By John Redmond
Contributing Writer
South Korea narrowly escaped a second consecutive loss this week to Hong Kong as they eked out a 36-34 win in Incheon.
Week three of the HSBC Asian Five Nations rugby competition featured a pair of fantastic matches with both games going down to the wire.
In the day's late match, Kazakhstan played two men down for most of the last 10 minutes but still managed to edge Singapore 22-19 in Singapore.
South Korea had to stave off a strong second half comeback from Hong Kong but held on for the three-point victory.
Korea led 31-3 at halftime but then almost paid the penalty for taking their foot off the gas as Hong Kong superbly fought back, scoring five tries to come within inches of pulling off what would have been a sensational win.
Left-winger Raby led the comeback for Hong Kong, grabbing a hat-trick, while right-wing Simon Smith and inside center Ed Rolston also scored. Substitute Jonny Elliott, who came on for Kenzo Pannell midway through the second half, managed to knock over only one out of the last three conversions, which could have given Hong Kong a remarkable victory.
Korea made a raft of substitutions at the start of the second half, and had two players sin-binned, which resulted in the side being down to 14 men for most of the period. At one stage, they were down to 13 players after center Park Noh Hoon limped off with a hamstring injury.
Hong Kong made the most of it, scoring three tries in the period as they came storming back from a 36-17 deficit to within two points. Youngster Raby, winning only his second cap for Hong Kong, showed he is a great finisher while veteran flanker Nigel Clarke had an outstanding game as he was in the thick of the action throughout.
Korean coach Park Ki-haeng admitted he had made a tactical blunder by bringing on all of his replacements early in the second half, resulting in no one being able to replace injured center Park.
``It was not a good decision to change all our players early in the second half,'' Park said. ``I was already thinking ahead to the Japan game next week and had decided to give all the players a go. But I thought when we led 31-3 at halftime that it would be enough.''
Korea began like a house on fire, scoring 24 points in the first 15 minutes. Number eight Han Kun Kyu led the charge with a brace while outstanding blindside flanker Youn Kwon-woo and center Park grabbed one each. Lock forward Shin Yong-chul added another as Korea led 31-3 with the only reply coming from Hong Kong fly-half Kenzo Pannell who knocked over a penalty.
Substitute prop Hwang Min-seo scored Korea's fifth try early in the second half before Hong Kong got their superb revival under way.
``I'm very, very proud of the guys, but we must not set our standards to losing narrowly to Korea,'' said Hong Kong coach Dai Rees. ``We played very poorly in the first half.''
Hong Kong picked up their first two points in the HSBC Asian Five Nations, one for scoring more than four tries and the other for losing within seven points. Hong Kong still sits fourth in the tournament standings, behind first-place Japan.
Despite the brave comeback, Hong Kong skipper Jon Abel was crushed with the result. Hong Kong are winless after two games, but the spirited performance against Korea will give them heart for their two remaining ties against Singapore and Kazakhstan.
``It was hugely disappointing,'' Abel said. ``It was all a matter of belief but sadly it took us 55 minutes to believe in ourselves. We came through the second half well, but not winning is a huge disappointment.''
For enquiries, contact Sean Moore, tournament operations manager of the HSBC Asian Five Nations on +852 9095 8889 or at asian5nations@gmail.com or sean.moore@elitestep.com.
The Korea Rugby Union announced Monday that its President's team will play the England Counties team in a friendly match on June 5 at Seongnam Stadium. Kick-off will be 7 p.m.
This Korean XV, selected by the KRU president, will be the most exciting team that Korea can assemble for this flagship fixture.
The England Counties XV is the representative team of the Rugby Union club game outside of the premiership. The English side will also conduct a coaching session for children, a session for coaches and one for referees.
For more information, contact Park Tae-woong, KRU secretary general on scpark@sports.or.kr. English-speakers, please contact Koo Mee-hyoe via email at meehyoe.koo@scfirstbank.com
For information, including directions, about the venue, please see: https://www.hi-sns.or.kr/ For information on the sport in Korea, please see site in development: https://www.rugby.or.kr/england