KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia pushed fancied Hong Kong to the limits before going down 30-24 in Saturday’s Asian Rugby Championship (ARC) match at the Hong Kong Football Club.
Hong Kong coach Andrew Hall praised Malaysia for their fighting qualities.
“All credit to Malaysia, they genuinely tested us,” Hall told www.scmp.com, adding that he made nine changes to his squad after a 47-10 blitzing of South Korea last weekend in Incheon.
“And I think that was what we needed, when you consider Malaysia are also 15 to 20 points better at home it gives us something to think about moving forward.”
Malaysia dropped their first two matches against Korea by a combined score of 90-30, and head coach Brad Mika, a former All Black lock, who is making his coaching debut this ARC, said he only had six weeks with his team to get them into match shape.
However, after two lacklustre losses, he said he was impressed with his team yesterday.
“I’m really proud of the boys, they showed a bit of character today, character we didn’t see in the first few games and we talked about that all this week, so I think they surprised themselves here.”
Both teams will meet again in Bukit Jalil on June 22.