Hong Kong China Women Clinch WXV Global Series Challenger 2026 Thriller Against Brazil

Hong Kong China Rugby Women’s XV defeated the Brazilians 29-24 at the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground after the hooter and with a penalty try after having been behind for more than 80 minutes in a thrilling encounter on Sunday 13th September 2026.

Photo Credit: World Rugby & Getty Images

The two teams had never met before, and it was the lower-ranked As Yaras who started much better in what was a very poor opening quarter from the hosts.

They found themselves 0-14 down after having conceded a penalty try and a yellow card, lost their co-captain Jasmine Fung Hoi Ching to an injury, and a second superbly worked try from the team in yellow, who showed great skills, finished by Larissa Carvalho, to race out into a lead. The home side’s ill-discipline and poor tackling were hurting them.

Hong Kong China then regrouped and fought their way back to put the As Yaras under pressure. A yellow card to Brazil’s captain, Luiza Campos, who could count herself lucky it was not red in the 16th minute, changed the momentum.

Photo Credit – World Rugby & Getty Images

The excellent boot from the HKCR co-captain and flyhalf Lara Schats put them in the right area of the field to let their pack get to work.

They scored the first of four rolling maul tries from a lineout, with Tanya Dhar the beneficiary of the pack’s efforts to reduce the lead to 5-14. The pressure and player advantage forced the Brazilians to give away multiple penalties and eventually earned them a team warning from the referee.

An expert Schats 50/22 kick set up the maul again and Dhar scored her second try in the space of five minutes to make it 12-14.

With the momentum in their favour and plenty of attacking ball, a horrible loose pass which wasn’t needed was picked up by 7s speedster Thalita Costa on the halfway line, and she scored under the posts against the run of play. Brazil retained the 19-12 lead at the break.

Photo Credit – World Rugby & Getty Images – Tanya Dhar scored twice

The second half started scrappily, and both sides were guilty of dropping the ball in attack. Mistakes for HKCR, in particular at key moments, were hurting them.

They knocked on in the opposition 22m area and, from the scrum, Brazil broke tackles and scored nearly coast to coast to extend the lead to 24-12 with Gisele Gomes Dos Santos dotting down.

The home team struck back with a try; replacement hooker Fion Got scored from the maul, making it 17-24 in the 68th minute. The experienced replacement prop, earning her 40th cap, Ka Shun Lee scored ten minutes later in the 77th minute, but the conversion was crucially missed.

As Hong Kong China looked to secure the win, Brazil went down to 14 with a second yellow card and had a slender 24-22 lead. Hong Kong China earned a penalty for a turnover in the Brazil half, kicked for touch and won the lineout.

Another impeccable maul and cynical play from Brazil led to a long TMO deliberation after the hooter, but the penalty try was awarded, securing the win and a third yellow card was issued, not that it mattered, as that was the game, 29-24.

The team in blue showed the same fightback and resolve as they did in Almaty in May, and overcame the deficit to win.

Co-captain and Player of the Match, Lara Schats, said, “This means so much, and we’ve trained so hard. I’m so happy we got the win, and we really deserved that. We said on the field we had a choice of what kind of team we wanted to be, and I hope we’ve inspired some girls out here. I’m stoked.”

HKCR Women’s XV lead coach Tumua Ioane said: “I’m incredibly proud of them to be down late, and to stay in the fight and work through their processes and stack moments like that, it is a huge testament to the resilience and togetherness in the group to bring ourselves back.”

Photo Credit – World Rugby & Getty Images – Tanya Dhar scored twice

Brazil Rugby captain Luiza Campos was gracious in defeat after having led for more than 80 minutes: “We had the game in our hands, and we knew it would be a tough game as they had the crowd. In the end, discipline killed us, and the yellow cards cost the game. I’m really happy to be here, and we still had a great game, and I’m really proud of our team.”

EDIT* At the time, we thought Fion Got scored a try, and Ka Shun Lee only had 1, but WXV and the broadcast credited Ka Shun Lee with x2 at the time. It was, in fact, Fion Got and Ka Shun Lee who each scored 1, and we have updated our reporting accordingly.

Hong Kong China Points

• Tries: Tanya Dhar x2, Fion Got, Ka Shun Lee, Penalty Try
• Conversions: Zoe Smith x1

Brazil Points

• Tries: Penalty Try, Larissa Carvalho, Thalita Da Silva Costa, Gisele Gomes Dos Santos
• Conversions: Fernanda Tenorio x1

Hong Kong China will face Fiji next Saturday, while Brazil will take on the Netherlands.

You can see more match photos on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter/X.

You can watch the extended highlights here:

WXV 2026 News

• WXV Global Series Challenger 2026 Preview – Hong Kong China vs Brazil.
• Hong Kong China Rugby Announce WXV Global Series Challenger 2026 Squad.
• HKCR Women’s XV – WXV Global Series Challenger 2026 – “We want something we can be proud of”.
• 2026 WXV Global Series – Fixtures Confirmed.