Hong Kong Notch up Away Win over South Korea
Asia Rugby Championship 2017
Round 5
Hong Kong 43 d South Korea 17
Date: Saturday, 27 May 2017
Venue: Yesan Stadium, Chungnam, South Korea
Kick-off: 12:07
Halftime: South Korea 5 – Hong Kong 24
Points: Hong Kong 5, South Korea 0
Hong Kong exerted their authority on South Korea with a 43-17 away win at the Yesan Stadium in Chungnam on Saturday, 27 May 2017. First half tries to lock James Cunningham, outside centre Tyler Spitz and inside centre Lex Kaleca together with three conversions and a penalty to fullback Jamie Hood helped Hong Kong to a 24-5 lead at the break.
The trend continued in the latter half with Spitz adding a second while wings Salom Yiu Kam Shing and Alastair Maclay completed the try scoring. Hood chipped in with a further two conversions.
The back-row scored the tries for South Korea with captain and open side flanker Kim Jeong Min, blind side flanker Kim Hyun Soo and number eight Lee Yong Seung crossing the Hong Kong whitewash while replacement back Andre Jin Coquillard knocked over a conversion.
Commenting on Asia Rugby, Hong Kong head coach Leigh Jones said, “Obviously I’m pleased with our performance today, particularly our defence which I thought was outstanding. To put 40 points on Korea, who have improved a lot under their new coaching team, in Korea, is impressive for me. Today was a real milestone for Hong Kong rugby. We created a bit of history and I think it shows that the steps we are taking in our professional approach are heading in the right direction.”
Hong Kong and South Korea meet again next weekend in Hong Kong in the final round of the 2017 Asia Rugby Championship.
Hong Kong 43 – Tries: Tyler Spitz 2, James Cunningham, Lex Kaleca, Salom Yiu Kam Shing and Alastair Maclay; Conversions: Jamie Hood 5; Penalty: Jamie Hood d
South Korea 17 – Tries: Kim Jeong Min, Kim Hyun Soo and Lee Yong Seung; Conversion: Andre Jin Coquillard.
South Korea: 1- Na Kwan Young, 2- Kim Jib, 3- Kim Gwang Sik, 4- Shin Da Hyeon, 5- Kim Sung Jin, 6- Kim Hyun Soo, 7- Kim Jeong Min (c), 8- Lee Yong Seung, 9- Shin Ki Cheol, 10- Lee Seok Gyun, 11- Jang Yong Heung, 12- Moon Jung Ho, 13- Kim Sung Soo, 14- Jeong Yeon Sik and 15- Lee Jae Bok. Reserves: 16- Lim Joon Hui, 17- Kim Sung Tae, 18- Shin Woo Sung, 19- Kim Dae Hwan, 20- Yoo Ji Hoon, 21- Kim Sung Hyun, 22- Ryu Jae Hyuk and 23- Andre Jin Coquillard. Coach: John Walters (NZL).
Hong Kong: 1- Ben Higgins, 2- Ben Roberts (c), 3- Dylan Rogers, 4- James Cunningham, 5- Adrian Griffiths, 6- Nick Hewson, 7- Matt Lamming, 8- Thomas Lamboley, 9- Cado Lee Ka-To, 10- Matt Rosslee, 11- Alastair Maclay, 12- Lex Kaleca Rauca, 13- Tyler Spitz, 14- Salom Yiu Kam Shing and 15- Jamie Hood. Reserves: 16- John Markley, 17- Angus Dixon, 18- Alex Ng, 19- Kyle Sullivan, 20- Tobby Fenn, 21- Charles Higson-Smith, 22- Robbie Keith and 23- Ben Rimene. Coach: Leigh Jones (Wales).
Asia Rugby Championship 2017 Fixtures and Results
| Round | Date | Team | Score | Team | Kick-off | Venue |
| 1 | Saturday 22 April 2017 | South Korea | 29-47 | Japan | 12:07 | Namdong Asiad Rugby Field, Incheon, South Korea |
| 2 | Saturday 29 April 2017 | Japan | 80-10 | South Korea | 14:07 | Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo |
| 3 | Saturday 06 May 2017 | Japan | 29-17 | Hong Kong | 14:07 | Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo |
| 4 | Saturday 13 May 2017 | Hong Kong | 0-16 | Japan | 16:07 | Hong Kong Football Club Stadium, Hong Kong |
| 5 | Saturday 27 May 2017 | South Korea | 17-43 | Hong Kong | 12:07 | Yesan Stadium, Chungnam, South Korea |
| 6 | Saturday 03 June 2017 | Hong Kong | – | South Korea | 16:07 | Hong Kong Football Club Stadium, Hong Kong |
ARC 2017 Table
| Team | P | W | L | F | A | +- | Pts |
| Japan | 4 | 4 | 0 | 172 | 56 | 116 | 19 |
| South Korea | 3 | 0 | 3 | 56 | 170 | -114 | 1 |
| Hong Kong | 3 | 1 | 2 | 60 | 62 | -2 | 5 |
Points system: four points for a win, two points for a draw, one bonus point for scoring four or more tries and one bonus point for losing by seven points or less.
Point Scorers in the Asia Rugby Championship 2017
| Name | T | C | P | Total |
| Takuya Yamasawa (JPN) | 0 | 6 | 3 | 21 |
| Amanaki Lotoahea (JPN) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Jumpei Ogura (JPN) | 0 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
| Jamie Hood (HK) | 0 | 7 | 2 | 20 |
| Ryoto Nakamura (JPN) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Akihito Yamada (JPN) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Tyler Spitz (HK) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Rikiya Matsuda (JPN) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 11 |
| Kazuhiko Usami (JPN) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Ryuji Noguchi (JPN) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Lee Yong Seung (SK) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Kim Hyun Soo (SK) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Yiu Kam Shing (HK) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Ryu Jae Hyuk (SK) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| Shintaro Ishihara (JPN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Samuela Anise (JPN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Yutaka Nagare (JPN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Naoki Ozawa (JPN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Atsushi Sakate (JPN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Ryohei Yamanaka (JPN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Takeshi Hino (JPN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Shuhei Matsuhashi (JPN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Shota Horie (JPN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Harumichi Tatekawa (JPN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Han Geong Yu (SK) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Yang Dae Young (SK) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Shin Ki Cheol (SK) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Jang Yong Heung (SK) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Kim Jeong Min (SK) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| James Cunningham (HK) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Lex Kaleca (HK) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Alastair Maclay (HK) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Andre Jin Coquillard (SK) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |