South Korea sealed second spot in the Asian Five Nations rugby tournament, scoring six tries in a thumping 50-24 win over Hong Kong yesterday.
Both teams were battling for second place in the inaugural competition after Japan romped to four wins out of four, but the South Koreans were much stronger than the home side, racing into an early 24-0 lead.
Disappointed Hong Kong coach John Walters said his side’s slow start had cost them dearly.
“We took a long time to get going and we didn’t rip into it with the tempo we wanted,” Walters said.
But he was confident of his side’s chances for next season.
“It was our aim to be the most physical team in Asia and it’s pretty close,” he said, adding that Hong Kong had a solid base on which to build for their next campaign.
Early pressure from South Korea led to a drop goal in the second minute scored by the impressive No. 10 Hong Jun-ki.
The powerful South Koreans raced into a 24-0 lead within 15 minutes, a combination of strong running and Hong Kong missed tackles leading to tries for Kim Tae-hyung, Kim Hyun-woo and Kim Sung-soo, all converted by Hong Jun-ki.
Midway through the first half Hong Kong got on the scoreboard with a converted try to Simon Hempel, but another try from Kim Sung-soo and two penalties for South Korea dented any Hong Kong hopes of a comeback in the first period, giving the visitors a 35-7 lead at the break.
In the second half Korea put the game beyond the home side, stretching their lead to 50-7 with the help of tries for Heo Woong and Chae Jae-young.
Three late tries from Hong Kong narrowed the gap, but it was a comprehensive win for South Korea.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
Taiwan’s top male badminton player, Chou Tien-chen, on Saturday bowed out in the men’s singles semi-finals at the Thailand Open after losing in straight games to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn. The world No. 6 Chou, seeded fourth at the Super 500 tournament, lost to the world No. 2 Thai 21-7, 21-19 in 53 minutes. The victory improved Vitidsarn’s head-to-head record against Chou to 3-5. Chou, 36, trailed throughout the opening game after the score was tied 2-2. His relatively passive approach allowed the 25-year-old Thai to capitalize on Chou’s defensive clears with powerful smashes while committing few unforced errors. The Taiwanese
FRUSTRATION: Gauff smacked herself on the head with her racket before storming down the tunnel, emerging afterward to have a heated discussion with her coach Elina Svitolina on Saturday won the Italian Open after beating Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2 to claim her third Rome title, while Jannik Sinner set a date with Casper Ruud in the men’s final. Ukraine’s Svitolina had not claimed a WTA 1000 title since her last victory at the Foro Italico eight years ago, but prevailed over the ever-erratic Gauff to claim her 20th tournament triumph. Saturday’s win over Gauff was her third in a row against a player in the top four of the world rankings — including Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina — ahead of the French
West Ham United’s 3-1 defeat at Newcastle United on Sunday left Tottenham Hotspur realistically only needing one more point to win the battle for English Premier League survival, while Bruno Fernandes made history in Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest. Spurs can avoid dropping out of the English top flight for the first time in nearly 50 years with victory at Chelsea today, but a draw would also likely suffice thanks to their much superior goal-difference over West Ham. “Overall bad performance. Too many things [went wrong], I think we gifted them the goals,” West Ham head caoch Nuno Espirito Santo
RSS