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Day of tight results sees Korea and Kazakhstan squeak through

Week three of the HSBC Asian Five Nations through up some fantastic matches with both games going down to the wire as South Korea narrowly escaped a second consecutive loss this week to Hong Kong as they eked out a 36-34 win. In the day's late match, Kazakhstan managed to finish the better team after playing two men down for most of the last 10 minutes as they edged Singapore 22-19 in Singapore.
South Korea had to stave off a strong second-half comeback from Hong Kong before scraping to a narrow 36-34 victory in the HSBC Asian Five Nations in Incheon.

Korea led 31-3 at half-time, but then almost paid the penalty for taking their foot off the gas as Hong Kong superbly fought back scoring five tries to come within inches of pulling off what would have been a sensational win.

Left-winger Raby led the comeback for Hong Kong grabbing a hat-trick while right-wing Simon Smith and inside centre Ed Rolston also scored. Substitute Jonny Elliott, who came on for Kenzo Pannell midway through the second half, managed to knock over only one out of the last three conversions which could have given Hong Kong a remarkable victory.

Korea made a raft of substitutions at the start of the second half, and had two players sin-binned resulting in the side being down to 14 men for most of the period. At one stage, they were down to 13 players on the field after centre Park Noh Hoon limped off with a hamstring injury.

Hong Kong made the most of it, scoring three tries in this period as they came storming back from a 36-17 deficit to within two points. Youngster Raby, winning only his second cap for Hong Kong, showed he is a great finisher while veteran flanker Nigel Clarke had an outstanding game as he was in the thick of the action throughout.Korean coach Park Ki Haeng admitted he had made a tactical blunder by bringing on all of his replacements early in the second half resulting in no one being able to replace injured centre Park.

"It was not a good decision to change all our players early in the second half," Park said. "I was already thinking ahead to the Japan game next week and had decided to give all the players a go. But I thought when we led 31-3 at half-time that it would be enough."

Korea began like a house on fire, scoring 24 points in the first 15 minutes. Number eight Han Kun Kyu led the charge with a brace while outstanding blindside flanker Youn Kwon Woo and centre Park grabbed one each. Lock forward Shin Yong Chul added another as Korea led 31-3 with the only reply coming from Hong Kong fly-half Kenzo Pannell who knocked over a penalty.

Substitute prop Hwang Min Seo scored Korea's fifth try early in the second half before Hong Kong got their superb revival under way.

"I'm very, very proud of the guys, but we must not set our standards to losing narrowly to Korea," said Hong Kong coach Dai Rees. "We played very poorly in the first half."

Hong Kong picked up their first points in the HSBC Asian Five Nations, grabbing two - one for scoring more than four tries and the other for losing within seven points. But Hong Kong still lie fourth in the standings which is led by Japan.

Despite the brave comeback, Hong Kong skipper Jon Abel was crushed with the result. Hong Kong are winless after two games, but the spirited performance against Korea will give them heart for their two remaining ties against Singapore and Kazakhstan.

"It was hugely disappointing," Abel said. "It was all a matter of belief but sadly it took us 55 minutes to believe in ourselves. We came through the second half well, but not winning is a huge disappointment."

SOUTH KOREA 36 : Tries - Han Kun Kyu (2), Shin Yong Chul, Youn Kwon Woo, Park Noh Hoon, Hwang Min Seo; Conversions - Chae Jae Young, Lee Jung Min (2).

HONG KONG 34: Tries - Adam Raby (3), Simon Smith, Ed Rolston; Conversions - Kenzo Pannell (2), Jonny Elliott; Penalty - Pannell)

H-T: 31-3

The excitement didn't end in Seoul either as the early match only set the scene for another nail-biter in Singapore. Singapore bounced back positively after the 65-nil drubbing in their first match against Korea to contain a Kazakhstan team that was coming off a massive victory over the Koreans in week 2.

The humid weather aided the home side and helped sap some of the Kazakhstan fire but Singapore's improvement after the bye week can give coach Danny Tauroa some great positives to take into next week's do or die match versus Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Football Club.

Two players in particular stood out for Singapore in captain and try scorer Ben Wheeler who again led from the front and enjoyed a positive outing as did the entire Singapore pack who performed admirably against a large and aggressive Kazakhstan pack. Fly-half John Forrester also had a good day with the boot after some early nerves and errant kicking from hand, eventually accounting for 14 of Singapore's points.

The match remained deadlocked through the opening 12 minutes before Kazakhstan made the pressure by its beefy forward pack tell with a dive over try from hooker Mihail Soloviyev. Maxim Lifontov who had a great outing last week with 15 points against Korea slotted over the conversion to bring the visitors to 7-0.

In the 20th minute Singapore replied through a great effort by the forwards which was capped by Ben Wheeler crossing the line. Forrester's conversion brought the score to 7-7. In the 28th minute Kazakhstan converted a rare Singaporean penalty (one of just 4 conceded by the home side all day) to bring the score to 10-7 at half-time.

After the interval, the visitors' frustration mounted and so did the penalty count with Singapore fly-half Forrester making Kazakhstan pay with two well-taken penalties in the third and seventh minutes to edge Singapore ahead 13-10. The lead was short-lived however as Kazakhstan managed to link up its forwards and backs in a nice flowing move the minute after Singapore's second penalty to put Kazakh fly-half Denis Cherkashin over beneath the sticks. Lifontov converted the try to bring the score to 17-13.

Kazakhstan descended further into indiscipline and repeated infringements for offsides, not rolling away and dangerous tackles saw more penalties granted. In the second half alone, three Kazakh players were sin-binned including two backs who sat out the final 9 minutes of the match. Forrester made the penalties awarded to Singapore pay with two more well taken kicks that brought the score to 19-17 Singapore.

Despite its large penalty count advantage, Singapore never really threatened to cross the line again even with a two man advantage late in the match. With possession secure Kazakhstan turned the defenders with a nicely weighted kick to the corner and exerted pressure through the forwards with scumhalf Oleg Gusselnikov finally nipping over around the fringes to bring Kazakhstan back to the lead at 22-19. They never relinquished this lead despite the fervent support of some 2,300 spectators that jammed the stands in support of the home side.

Following the match, Singapore coach Danny Tauroa highlighted a lack of clinical finishing as the major disappointment in a day largely of positives for Singapore, the newly promoted team in the Asian Five Nations this year.

Today's results continue to keep the hunt for table places alive. Korea now tops the table with 13 points including 10 points (5 points each) for its two wins and 3 bonus points. Japan, which was on its bye week, remains undefeated with a match in hand (next week's titanic clash versus Korea in Osaka) and looks on pace to retain its title. Kazakhstan earned another five points for its second consecutive victory placing them firmly in third place at the moment on 10, while Hong Kong notched two bonus points to keep them ahead of Singapore whom they host next week. Singapore recorded one bonus point for the close run result, preventing them from suffering a clean sweep in this year's series. Next week's match against Hong Kong is a must win for the Rugby Lions as they end the Top 5 with Japan at home in two weeks time.

Kazakhstan - Tries: Mihail Soloviyev, Denis Cherkashin, Oleg Gusselnikov; Conversions - Maxim Lifontov (2), Penalties - Lifontov
Singapore - Tries: Ben Wheeler; Conversions: John Forrester; Penalties: Forrester (4)
H/T: Kazakhstan 10 - Singapore 7

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