Hong Kong could be next underdog to land shock spot at World Cup

Former Dragons forward Lewis Evans is expecting his Hong Kong team to face a ferocious assault from Tonga in their Asia/Pacific 1 play-off Rugby World Cup clash on the Sunshine Coast in Australia with victory earning a place in Pool B alongside champions South Africa, Ireland, Scotland and Romania in France next year.

Rookie head coach Evans is taking heart from Tonga’s winless performances in the recent Pacific Nations Cup and the absence of stars such as Israel Folau, Malakai Fekitoa and Charles Piutau for various reasons.

The loser has one more chance of making the 2023 finals in France by winning November’s Final Qualification Tournament in Dubai for a spot in Pool C with Australia, Wales, Fiji and Georgia.

Hong Kong earned their shot at Tonga after a narrow 23-21 win over South Korea, achieved despite having a player sent off in the first minute. It has been a disrupted period for Hong Kong with the pandemic hitting their union’s finances with the postponement of the Hong Kong Sevens.

A lack of matches has also been a major headache for Evans, who is taking charge of only his second game as head coach, having quit playing for the Welsh regional side a year ago after 15 seasons at Rodney Parade. Evans was originally appointed as assistant to Simon Amor but took over when the former England attack coach joined the Japan coaching setup.

Evans told Rugby Asia 247 : “It is daunting in some respects but this group of players are very excited to get out there and very keen to play against some of the best players in the world and it’s something some of these guys have been dreaming of for a few years. We know Tonga will be ferocious with the ball carrying and spot blitzing so we know we are going to feel that heat.

“Our first 40 minutes against Korea showed our potential and it demonstrated that we have the attacking ability in our team. The second half showed resilience when we had to dig in and the ability to stay switched on and belief.”