Hong Kong, China's men's and women's squads each fell to defeats on the second day of the Melrose Claymores competition at Kai Tak Stadium on Saturday, with the fate of both defending champions hanging in the balance ahead of pivotal clashes between rival squads on Sunday's final day.

The SAR's men lost 7-14 to potential Asian Games rivals Japan in their second contest of the Hong Kong-exclusive competition in the top-tier Sevens series, unable to follow up on their dominant 36-14 victory against the national team on Friday's opening day.

The women's squad, meanwhile, kept it close against Thailand early on but ultimately came up short, falling 12-24 to follow their opening 14-14 result against Denmark -- the first non-regional competitor in the competition.

James Christie, co-captain of the men's SAR side, told RTHK he remained confident in the home team's chances despite having to rely on a positive result from China when they face Japan in Sunday morning's third round of action.

"At the moment, it's too soon to tell [for the China-Japan match], but we'll definitely watch it. They're [Japan] very physical in moving the ball around, so if we make our tackles then we'll be alright," he said.

Despite Saturday's defeat, Christie hailed the passionate support displayed by local fans at the Kai Tak Stadium.

He added that following last year's maiden edition at the 50,000-capacity arena, the energy this time around felt even more special with the backdrop of the tournament's 50th year golden anniversary, which saw a record turnout of 41,303 fans on the second day.

"I'm 29 years old... so this is my 29th Sevens and it means the world to me for those [fans] to come out today. I think the south stand was probably full at 11am, which is pretty crazy. Whenever nothing even happens on the pitch, like just passing the ball... the crowd's always hyping us up. So it's amazing to run out there," he said.

Christie added that he expects an even bigger turnout for Sunday's final day, and is confident fans will show up to support the team regardless of the outcome of their opponents' matches.

"We always say that [the fans] are our eighth man out there [on the pitch]. They always support us so we're so appreciative of that as well," he said.



Edited by Thomas McAlinden