- With Japan already having booked their tickets as hosts, Hong Kong have a clear shot to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo
- Captain Max Woodward says they definitely feel the pressure to perform next weekend in Incheon at the two-day tournament
Max Woodward is probably the last person you need to explain the gravity of the situation to.
Next weekend, the Hong Kong men's sevens squad will head to Incheon, South Korea, for the Asia Rugby Olympic qualifying tournament at Namdong Asiad Stadium. Captain Max Woodward, who won his first cap in 2013 at the Asia Rugby Sevens Series, said they know full well they are expected to win in Korea and book a spot at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
"I feel the pressure definitely and the expectation to win," said the 29-year-old.
Hong Kong will slot into a group with Taiwan and Malaysia, while the second pool will feature China, the Philippines and Singapore. The other pool will be Sri Lanka, Korea and Afghanistan. Hong Kong's main Asian rivals, Japan, have already qualified as hosts, which Woodward said puts them in an unusual spot in Incheon.
"Usually we're the underdogs. Japan are always the favourites to beat us," he said.
Hong Kong tied with Japan at the Asia Rugby Sevens Series, ahead of China, Sri Lanka and Korea. Hong Kong finished the three-legged tournament in Sri Lanka in September with a 17-12 loss to Japan in the finals. Woodward said they are well equipped for these types of one-off showdowns, but rarely have they contested one with such a substantial prize at the end.
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"We've played in these types of tournaments before, maybe with not such a cherry at the end of it, and traditionally we've done really well. So we're trying to stick to what we've done well and a lot of our training is working on those small details," he said.
The last big tournament for Hong Kong was the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens in April, which saw an upstart home squad embrace their underdog status and make it all the way to the World Series qualifier final against Ireland.
"I think for us that was about physicality," said Woodward about lessons learned in the 28-7 loss to the Irish. "And probably rightly so that we get painted with this brush that we are soft and shy away from the physical battles. But we beat Tonga and we beat Chile, teams that are very physical, so that was the biggest takeaway from that tournament, that we can play that way."
If Hong Kong do win, they will find themselves surrounded by the best teams in the world come next summer at Tokyo Stadium, including Fiji, the USA, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.
Woodward said their mentality heading into next weekend is simple.
"We have to go into every game like it's the final," he said. "We need to pay the utmost respect to all the teams we're playing. We're doing our due diligence when it comes to teams in the group stage and also China and Korea, and Sri Lanka who are all traditionally the stronger teams."
There is clear fuel for winning obviously, said Woodward, being able to call yourself an Olympian. He said the key was to use it as added incentive, not added pressure.
"I'm of the belief that you have to shoot for that, we're playing in that tournament to be named Olympians and I think for me and the other guys, yeah I'm thinking about that. And that motivates us to do even better and appreciate how much of a good opportunity we have to make that dream a reality."
Woodward is one of a number of players who have experience from the last attempt to qualify for the Olympics. In 2015, Hong Kong lost a heartbreaker to Japan in the final of the qualifying tournament at Hong Kong Stadium. Up 10-0 at half-time, Woodward, who scored one of the tries to put them ahead, said everything fell apart after that.
"A lot of the boys were around in 2015 and that was tough. I think that's as good a squad as we've ever been and we came out strong, and then for the Japan team to go on to play in the bronze medal match in Rio, it puts it into perspective a little bit."
Japan beat France in the quarter-finals after getting out of their group with Great Britain and New Zealand, who they beat in their pool game. Woodward said this time around he feels their squad are even better prepared to make it all the way to the big dance. After losing to Japan in 2015, Hong Kong lost in the quarter-finals to Samoa during the repechage, which was eventually won by Spain.
"I think the depth we have as a squad is far better. We're going into this tournament with 15 to 20 guys with passports who are all good enough to play, and that makes training that much harder and that makes training that much more competitive. That's the biggest different by far from 2015."
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