Hong Kong sevens draw

Press, 18 February 1983, Page 34

Hong Kong sevens draw

NZPA Hong Kong New Zealand will play South Korea, the American Eagles, Singapore and Bahrain during the preliminary rounds of the Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Bank Invitational rugby sevenaside tournament in Hong Kong next month. Two of the five teams will go forward into a group of eight, from which the championship will be decided on a knock-out basis. The draw has been organised so that New Zealand is likely to meet the holder, Australia, in a semi-final. Favoured for the other semifinal are Fiji and the Scottish Borders. A fully representative New Zealand’team will be attend- i ing this year’s event, to be held on March 26 and 27. for . the first time. No New Zea- 1 land team was invited last year after a dismal perform- i ance by Auckland in 1981. Organisers of the event ; say they are still waiting for 1

details of the players who will represent New Zealand. Of the teams New Zealand has been grouped with. South Korea and the American Eagles are expected to provide the toughest opposition. The South Koreans upset Japan to win the plate event last year and have since confirmed their improvement by winning the Asian rugby championships. The Eagles, the United States national side, reached the final eight last year. Bahrain is expected to field a team of expatriates, mainly British, and ‘Singapore has announced a largely experimental side of young players The groupings are.— Pool A: Australia. Japan. Indonesia. Malaysia, Solomon Islands. Pool B; Fiji. Tonga. Thailand. Brunei. Hong Kong. Pool C: New Zealand. South Korea.-America Eagles. Bahrain, Singapore. Pood D: Scottish Borders. Canada. Western Samoa. Papua New Guinea. Sir Lanka.