- Hong Kong face Jamaica, Papua New Guinea and Colombia in pool B of the first tournament in Vina del Mar, Chile
- Paul John's team must finish in the top eight after two tournaments or miss out on having a home team at the Hong Kong Sevens for the first time
Hong Kong's men's sevens squad travel to South America in February with the mission of qualifying for their own tournament.
Coach Paul John said the players have put their recent Olympic disappointment behind them as they focus on domestic 15s before flying to Chile and Uruguay for two events that are part of World Rugby's revamped qualifying format for the HSBC World Sevens Series.
Hong Kong have been drawn with Jamaica, Papua New Guinea and Colombia in pool B of the 16-team tournament in Vina del Mar, Chile, on February 15-16.
They travel to Montevideo, Uruguay, the following week for the second event of the new Challenger Series, with the top eight teams over the two tournaments advancing to the World Series qualifiers during the same week as the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens in April.
John and his players know that failure to make the final eight will mean a Hong Kong team missing from the Hong Kong Sevens weekend for the first time ever.
Pools for the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series on February 15th pic.twitter.com/KHXaeP4Zsr
" World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) January 16, 2020
"It's a difficult group because obviously there's a lot riding on this from a World Series point of view," said John. "It's tough but it's an exciting format, it's good for the game and we're looking forward to it.
"The goal is to get into the Hong Kong tournament. That is a one-off tournament as well, we have to play well and that is where the focus is at the moment."
Hong Kong, the Asian Games champions, were favourites to gain automatic spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at November's Asian qualifier in Incheon, South Korea. However, they were stunned in the final by the hosts and must now compete in a repechage in June for the final Olympic spot.
Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2020, kicking off 3 MONTHS TODAY.Secure your seat.Ballot open: https://t.co/tF722iHhg8Hospitality packages available: https://t.co/9fUrJXt26M #hk7s #wheretheworldcomestoplay pic.twitter.com/NNFHK48EZy
" Hong Kong Sevens (@OfficialHK7s) January 3, 2020
Hong Kong Sevens defied Sars, now it must survive the most tumultuous of times
The loss to Korea was a bitter blow for the players but John said they were ready to move on and focus on qualifying for the Hong Kong Sevens on April 3-5.
"I think it was quite difficult for a week or two before Christmas, it was quite low," said John. "But since coming back after the Christmas break the boys have been excellent in training so it looks as if it's getting more towards the back of our minds, and we are now focused on the World Series."
Many of the Hong Kong players are involved in the final stages of Hong Kong's domestic 15s season, with the Grand Championship at its semi-final stage. John expects to name his squad for South America in two weeks' time.
Congratulations to Korea who have qualified for #Tokyo2020 https://t.co/asCL24Un28
" World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) November 24, 2019
"It's a lot of rugby for the boys a the moment," he said. "It's just a case of managing them, keeping them fresh and preparing them for the sevens tournament straight after the end of the 15s season.
"Travelling to South America is something we have to be aware of because it's a 24-hour plus flight. We must try to get them to recover as well as they can in order to play well in that first tournament."
Hosts Chile are drawn in pool D and will face Brazil, Mexico and Zimbabwe, while hosts of the second round of competition, Uruguay will be joined by Japan, Portugal and Tonga in pool A.
Italy and Germany are among the favourites in pool C, which also contains Paraguay and Uganda.
This is the first year of a Challenger Series that acts as a qualifying pathway to the main world series. Previously, a one-off, 16-strong tournament was held in conjunction with the Hong Kong Sevens. Last year, Ireland defeated hosts Hong Kong in the final to earn their place in this season's World Series.
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