Hong Kong China qualifies for the Rugby World Cup for the first time
Hong Kong China is only the second Asian nation after Japan to reach the World Cup in tournament history.
Advertisement
It booked a spot in the 2027 tournament in Australia, expanded to 24 teams for the first time.
'It is pretty overwhelming, and I am super proud of our group, our management and coaches and everyone involved,' captain John Hrstich said.
Hong Kong China just missed out on the 2019 and 2023 World Cups after reaching the final qualifying tournaments.
On Saturday, Hong Kong China was too good for South Korea even through a 20-minute red card to center Ben Axten-Burrett just before halftime for head-on-head contact.
It also swept aside Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates to win the Asia Championship for a sixth straight time.
___
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Andy Farrell felt NSW Waratahs deliberately watered pitch to hinder Lions
Andy Farrell suggested the Allianz Stadium pitch had been deliberately watered to assist the New South Wales Waratahs as his British and Irish Lions toiled to an ugly 21-10 victory. The Lions produced comfortably their worst performance of the tour two weeks out from the first Test against the Wallabies with Huw Jones' two tries and an important touch down by Alex Mitchell among the few highlights. Advertisement Sydney was hit by a 'bomb cyclone' earlier in the week, leading to heavy rain and gale force winds, but Farrell suspected skulduggery from the Waratahs in an attempt to even up the game. And a conversation with Mike Catt, one of Farrell's coaching lieutenants with Ireland who is now in charge of the Waratahs' attack, appeared to confirm his suspicions. 'The pitch was very wet and I was asking Mike Catt after the game and he was laughing,' head coach Farrell said. 'I mean, that's good tactics from them isn't it? The ball's slippy, the breakdown's ferocious enough and the line speed is high octane stuff as well from them. Advertisement 'I mean, he just laughed. Catty just laughed. We've seen that done plenty of times. I don't know whether the pitch needed watering.' Huw Jones scored two of the Lions' tries (Robbie Stephenson/PA) When it was put to Farrell that Sydney had been hit by storms until Wednesday, he replied: 'We know all that, but we have been here for two days now and it has been glorious. The pitch was OK and we are not complaining. 'It is good, isn't it? That is what you would do if you are waiting for this type of game to come – it's huge for all the clubs. 'We know what is coming and we have got to be ready for anything and able to adapt.' The Waratahs laughed off Farrell's concerns about the pitch, with captain Hugh Sinclair declaring: 'See the weather on Tuesday? That sucked.' Advertisement Waratahs coach Dan McKellar added: 'No, no, no. I'd too much to think about to be worried about watering the pitch. Andy was probably sunning himself in Brisbane on Tuesday.' For all his gripes about the pitch, Farrell was quick to admit the Lions' error-ridden performance against a side that fought hard in the air and on the floor was a bad day at the office. 'There's a bit of frustration there. It's nice to get a win but at this stage we're trying to judge the performance a little bit more,' said Farrell, who had seen his tourists compile big wins against Western Force and Queensland Reds. 'We are disappointed enough with the amount of possession and territory that we had and how we dealt with certain situations. Alex Mitchell scored the third try (Robbie Stephenson/PA) 'A different type of game but are we glad that's happened to us? Yes we are because there are some good learnings that we need to learn quickly in regards to that type of game.' Advertisement The Lions head to Canberra on Monday where they will play the ACT Brumbies – Australia's strongest Super Rugby franchise – two days later. Farrell revealed that his son Owen Farrell is unlikely to be considered for selection until Saturday's match against an AUNZ Invitational XV because of jet lag having only arrived into camp on Friday. The 33-year-old can start training right away having passed all return to play protocols for the concussion he sustained on Racing 92 duty on May 4.
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Canada runs in eight tries in 50-20 rugby win over Springbok women in Pretoria
PRETORIA - Florence Symonds and Alysha Corrigan scored two tries apiece to help Canada to a 50-20 win over South Africa in women's rugby play Saturday. Despite the comfortable victory margin, it did not all go the second-ranked Canadians' way. The second half saw the 12th-ranked Springboks score 17 points and Canada lose several players to injury. 'I think we put in a big shift there,' said Symonds, named player of the match. 'I think we were down to 14 (players) at one point so we were thrown that challenge ... I'm just really proud of the team.' The two teams meet again next Saturday at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha. The Canadian women will then have just two more outings before the Rugby World Cup kicks off Aug. 22 in England. DaLeaka Menin, Fancy Bermudez, Laetitia Royer and Caroline Crossley also scored tries for Canada, which led 26-3 at halftime. Julia Schell kicked five conversions. The win will likely come at a cost, however. There was a lengthy injury delay early in the second half when Bermudez was taken off the field on a cart after an apparent leg injury. Olivia Apps shifted to the wing in place of Bermudez, with Justine Pelletier taking over at scrum half, before she herself hobbled off in the 60th minute. Jakkie Cilliers, Byrhandré Dolf and Sizophila Solontsi scored tries for South Africa. Cilliers also booted a penalty and conversion. The game at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, the 51,762-capacity stadium that is home to the Vodacom Bulls, was a curtain-raiser for the men's test match between the top-ranked Springboks and No. 10 Italy. Injured South African men's captain Siya Kolisi delivered the pre-game team talk to the Springbok women. It was 17 C in the early-afternoon sunshine at kickoff and Canada started brightly, with Menin powering her way over from close range in the sixth minute to cap a 12-phase attack for a converted try. The physicality of the Springboks was demonstrated in the 12th minute when Solontsi, a flanker, sent captain Alex Tessier flying backwards as the Canadian captain attempted an open-field tackle. Soon after South Africa showed another side of its game, winning a scrum penalty that led to a penalty kick cutting the lead to 7-3 in the 14th minute. An overlap in the Canadian backline after a scrum led to a Bermudez try in the 17th minute to up the lead to 12-3. Schell's conversion attempt hit the goalpost. Unforced errors ended several subsequent Canadian attacks while South Africa conceded a string of penalties. Canada upped its lead to 19-3 in the 29th minute when Bermudez cut through the Springbok defence before feeding Symonds, who outpaced a Springbok chaser for a converted try. Royer scored Canada's fourth try in the 34th minute after South Africa fell asleep at the breakdown. Another Symonds try in the 38th minute was called off upon video review for a knock-on in the buildup. South Africa conceded eight penalties in the first half. Cilliers scored the Springboks' first try in the 44th minute, after Solontsi broke several tackles to spark the attack. But Canada answered immediately, with Symonds ripping the ball free from a Springbok on the ensuing kickoff and Corrigan getting to the loose ball first for a try and a 31-10 lead. Canada added another Corrigan try in the 57th minute with South Africa answering with tries by Dolfi (62nd minute) and Sizophila Solontsi (69th) to cut the lead to 38-20 Symonds scored her second try in the 79th minute and Crossley, a member of the Canadian seven squad who started in the second row, added an intercept try in the 80th minute. Canadian hooker Holly Phillips made her debut off the bench in the 53rd minute. Forwards Gillian Boag and McKinley Hunt earned their 30th cap. Star forward Sophie de Goede, Canada's captain when healthy, was not in Saturday's matchday squad. Returning from a knee injury, de Goede is expected to see action in the Springboks rematch. The game was the fifth meeting between the two sides and the first on South Africa soil. Canada thumped South Africa 66-7 the last time they met, in March 2023 in Madrid. The Canadians also won in three meetings at the Nations Cup: 53-15 in 2013 in Colorado and 52-17 and 35-17 in 2011 and 2009 in Oakville, Ont. After the South Africa tour, Canada plays the ninth-ranked United States on Aug. 1 in Ottawa and No. 5 Ireland on Aug. 9 in Dublin. The Canadian women open the World Cup in England against No. 15 Fiji on Aug. 23 in York, then face No. 10 Wales on Aug. 30 in Manchester and No. 7 Scotland on Sept. 6 in Exeter. South Africa will play out of Group D with No. 4 France, No. 8 Italy and No. 28 Brazil. Canada improved to 13-5-1 since finishing fourth at the last World Cup. Four of the losses were to top-ranked England, with the other to No. 3 New Zealand. —- This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 5, 2025
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hawks too strong despite Saints star causing nightmares
Hawthorn have given their top-four hopes another boost with a grinding 20-point victory over St Kilda despite Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera's career-best disposal haul. Mabior Chol celebrated his 100-game milestone as one of the Hawks' 10 goal-kickers in the 14.10 (94) to 10.14 (74) triumph at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night. It lifted Sam Mitchell's men into fourth spot with an 11-5 record that keeps them just two premiership points behind the second-placed Brisbane Lions. Jack Gunston (three goals), Nick Watson and Chol (two each) all hit the scoreboard as Hawthorn's superior efficiency in attack ultimately told the tale. Lloyd Meek was outstanding in the ruck and ex-St Kilda backman Josh Battle shone in defence despite jeers from his former fans throughout the match. Jai Newcombe (22 disposals, seven clearances) and Connor Nash (19, eight) did plenty of the grunt work in the middle. But the Hawks were on the wrong end of a 53-42 inside-50 count, leaving coach Mitchell unsure whether his glass was half-empty or half-full. "You could look at it form a positive lens and say we kicked a reasonable score from the amount of inside-50s that we had," he said. "The other way to look at it is, 'Why are we only going inside-50 42 times?' "It was one of those games where I'm not sure too many people are rushing home to watch the replay." Mitchell lauded his side's maturity as they regained the ascendancy every time St Kilda looked as though they might fight back into the contest. The Hawks led 6.6 to 3.6 at the main break and rode some pressure early in the third quarter before putting a break on their opponents and seeing out a relatively comfortable win. It came despite the best efforts of St Kilda playmaker Wanganeen-Milera and emerging star Max Hall. Hall tallied 27 touches, five clearances and three goals, while out-of-contract gun Wanganeen-Milera had a career-best 43 disposals and 1004 metres gained as clubs fight for his signature behind the scenes. "I'm going to have nightmares about him," Mitchell said. "We scouted him, we tried so many things, but we just couldn't stop him. He was just too good. "Just wherever he is, even when he was on the bench I was worried about him by the end." Tensions rise after this tackle from Josh Battle on former teammate Mason Wood.#AFLSaintsHawks — AFL (@AFL) July 5, 2025 St Kilda (5-11) fell to a fourth consecutive defeat after managing just three goals from 25 forward entries in the first half. They added a wasteful 4.4 from 11 shots in the final term. "The ability to connect was really disappointing," Saints coach Ross Lyon said. "We turned it around a bit in the second half but we were inefficient and they just scored a bit easily, which has been a bit of a trend that we're trying to tighten up. "So that was disappointing."
