, but also picked up a slew of injuries along the way. Brunei found the going extremely tough, but they are a spirited bunch and they did manage to get on the score-sheet against Guam and most memorably for 18 year old George Pyrgos against Hong Kong.
In the third pool it was the Philippines who were the surprise package. With the backbone of their side having rugby league backgrounds, the Philippines brought a sometimes unorthodox approach to the table and this seemed to catch their opponents off guard. Third seeds China were made to work hard for a 14-0 victory and then Chinese Taipei were shown that change is afoot in the Asian rugby pecking order. The Philippines outscored them 4 tries to one in a 24-5 win that few would have predicted.
India for the second week running didn’t appear to be on the money on day one. They were turned over 24-5 by Chinese Taipei and then trounced 45-0 by China before finding some form in their third game and holding the Philippines to a 7-7 draw.
All the cup quarter finals went as expected, with the exception of Malaysia’s fine effort in defeating a China team containing the all-time Hong Kong Sevens try scoring record holder Johnny Zhang.
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Home side Malaysia gave their fans plenty to cheer |
Relegated to the plate China first beat Guam 31-15 and then the Philippines, who had unexpectedly accounted for Thailand in their semi-final, to take the trophy and 5th place in the tournament. Special mention should be made of Guam’s Paul Claros who scored two superb tries in his side’s defeat at the hands of China.
After the final Chinese captain Zhang said that his side struggled with the hot and humid conditions “The tournament was good, but we don't like the weather – it’s too hot because in Beijing it already start to snow" He added “The Olympic decision is very important for us because the China government should give more support....I think in 3 or 4 years time the rugby should develop very good in China"
In the bowl competition Chinese Taipei restored some pride in lifting the trophy with convincing wins over Indonesia and India. Brunei brought joy to their many traveling supporters overcoming near neighbours Indonesia, a country with a population over 600 times as great as their own.
The two cup semi-finals were both enthralling affairs. First Japan kept their heads and scored a second try to overhaul Korea and register a 10-7 win and then Malaysia delighted the large crowd in attendance with their ‘never say die’ attitude in their match-up with Hong Kong. Seemingly dead and buried, they produced one of the tries of the weekend at the death, with a text book recovery of loose ball near their own line and a mesmerising display of pace and sublime handling skills which brought them within five points of causing an enormous upset.
In the 3rd/4th play-off Korea showed their class and defeated the exhausted Malaysians 31-7.
The final was in the balance for almost the entire first half. Michio Iwa had given Japan an early lead, which was then nullified by a brilliant individual effort from Keith Robertson who collected his own ‘up and under’ and forced his way over the line despite the close attentions of the Japanese defence.
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Try time for Japan in their final win over Hong Kong |
Japan restored their lead shortly before half-time through Kenji Shomen and then shot out to an unassailable lead, with two further tries from Usaku Kuwazuru and Atsushi Tujiya within two minutes of the restart. Iwa then added another before Kensuke Iwabuchi rubbed salt in Hong Kong’s wound with his team’s sixth try. Yiu Kam Shing, who plays his club rugby for Tradition Valley, gave Hong Kong the final score of the day with a fine long distance effort which he duly converted himself.
At 38-14 Japan had won the plaudits of the crowd and shown beyond doubt that they were the class act of the weekend, with a well-organised defence and a slick repertoire of attacking options available, augmented by electric pace out wide.
The Borneo Sevens, hosted by the Sabah Rugby Union has immediately established itself as one of the premier events on the Asian rugby calendar and the concept of playing men’s and women’s international sevens and A grade club sevens on the same programme was an experiment that proved to be a huge success. Rugby in this corner of the world has the enormous advantage of being supported, financially and otherwise by IJM Corporation and the impact that their influence has had on rugby in the state of Sabah and Malaysia in general was reflected in the achievements of the national team over the weekend.
The Women’s International Sevens and the Borneo Invitational Club Sevens will be the subject of a separate report
Images courtesy: Elite Step Asia Limited and Aaron Littlewood
This article is also available in the following Country/s. Thailand, South Korea, Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, Hong Kong, Guam, Chinese Taipei, China, Brunei
