A new look Hong Kong China Rugby (HKCR) Women’s XVs squad featuring eight players on debut lost to defending champions Japan, 71-12, in their opening match of the Asia Rugby Emirates Women’s Rugby Championship (AREWC) last night in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The HKCR representative squad will face hosts Kazakhstan in the finale on Saturday, 9 May.
With the women already qualified for the prestigious World Rugby global competition, the WXV Global Series Challenger, which is being hosted in Hong Kong this Autumn, the selectors had the opportunity to blood a crop of new players for the regional championships.
Nine players are on debut in the touring squad: Chan Ching Man, Sabrina Chung; Tiffany Fu; Lauren Knowler; Li Sze Ting; Isobel Littlehailes; Jenna Potgeiter; Kirstie Stevenson and Za Xiao Hui; 8 were selected for the Japan tie with Chung, Fu, Li, Littlehailes and Stevenson named as starters while Za, Potgeiter and Knowler came off the bench.
They were ably supported by a reliable core of the city’s elite female rugby stars including captain Herewini and co-captain and former sevens athlete Chan, as well as Hong Kong’s most capped female fifteens stars in former captain and prop forward Lee Ka Shun (37 caps).
UK Premiership player for Saracens, Roshini Turner, (who like Herewini is the daughter of a former Hong Kong representative player – Mark Turner and Dean Herewini, respectively), and Fion Got, Zoe Smith, Lara Schats and sevens programme crossovers Sabay Lynam, Grace Hood and Sunday Ho are adding further depth and experience to the campaign this year.
However, against a surgical Japan squad with a match, and a win, under their belts already – a comprehensive 64-12 victory over Kazakhstan – the task of blending experience and potential proved challenging.
While Japan needed some time to adjust after making seven changes of their own from their opening win, they still managed an early try after just 90 seconds when flanker Jennifer Nduka got behind the Hong Kong defence on a crash ball to bring Japan into Hong Kong’s red zone. A few phases later and Japan were on the board 7-0.
Hong Kong regrouped but could not prevent five more tries in the opening half with towering winger Rinka Matsuda scoring a brace, to jump to a 38-0 lead at the break. The score would have been worse but for some solid Hong Kong defensive efforts and a few try-saving tackles, including one from Abigail Chan who held up a Japanese attack over the line late in the opening half.
Hong Kong’s forwards were efficient at the scrum and mounted their best attacks from the lineout – the only sticky area for Japan who lost several lineouts in the match.
In the 22nd minute Hong Kong looked to have scored their first try from a driving maul five metres from the Japan line when scrumhalf Li Sze Ting dished to debutant Tiffany Fu who crossed over, but the pass was judged to have gone forward and Hong Kong were scoreless at the break 38-0.
Hong Kong allowed another quick score to Japan to start the second half, before producing their best patch of play in the game in the third quarter when they put two tries on the board, with the first coming after 45 minutes.
That score was a result of another botched Japanese lineout. Hong Kong produced great width on the ball from the ensuing scrum with winger Zoe Smith being held in the tackle. Li again showed some quick thinking on the tap and go before she was tackled at the line. The second phase play saw Turner pick up at the base of the ruck to crash over in the corner with Smith nailing a fantastic conversion from the touchline to put Hong Kong on the board, 45-7.
Hong Kong pressed home their forward advantage again at the lineout ten minutes later when they produced another textbook driving maul which was capped by a try to hooker Fion Got. Smith’s conversion was unsuccessful, but Hong Kong had closed the gap at 45-12.
A HKCR XV building in self-belief kept Japan off the board deep into the final quarter but an injection of fresh legs and pace off the Japanese bench saw them score three more tries down the stretch with Matsuda collecting her second hat trick in as many matches en route to a final 71-12 win for Japan.
“It was a pretty tough day at the office,” admitted HKCR captain Kea Herewini post-match, “we knew that it would be hard to beat them.
“Japan are a clinical team and we did the best we could. Our goal was to execute our set piece and to execute a couple phases on attack, which we did, so there are things we can be proud of; we have to be positive and take the little wins, which we did today. We scored two tires but there are some little fixes in defence and some things to work on before Kazakhstan,” added Herewini.
Hong Kong will enter the finale against Kazakhstan trailing by a points differential of seven points needing a win of at least seven points to defend their runner-up place from last season. Japan have won their eight successive Asia Rugby women’s title.
HKCR referees in action
Hong Kong China’s rugby players are not the only ones in action in Almaty with the HKCR’s rugby referees heavily involved this week in Kazakhstan. HKCR’s world class referees were once again quite literally front and centre with Sunny Lee Chui Yan serving as the referee for Kazakhstan vs Japan with Matt Rodden and Patrick Kwok as Assistant Referees and Stephen Copeman as the Televised Match Official for the opening fixture.
Hong Kong China Rugby Women’s XV for Asia Rugby Emirates Women’s Rugby Championship 2026
1. Kirstie STEVENSON* 2. Fion GOT 3. Kea HEREWINI (co-captain), 4. Sabrina CHUNG* 5. Roshini TURNER,
6. FU Hiu San, Tiffany*, 7. Grace HOOD 8. Isobel LITTLEHAILES 9. LI Sze Ting* 10. Lara SCHATS 11. Zoe SMITH
12. CHIN Ka Yue 13. Abigail CHAN (co-captain), 14. HO Tsz Wun, Sunday 15. Sabay LYNAM 16. Tanya DHAR
17. ZA Xiao Hui 18. LEE Ka Shun 19. Jenna POTGEITER* 20. HO Hau Yan 21. WAN Tsz Yau 22. LO Wing Yin
23. Lauren KNOWLER*
Also in Touring Squad: Haruka UEMATSU, CHAN Ching Man*, CHOW Mei Nam
*Potential HKCR debut