HSBC ASIAN 5 NATION (A5N) RUGBY TOURNAMENT

HOME

ABOUT HSBC

ABOUT ARFU

ARFU NATIONS

SCHEDULE

NEWS/REPORTS

GALLERY

VIDEO

RESULTS / STATS

click on the flag link to the union

HSBC Asian Five Nations Hits Hong Kong for Week Two

The second week of the HSBC Asian Five Nations (A5N) Top 5 competition will kick off in Hong Kong as last year's defending champions Japan visit the Hong Kong Football Club on Saturday, 2 May (kick-off at 16.00). On the same day in the week's second match, Kazakhstan will host Korea at the Almaty Central Stadium (kick-off also at 16.00 local time). Ahead of this weekend's Hong Kong vs Japan clash, Sandy Flockhart, CEO of HSBC Asia-Pacific, hosted the coaches, John Kirwan and Dai Rees, and captains, Takashi Kikutani and Jon Abel, of Japan and Hong Kong respectively, for a roundtable forum on the A5N. Jarrad Gallagher, the International Rugby Board's Regional Manager for Asia joined the event on behalf of the IRB, the sanctioning body of the A5N.

Speaking at today's forum, Sandy Flockhart said, "We can all expect the match on Saturday to be a competitive and hard-fought contest with Japan being eager to keep their perfect record from last year, and Hong Kong in high spirits for its first match in this year's tournament and playing in front of the home crowd. As the title sponsor of the Asian Five Nations tournament, HSBC is proud to have the opportunity to bring high quality rugby to Asia."

Several members of the Hong Kong and Japan teams also attended the event held today at the HSBC Main Building today in Central, including Rowan Varty, Jeff Wong, Alex Ng and Mike McKee of Hong Kong and hooker Yusuke Aoki and scrumhalf Fumiaki Tanaka of Japan.
Tanaka is the smallest man on the Japan team but is known as one of the best and bravest tacklers. He spent time playing club rugby at Auckland in New Zealand and vastly benefited from training and playing with Tony Brown at Top League team Sanyo. Aoki is the first-choice hooker who plays his club rugby for Suntory in Japan.
Hong Kong was represented by two sevens stars in Rowan Varty and Wong will line up at centre and scrum-half respectively on Saturday along with promising Chinese prop forward Ng from Valley and Hong Kong Football Club fullback McKee.

HSBC staff members had an opportunity to meet the coaches and members of both teams in a special meet-and-greet session following the forum. HSBC staff also heard from Kirwan and Rees on performance strategy and the similar qualities demanded by the worlds of finance and rugby: courage, leadership, integrity and perseverance.

Japan, last year's defending champions with a perfect record of four wins and four bonus points for scoring four or more tries in each match, are again the favourites in this year's competition. Coach Kirwan has his sights firmly set on Japan's qualification for the Rugby World Cup 2011 and has selected several promising young players and a new captain in his team. The winner of the Top 5 competition in 2010 will be Asia's sole direct entry to New Zealand in 2011.

"We are looking to improve 25 per cent this year, 10 per cent next year and go to the World Cup as the best team we can be. We want to play consistently and with a style that is Japanese," said Kirwan.

To date, things are going according to plan as Japan opened its Five Nations account with an 87-11 dismantling of Kazakhstan, last year's fourth-placed finishers in round one in Osaka.

Hong Kong prepared for its campaign with a friendly match against the New Zealand Universities touring team at King's Park last Friday. The match was a useful exercise in helping to finalise and season Coach Rees's selection for the 2 May opener. It will be Rees's first test match in charge of the Hong Kong XV and also marks his one-hundredth international match as coach.

The occasion promises to suit this milestone: the last time Japan played in Hong Kong was at the Rugby World Cup Asian Qualifiers in 2006 at the Hong Kong Football Club when the stands reached full capacity. The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union is expecting an equally strong turnout at Saturday's match and spectators are encouraged to arrive early to get a seat. The match is free to the public.

Today's event concluded with a unique exhibition by local Chinese youth players from the Aberdeen and Causeway Bay mini rugby teams. It was a trial for The HSBC Youth Centre-line Challenge, a rugby skills competition that emphasises proficiency in the basic rugby skills, from passing and kicking to running and teamwork. The competition will take place at half-time of the Hong Kong vs Japan match.

About the Top 5
The HSBC A5N Top 5 competition represents the elite of Asian rugby with the region's top rugby nations taking part in an intensive series of four matches played over five consecutive weekends from 25 April through 24 May 2009.

Because of the unique promotion/relegation system in place for the A5N, the 2009 Top 5 matches will double as Rugby World Cup 2011 Qualifiers for Asia. The winner of the 2010 Top 5 will be Asia's sole direct entrant to New Zealand in 2011.

Thanks in large part to HSBC's support of A5N, the tournament has again secured an international television package for the Top 5 competition. The Hong Kong match will be seen on Star Sports on Monday evening, 4 May, at 19.30 local time.

more here ...