Rampant Sayers leads Hong Kong to third men's rugby gold in a row / Photo: DAVID GRAY - AFP
Rampant Sayers leads Hong Kong to third men's rugby gold in a row
Hong Kong's men's sevens team romped to a third consecutive Asian Games gold with a dominant display of all-round rugby in a 26-0 victory over China on Saturday in Nagoya.
Bullocking wing Harry Sayers scored a pair of first-half tries, added to by Dafydd Phillips dotting down after the hooter to put Hong Kong in charge 21-0 at the break.
When flying wing Juan Esono Mba Oyana scored Hong Kong's fourth try straight from the second-half kick-off the result was beyond doubt.
"Amazing, amazing. The Asian Games has been a dream of mine for so long now," said Sayers.
Hong Kong's success was built not only on scoring prowess but also a defence that conceded just 14 points in six matches during the tournament, all against South Korea in the semi-final.
"It's really great to win our third gold medal," said veteran scrum-half Cado Lee, 34, who has been in all three gold-winning teams.
"I think our performance throughout the week was excellent because we consistently learned to win through defence," he said.
"I think we showed that again in the final, so I'm very happy."
Hong Kong captain James Christie said his team had achieved something special.
Only Asian rugby powerhouse Japan, from 2006 to 2014, had previously won the title on three consecutive occasions.
"To be on that level is pretty good. It means the world to us to win," said Christie.
The gold added to Hong Kong's triumphs in Hangzhou in 2023 and Jakarta-Palembang in 2018.
Hosts Japan won bronze with a 17-5 victory over South Korea.
They were aiming for gold but lost 10-7 to China in the semi-final.
"There's disappointment," said Japan's Ryodai Shirakuni who was in tears at the end.
"I could hear the voices of everyone supporting us, and I'm disappointed.
"I wanted to win. This just isn't good enough, and I'm not at all satisfied, so that's why I was crying."
Japan won the women's gold after a 10-5 victory over China.
It was revenge for losing the final at the last Games, 22-21, to the same opposition in a Hangzhou nail-biter.
Yume Hirano opened the scoring with a try in the sixth minute after a sustained spell of Japanese pressure.
Marin Kajiki made it 10-0 at half-time as she went over in the corner to thrill a large home crowd.
Zhang Le's 80-metre breakaway try with just over a minute remaining in the second half gave China a lifeline, but Japan regained possession from the kick-off and ran out the clock.
Hong Kong's women won their first ever Asian Games medal with a 7-5 victory against Thailand in the bronze match.
T.Grant--MC-UK
