HKCR Men’s XV Face LeRIRO Fukuoka on Japan Tour Ahead of XVs Match at Kai Tak Stadium

rugbyasia247 Posted On October 17, 2025

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HKCR Men’s XV Face LeRIRO Fukuoka on Japan Tour Ahead of XVs Match at Kai Tak Stadium

Hong Kong China Rugby’s (HKCR) Men’s XV will play the second match on its training tour of Japan against professional team LeRIRO Fukuoka on Saturday, 18 October at the JRFU Japan Base centre. The squad heads back to Hong Kong to play against Japan ‘A’ at Kai Tak Stadium on 24th October – the first XVs match ever played at Kai Tak Stadium.

After losing the opening tour game in Japan to Japan Rugby League One Division 3 side Skyactivs Hiroshima 21-28, which was their first match since qualifying for the Rugby World Cup 2027 in July, the team will clash with another JRLO Division 3 team, LeRIRO Fukuoka, this weekend.

In the loss last week, six players were making their first appearances in a representative jersey for HKCR. Team captain Josh Hrstich said from the team’s training camp in Okinawa, “Skyactivs gave us a good first hit out; they are a really good team, and it was great to get a match against a quality side after feeling a bit starved for opportunities in recent years.”

Hrsich led the team to another Asia Rugby title earlier in 2025 and clinched the RWC 2027 qualification with a big win over Korea in Incheon – the historic win meant the team qualified for their first-ever Men’s Rugby World Cup.

Josh Hrstich – HKCR Men’s XV captain

He added, “We are hugely grateful to the clubs here in Japan and to the HKCR for arranging this; we hope that those teams get as much out of this as we do, but for us to test ourselves against local sides is a huge advantage for us for next week at Kai Tak.

This week’s camp has also been really positive. It’s great to be get away and spend time as a group and build connections between players and lock in our footy a bit. The first game was a good chance for the coaches to get a look at the players to see what they bring to the team, and what improvement we’ve made from our conditioning and training so far.”

HKCR Men’s XV vs LeRIRO Fukuoka – Saturday, 18 October 2025

HKCR Head of Technical Rugby Andrew Douglas plans for all three dozen contracted players to get a game in Japan, pending injuries.

Some of the recently arrived players include HKCR flyhalf Gregor McNeish, who will start on Saturday alongside scrumhalf Brendon Nell, who made his senior debut last week, in a new halfback pairing. Eric Chui Wai Lap and Joe Barker started the match against Skyactivs Hiroshima.

Two additional players will make their senior debuts this weekend: centre Isaac Campbell-Wu (recently signed to SG Valley RFC) and lock James Rivers. James’s two sisters, Gabriella and Georgia, are Hong Kong China Rugby representative players, and Gabby is in the women’s 7s side playing the Asia Rugby Sevens Series in Colombo this weekend.

Douglas said, “After the last match, we have been looking at areas where we can improve; there are a few tweaks and adjustments as you would expect, just working on refining some things around our set piece and some of our attack.”

Hstich added that the team is gelling well with part of the camp focusing on squad culture and values: “We are a close group, and our culture is incredibly positive. We have amazing coaching and support resources at our disposal, and everyone is open and willing to help; as long as the senior guys continue to show the way, and everyone keeps open to improving, and as long as guys stay open and willing to learn, we will be fine.”

Photo Credit – Skyactivs Hiroshima

Of this weekend’s match, he explained, “After a bit of rustiness in that first game, we’re looking forward to seeing what we can do in the next. We’re not massively focused on LeRIRO. They are a good side and we’ve played them before, they are one of the more physical sides in Japanese rugby, so we have to start well, match that physicality and get a bit more precision in our attack.

We’ve only played one game so far. Our physicality and intent from game one were impressive. It was a good effort from the players and a good reflection of the work they have put in over the past weeks to get themselves bigger, faster and stronger. I’d like to see us have the same desire and intent as in game one, or even a new level from that. The physicality we brought last week was awesome.”

HKCR Squad vs LeRIRO Fukuoka (18 Oct 2025)

1. Rory CINNAMOND; 2. Harry BARON; 3. Faizal SOLOMONA-PENESA; 4. James RIVERS*; 5. Kyle SULLIVAN; 6. Dana FOURIE; 7. James SAWYER; 8. Josh HRSTICH (C); 9. Brendon NELL 10. Gregor MCNEISH; 11. Guy SPANTON; 12. Isaac CAMPBELL-WU*; 13. Marcus RAMAGE; 14 Charles HIGSON-SMITH; 15. Penetana CARTER-SMITH; 16. Harrison KING; 17. James HOLMES; 18. Callum MCFEAT-SMITH; 19. Jack BARTLETT; 20. Tyler MCNUTT; 21. Eric CHUI Wai Lap; 22. Joe KNIGHT; 23. Ben AXTEN-BURRETT; 24. Jack ABBOTT; 25. Tom HILL (vice captain); 26. Matt WORLEY

*Senior squad debut

Management Team: