Hong Kong rugby players eye differing World Cup road maps as club season resumes
City’s women unearthed some new faces on encouraging European tour, while the men, already World Cup-bound, learned a lesson in Portugal
Domestic rugby will return to Hong Kong next week after an international break of varying fortunes for the city’s men and women, and for both it represents the next step in differing paths to their respective World Cups.
The men have already secured a place at the 2027 edition in Australia, but a 58-12 defeat at the hands of Portugal in their only Test of the autumn almost a fortnight ago was a salutary lesson in how far they still have to go.
Hong Kong’s women, meanwhile, began their journey to the 2029 tournament by beating both Germany and Belgium over consecutive weeks, even with a squad shorn of some of their most experienced players by National Games commitments.
In their absence, 18-year-olds Elsie Hulme and Jasmine Fitzhenry, both products of the city’s sevens programme, were just two of a new breed who grabbed their opportunities with both hands.
Fitzhenry, a second-row, was described as “a really exciting prospect” by head coach Tumua Ioane, while Hulme’s teammates were taken by her “unbelievable work-rate”.
Ioane said he was “incredibly proud” of the team, who beat Germany 12-10 and then came from a try down at half-time to beat Belgium 15-7.