Hong Kong’s men’s team lived up to their own vow to exact revenge over Japan at the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens with a 19-15 win over their arch-rivals at Kai Tak Stadium on Sunday.

The thrilling win, just one day after their seven-point loss in the round-robin stage on Saturday, handed the city’s men their third Melrose Claymores trophy in as many years.

And after doing so despite being shown a yellow card in each half, co-captain James Christie heaped praise on the team effort.

“We gave them too many opportunities in the loss, and we got two yellow cards today, so we didn’t really make it easy for ourselves,” said Christie. “But during those periods, I think it showed how much we’ve developed as a team.

“You know that first one especially. We let in no tries, worked hard for each other and that’s what it’s all about. If we work hard then the rewards will come.”

Head coach Jevon Groves said he was pleased to see his team “holding on to the ball better” but did not mince words over his disappointment with the team’s discipline.