Mumbai: The 2013 HSBC Asian Sevens Series’ India Sevens (HSBC A7s), the third and penultimate ranking event on this year’s circuit, is shaping up to be a must-win tournament for many teams, none more so than Hong Kong. Hong Kong is the reigning Series champion after claiming the crown last year here with a 28-7 win over Japan.
That result saw Hong Kong win its first ever HSBC Asian Sevens Series title by a ½ point margin over Japan. The 2013 Series is as tight as ever with Japan leading Hong Kong by two points on the table (24 points to 22) after winning the previous two Cup finals in Malaysia and Thailand.
Japan won 14-10 in the opening tournament in Malaysia when Hong Kong had a player sin-binned in the final and were down to six men. Japan then erased a 0-12 deficit in the second half of the Thailand Sevens to win 17-12 in sudden death overtime.
A third consecutive win by Japan this weekend will see them reclaim their title of HSBC Asian Sevens Series champions.So Hong Kong are facing a must-win in Mumbai and will need to repeat the feat of last year’s 28-7 Cup final victory at Gymkhana to have any chance of retaining their Series title.
“There is a little bit of pressure of course in a situation like this,” said Hong Kong captain Jamie Hood, “but we thrive on pressure situations. The mood in the camp is good and we love coming to Mumbai. It is one of the most unique venues on the Asian circuit and it holds good memories for us. We play well here and are looking forward to doing so again this weekend.”
Other teams facing a must-win situation are Sri Lanka and South Korea, ranked joint third on this year’s Series. Both of the teams have alternated winning a bronze medal match from each other with Korea beating Sri Lanka in the third-place match in Malaysia and Sri Lanka turning the tables in Thailand.
The International Rugby Board has announced prior to this weekends’ tournament that two spots will be available for Asian teams at the HSBC Sevens World Series’ tournament next March in Hong Kong.
That tournament in turn will be the sole qualification tournament for a spot on the world circuit starting in 2014 so South Korea and Sri Lanka know that they must upset the current form book here in Mumbai to have any chance of advancing to the world series next season.
South Korea captain Yoon Tai Il commented on his team’s chances for the weekend saying, “We have been very consistent so far this season which is rewarding but for this tournament we have had to call up some of our younger players and have four new faces in the team. The players are raw but they will need to step up this weekend if we are to have any chance at all of qualifying for the Hong Kong Sevens.”
Sri Lanka’s Fazil Marija is quietly confident in his team’s chances saying, “We have a good pool against Thailand and United Arab Emirates so we are going to need a convincing display on day one and to carry the momentum through into the cup semi finals.
“We have already reached one cup semi final this year – the first time we have ever done this on the Asian series – so now it is time to go one step further and break up the Japan – Hong Kong party by reaching a final.”
Alongside the fierce competition amongst the 12 core teams on the series, hosts India, Iran and Afghanistan are joining this weekend’s tournament. India has already played once on the series last month in Thailand – winning the shield on their series debut.
India captain Hrishi Pendse has his sights set on much more at home.
“We have already shown we can beat the core teams, having beaten UAE in the Shield final. We know and understand the standard on the Series and are confident that we can live with any of the teams on the Series. We won five out of six matches in Thailand and are expecting to do even better at home and to figure in the main core team competition by placing in the Bowl this weekend.”
HSBC Asian Sevens Series action opens tomorrow at 11.00 at the Bombay Gymkhana when India takes on Afghanistan. Admission to the public stand is free.