2024 年亞洲男子欖球錦標賽賽前預覽 – 中國香港力爭五連霸

ASIA RUGBY MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP 2024 PREVIEW – HONG KONG CHINA AIM FOR 5TH STRAIGHT TITLE

6月1日及6月22日假香港足球會舉行的兩場中國香港男子比賽門票即將公開發售。比賽及售票詳情將於此頁更新，並發布於我們的社交平台。

2024 年亞洲男子欖球錦標賽將於 6月1日揭開序幕，中國香港男子隊將對陣馬來西亞，展開其衛冕之路。這亦是非常特別的一天，皆因中國香港女子隊亦將於同日作賽，意味比賽當日主場將同時舉行男、女子兩場賽事，女子隊當日將進行亞洲女子欖球錦標賽最後一場賽事，面對哈薩克。

近年，雖然賽事形式時有轉變，但我們的男子隊已連續四年贏得亞洲男子欖球錦標賽冠軍。

2024年，賽事擴大到四支隊伍，迎來馬來西亞及韓國的回歸，阿聯猶亦首次登場，加入戰團。

去年的亞洲男子欖球錦標賽是我們的男子代表隊逾三年以來，首次再於主場進行測試賽，他們在兩場比賽中均獲優異成績，先以88-9大勝馬來西亞，隨後在決賽30-10擊敗韓國。兩場比賽均於香港足球會舉行。

中國香港男子代表隊隊長Joshua Hrstich談及今年賽事，他表示：「我認為衛冕亞洲男子欖球錦標賽的最大威脅可能是我們自己。參加這場比賽的球隊都如狼似虎，如果我們沒有以最佳狀態應付，他們肯定會利用這一點。」

Hrstich去年因傷缺陣上年的亞洲男子欖球錦標賽大部分賽事，故他對即將到來的錦標賽更為期待、興奮，另亦表示對球隊去年的表現滿意。他續指: 「隊伍合力作賽的表現讓我留下深刻印象。我們每個人在比賽前都非常努力，能見證付出努力獲得回報，再度獲得冠軍殊榮，對此感到非常欣慰。」

對於錦標賽的揭幕戰，馬來西亞期望在亞洲男子欖球錦標賽取得首勝，他們在較早前( 5月11日)的「15人欖球友誼賽」中，以 46 比 7 擊敗新加坡隊，小試牛刀，為亞錦賽積極備戰。

亞洲男子欖球錦標賽2023賽果馬來西亞 3-27 韓國中國香港 88-9 馬來西亞中國香港 30-10 韓國

亞洲男子欖球錦標賽2022賽果韓國 55-10 馬來西亞韓國 21-23 中國香港

2024年亞洲男子欖球錦標賽備戰情況

2024 年 4 月，面對賽事重心逐漸將由本地轉移至國際賽，中國香港男子15人欖球代表隊前往澳洲堪培拉，在當地使用Brumbies的頂級設施，進行為期一周的訓練。

主教練Andrew Douglas 帶領 29 名球員及10 名教練團隊赴澳洲集訓。他表示：「集訓重點在於讓這球員們朝夕相對一星期，專注欖球訓練，加深互相了解並享受彼此的陪伴，有助連結本地球會欖球及國際欖球賽事。我們有一支非常年輕的球隊，所以這亦是觀察他們球技水平的良機，我們希望能讓他們更上一層樓。」

Hrstich補充道：「這是一次很棒的經歷，我們上下一心，使用一流的設施，進行訓練，並專注於即將到來的賽事目標。以與實力強橫的Brumbies對壘，作為完成是次訓練之旅，對我們來說是巨大挑戰，但同時亦是一次寶貴的學習經歷。」

Douglas也表示，Brumbies陣中有 13 名擁有參加超級欖球聯賽及為 Wallabies効力的球員，另亦有數名正參與青訓的球員，港隊跟他們的比賽無疑是一次慘痛教訓。不過，Douglas續指：「賽事帶給我們的得著是當球員離開球場時，我見到他們對球賽更饑渴，並渴望進步，他們亦明白己隊需要提升至一定水平，而我們有信心達到那個水平。」

Douglas指球隊港隊備戰狀況務實。雖然今年將是他第一次參加亞洲男子欖球錦標賽，但他擁有眾多經驗豐富的教練及工作人員團隊。他補充：「與阿聯酋的賽事，因為我們對他們認識不多，我們可能只能專注自己的表現；不過，即使我們會對馬來西亞更為熟悉一點，但我們可能亦只會集中所有注意力，專注於每場賽事，交出表現。」

「至於面對韓國隊，我們應會有一些臨場目標，不過我們同時須專注於實踐戰術、加強攻防系統，相信已經夠我們忙的，因此，我們的重點將上述的實踐出來，並確保質素夠好。」

Hrstich總結道：「我們有幾位很有潛質的年輕球員亦有意參賽，對球賽當然有積極影響，但同時亦教練團隊份外頭痛，難作取捨。在前鋒方面，, Tyler McNutt在其粉墨登場、對陣德國時表現出色，隨後亦於本地賽季表現卓壞。在後衛方面，PJ Laidler 在香港大學沙灣隊表現出色，亦於堪培拉集訓獲益良多，敬請密切期待這兩名球員的表現。

2024 年將會是忙碌的一年

亞洲男子欖球錦標賽是賽季的開始，而隨錦標賽之後，在7月球隊將赴南美，參加一連三場賽事，Hrstich重申：「這些賽事對於非職業運動隊而言，尤其重要。海外賽事給予球隊寶貴時間共處。作為球員及教練，我們在整個本地賽季都在互相對壘，因此，有機會一起集訓及協調，非常重要，相信效用亦是非常龐大、顯著的。」

2024 年亞洲男子欖球錦標賽賽程

2024年6月1日 – 中國香港對阿聯酋（香港，同日兩場賽事，包括亞洲女子欖球錦標賽的最後一場賽事） 2024年6月2日 – 韓國對馬來西亞（韓國仁川）2024 年6月8日 – 馬來西亞對中國香港（馬來西亞吉隆坡）2024 年6月9日 – 阿聯酋對韓國（阿聯酋杜拜）2024 年6月21日 – 阿聯酋對馬來西亞（阿聯酋杜拜）2024 年6月22日 – 中國香港對韓國（香港）

世界欖球排名（截至文章發布時間）#24 中國香港#30 韓國#50 馬來西亞

如何觀看 2024 年亞洲男子欖球錦標賽

對於無法現場觀看比賽的球迷，中國香港男子代表隊的兩場主場賽事均將於我們的 YouTube 頻道直播。

資料及相片來源 : 中國香港欖球總會

The Asia Rugby Men’s Championship 2024 gets underway on 1 June, which will see Hong Kong China Men start their title defence against the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It will be a historic day at home as they play a doubleheader with the Hong Kong China Women playing their final match of the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship against Kazakhstan.

Ticketing Information:

- Wed 22 May, 18:30. Hong Kong China Women's XV vs Japan – King’s Park Sports GroundFree Entry

- Mon 27 May, 19:00. Japan Women's XV vs Kazakhstan – King’s Park Sports GroundFree Entry

- Sat 1 Jun, 15:30. Hong Kong China Men's XV vs UAE – Hong Kong Football Club Buy Tickets

- Sat 1 Jun, 18:30. Hong Kong China Women's XV vs Kazakhstan – Hong Kong Football Club Buy Tickets

- Sat 22 Jun, 16:30. Hong Kong China Men's XV vs South Korea – Hong Kong Football ClubBuy Tickets

The men’s team have won four consecutive ARMC titles throughout the changes in format of the competition over recent years.

In 2024, the tournament has been expanded to four teams, with Malaysia and Korea returning, but it also sees the addition of UAE who join Asia’s top-flight for the first time.

The two matches in Hong Kong in last year’s ARMC were the first home test matches for the men’s representative team in over three years and they came out on top of the two fixtures, beating Malaysia convincingly 88-9, and then defeating Korea in the Championship decider 30-10 with both matches played at Hong Kong Football Club.

Hong Kong China Men’s captain, Joshua Hrstich, said of the competition in this year’s Championship, “I think the biggest threat in defending our ARMC title is probably ourselves. The teams in this competition are all dangerous, and if we're not at the top of our game, they will definitely capitalise on that.”

Hrstich missed most of last season’s ARMC through injury and is excited about the upcoming Championship, but was also happy with how the squad performed last year. “I was extremely impressed with the team's performance in getting the job done. We have a lot of depth in our team, and everyone worked incredibly hard in the lead-up to the competition. It was very satisfying to see all that hard work pay off and for us to finish on top once again.”

For the Championship opener, Malaysia are still looking for a first win in the ARMC and the Bunga Raya 15s beat Singapore in an XVs friendly on 11 May 46-7 in preparation.

ARMC 2024 Preparation

In April 2024 Hong Kong China Men’s XVs went to Canberra, Australia for a week-long camp at the Brumbies' top-class facilities as the season changed from domestic to international rugby.

A 29-man squad as well as 10 coaching staff, led by Head Coach Andrew Douglas, explained the purpose of the camp.

“A big part of it was to bring the guys together for a week where we focus just on rugby, get to know each other and enjoy each other's company and to bridge that gap between club rugby and international rugby. We had a pretty young squad there so it was a chance to see what level they're at and we wanted to test them a little bit more at the next level up.”

Hrstich added, “It was an awesome experience as we got to connect as a team, use top-notch facilities, and focus on our goals for the upcoming busy calendar. Taking on a tough Brumbies' side to finish the trip was a great challenge for us and a valuable learning experience for the group.”

Douglas also said the match was a tough lesson but said that the side they faced had thirteen players with Super Rugby and Wallabies experience as well as a couple of Academy players. “The good thing was, when they came off the field, they were hungry for more and understood there's a level they need to go to but we feel confident we can get there.”

In terms of preparation for the three sides Hong Kong China will face, Douglas was pragmatic. It will be his first Asia Rugby Men’s Championship but he has experienced coaches and staff around him. He added:

“With the UAE, we will probably just focus on ourselves because we don't know enough about them, even though we know Malaysia a little better, we'll probably just focus on ourselves for those particular games.

“With Korea, we can target a few things but we've got enough we want to focus on in terms of our play and getting a few things right around our set piece and attack and defence systems. So our focus is on getting those things right and ensuring it's good enough.”

Hrstich concluded, “We have several promising young players putting their hands up which is a massive positive and going to cause some headaches for the coaching staff. In the forwards, Tyler McNutt was a standout on debut against Germany and followed it up with a strong domestic season. In the backs, PJ Laidler has been impressive for HKU Sandy Bay RFC and had a strong week down in Canberra, so keep an eye on those two.”

2024 Is A Welcome Busy Calendar

The ARMC is the start of the season, but there is also a three-match South American tour after the Championship in July, and Hrstich reiterated “These tours are extremely important for non-professional sports teams to get valuable time together as a squad. As players and coaches, we are competing against each other throughout the domestic season so the opportunity to come together and align is massive.”

Asia Rugby Men’s Championship 2024 Schedule

1 June 2024 – Hong Kong China vs UAE (Hong Kong – Doubleheader with the final Women’s Championship match)

2 June 2024 – Korea vs Malaysia (Incheon, Korea)

8 June 2024 – Malaysia vs Hong Kong China (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

9th June 2024 – UAE vs Korea (Dubai, UAE)

21st June 2024 – UAE vs Malaysia (Dubai, UAE)

22nd June 2024 – HKCR vs Korea (Hong Kong)

World Rugby Ranking

(Correct at the time of publishing)

#24 Hong Kong China

#30 Korea

#50 Malaysia