Hong Kong China seal SVNS 3 spot despite falling to Japan in Colombo final

Hong Kong China’s men secured qualification for the HSBC SVNS 3 tournament in Dubai despite a 28-14 defeat to Japan in the Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series final in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Their superior series points differential across the campaign was enough to top the overall standings, even as Japan claimed the title on the day.

Two tries from Yuma Nakagawa proved decisive for the Japanese men, who had trailed Hong Kong China in recent head-to-head meetings. Max Denmark and Matt Worley scored for the Hong Kong side, but they could not prevent Japan from completing a dominant final-weekend sweep in Sri Lanka.

The Japanese women mirrored that success, defending their series title with a 14-7 victory over China. The Sakura 7s, who entered as heavy favourites given their HSBC SVNS Series status, were pushed hard by a Chinese side that had a chance to level the score after the siren but fell short. Yue Sun scored all of China’s points in a performance that showed marked improvement from the squad.

Captain Rinka Matsuda and S. Ohashi each scored a try to secure the women’s title. “We are truly happy to have been able to finish the series with a championship,” Matsuda said. “From the pre-tournament training camp, we focused on each player showcasing their strengths. In the tournament, all the players were able to demonstrate their strengths, and as the matches progressed, the team’s cohesion improved, allowing us to grow as a team.”

Sakura 7s head coach Yuka Kanematsu highlighted the squad’s rapid assembly ahead of the tournament. “We began building our team for this tournament just four days after the Asian Games, and we entered with 13 players from diverse backgrounds, including five players making their debut,” she said. “They displayed high levels of concentration from the very first match and grew into a fantastic team with each game.”

China’s women finished second overall, also earning a place at the Dubai SVNS 3 event at the end of November. Hong Kong China’s women claimed bronze with a 14-5 win over Kazakhstan in the third-place play-off — a result that also marked Kazakhstan’s first semifinal appearance in the women’s competition in several years.

Both Hong Kong China and Japan’s women will now prepare for the HSBC SVNS 3 tournament in Dubai, where they will test themselves against the world’s leading sevens nations.