Hong Kong China Men and Shandong Women Lead The Way On Opening Day – China National Games 2025 Rugby 7s

The Hong Kong China Men and Shandong Women both had strong starts on the opening day of the 15th National Games of the People’s Republic of China at Kai Tak Stadium on Wednesday, 12th November.

Both sides were undefeated and will close out the pool play on Thursday. For the hosts, both the men and women were seeded 8th and started the tournament with matches against the top seeds, Shandong, which produces several Chinese national team players.

The Hong Kong China women fell away in the second half to lose 31-12, while the men’s team defeated the defending champions convincingly 24-12.

The HKCR women then lost their second pool game to Sichuan, 12-19, which means they can still finish second in their pool with a strong showing in the final pool round. They will need to put a big win on Shanghai and hope the pool leaders, Shandong, also have a big win over Sichuan.

The HKCR men won their second game convincingly over Tianjin 50-0, in which Max Denmark scored a hat-trick to lead Pool B, and their final pool match is against Inner Mongolia on Thursday.

Photo Credit – HKCR – Hong Kong China Women – China National Games 2025 Rugby 7s

The Hong Kong China results and fixtures can be seen here.

Day 2# Thursday 13 November 2025 Fixtures

Local times shown

13:00, Match 17, Shanghai vs Hong Kong, Women Pool D
13:30, Match 18, Shandong vs Sichuan, Women Pool D
14:00, Match 19, Anhui vs Beijing, Women Pool C
14:30, Match 20, Jiangsu vs Hebei, Women Pool C
15:00, Match 21, Hebei vs Chongqing, Men Pool B
15:30, Match 22, Jiangsu vs Beijing, Men Pool B
16:00, Match 23, Inner Mongolia vs Hong Kong, Men Pool A
16:30, Match 24, Shandong vs Tianjin, Men Pool A
17:00, Match 25, Pool D 3rd vs Pool C 4th, Women Knockout Stage
17:30, Match 26, Pool C 3rd vs Pool D 4th, Women Knockout Stage
18:00, Match 27, Pool B 3rd vs Pool A 4th, Men Knockout Stage
18:30, Match 28, Pool A 3rd vs Pool B 4th, Men Knockout Stage
19:00, Match 29, Pool D 1st vs Pool C 2nd, Women Knockout Stage
19:30, Match 30, Pool C 1st vs Pool D 2nd, Women Knockout Stage
20:00, Match 31, Pool B 1st vs Pool A 2nd, Men Knockout Stage
20:30, Match 32, Pool A 1st vs Pool B 2nd, Men Knockout Stage

Coach and Player Reactions – Hong Kong China

Hong Kong China Men’s Sevens head coach Jevon Groves said, “We are happy with the two wins. The first game there was a lot of intensity, and the boys felt it a bit in their legs. We didn’t manage the middle part very well and probably let Shandong back into it a bit with some errors and breakdown in the contact area. We wanted to address that in our second game, and we did that.”

Photo Credit – HKCR – Hong Kong Men’s Sevens head coach Jevon Groves

Of the final pool game on Thursday, Groves added, “Inner Mongolia will present a similar challenge to the other teams we have played. They showed a few surprises in their kicking game and have threats on the edges, but we are staying present and focused on our game and not looking ahead of ourselves. Our goal is to get better every game and to put in performances we can be proud of.”

Bryn Phillips said after the opening win, “They were good and kept on coming and had good linespeed and were very passionate, and it was hard to play around them, and they were well up for it. We need to focus on ourselves and recover, and do what we do well. We have threats out wide and threats all over, so we need to recycle quickly and play the game we know we can play.”

Max Denmark said after the team topped the pool with a big win, “It was pretty tough playing this longer format, it really put a stress on your fitness, so I am happy our coaches concentrated on that over recent weeks. I think we are the fittest we have ever been, preparing for this tournament.”

You can see more detailed Men’s match review and player comments in our content colab here.

Women’s 7s Head Coach Andy Vilk said of the competition, “They were really good quality opposition, and that is the challenge here. When we can keep possession, we can be a dangerous team.

The quality of teams out here means it is a really good challenge for us, and being in my first National Games is very exciting. We get to play in front of family and friends and the rugby community in a fantastic venue. These multisports events are important as people are discovering the sport for the first time,” added Vilk.

Photo Credit – HKCR Women’s 7s Head Coach Andy Vilk

HKCR Women’s top try scorer, Julia Mba Oyana, said, “Our goal is to win a medal, so we are going to fight hard to achieve that goal. We need to focus on ourselves – we want to be a quick team, so focus on our offloads and ball carries.

The atmosphere was amazing, and it’s my first time playing at Kai Tak – and to hear my teammates’ friends and families has been so heartwarming. I am so excited about how the games progress and see the stadium fill up.”

For more from the HKCR women’s matches and quotes – see here.

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