Hong Kong coach Leigh Jones has labelled his 30-man squad as ”fitter, stronger and better prepared than we've ever been” ahead of the four-team global repechage tournament in Marseille that will determine the 20th and final qualifier for Rugby World Cup 2019.
However, Jones knows that is no guarantee of success with Canada, Germany and Kenya standing between them and a place in Pool B alongside defending champions New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and Namibia in Japan next year.
Hong Kong are the only one of the quartet to have been involved in a repechage before, having lost to Uruguay in the qualification process for RWC 2015, but never in a round-robin format like that being used from 11-23 November.
”I think we are as good as we can be,” admitted Jones. ”We have worked hard. The players, the management group, the coaches and the medical and S&C team all deserve credit for that.
”But the reality is that we are stepping into the unknown now. We know very little about Germany, about Canada. They are preparing as hard as we are I'm sure, but behind closed doors, so that's a bit frustrating.
Achieving the dream
”In other competitions, you generally know what you are getting, but it has been pretty much a closed shop for everyone this time. We have kept our stuff tight like all of them, so no-one knows what to expect really, but the boys are ready to go.
”This group of players are fitter, stronger and better prepared than we've ever been. We just have to transfer two-and-a-half years of training onto the pitch over three match days and the dream can be achieved.”
Hong Kong have warmed up for the repechage with matches against the Dragons Development side and Crawshays during a camp in Wales as they bid to qualify for a Rugby World Cup for the first time, 15 months after the Hong Kong women created history by playing at Women's Rugby World Cup 2017 in Ireland.
Jamie Cunningham captains Hong Kong, who secured their place in the repechage after first winning the Asia Rugby Championship 2018 and then beating the Cook Islands in a two-legged Asia/Oceania play-off, but has plenty of experience around him with five other members of the squad having worn the armband in either 15s or sevens in hooker Ben Roberts, fly-half Ben Rimene, Jamie Hood and their most capped player in Nick Hewson.
On the other end of the scale to 56-test veteran Hewson, five players named in the squad for the repechage could make their test debuts in prop Grant Kemp, scrum-half Bryn Phillips, centres Ben Axten-Burrett and Lewis Warner and full-back Casey Stone.
Hong Kong, the highest placed of the four nations in the World Rugby Rankings at 21, will begin their campaign with a first meeting with Germany on Sunday, before tackling Kenya on 17 November and Canada on 23 November.
The RWC 2019 Repechage will be streamed live on rugbyworldcup.com, click here to find out where to watch the action unfold in Marseille.