Fresh from being honoured at the Hong Kong Coaching Awards last weekend, Paul John said he still had unfinished business as head of the city’s sevens programme.
Into his 10th year in the role, John was rewarded with the best team coach prize after Hong Kong’s men claimed National Games gold and strolled to Asia Rugby Sevens Series success in 2025.
This year began on a low note, however, when the city team narrowly lost an HSBC SVNS 3 semi-final to Canada, costing them promotion to the second tier and any hope of reaching next season’s world series.
“The boys have bounced back well,” John said. “They were disappointed at the time, but we have reflected on it and we’re working on the areas we have to improve.”
Still, the Welshman, who gained 10 caps for his native country, would be forgiven for having frustration fatigue after several near misses during his tenure.
Hong Kong lost qualifying matches for the 2020 and 2024 Olympics by five and seven points respectively, while they came within one game of attaining core world series status in 2019.