ARFU Under 20 to kick off today

By Shamseer Jaleel
The Asian Rugby Football union (ARFU) Under 20 seven a side tournament will kick off today in Hong Kong with 7 teams participating and playing in a round robbin basis. Sri Lanka will be the only absentee from the show piece of Asian Youth rugby.
Hong Kong, China, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates will clash each other in a full round-robin tournament on 19 and 20 od December. Hong Kong won the opening leg this summer in Johor Bahru, Malaysia and will be looking to claim the Asian Under 20 Sevens title with a win in front of their home audiences in the Series finale this weekend.
A victory will see Hong Kong’s Under 20 complete an unbeaten run in ARFU junior competition in 2014 after winning the Junior World Rugby Trophy (JWRT)  qualifier earlier this year in Colombo, Sri Lanka. That victory qualified Hong Kong for the World Rugby Junior World Rugby Trophy that will be held in Portugal in 2015 April.Hong Kong will face a stiffer test this week compared to the opening leg as China, Chinese Taipei and South Korea – all strong competitors at Asian age grade levels – are marking their Series debut this week.