And with games against Great Britain and Uruguay to come on Saturday, Hong Kong will still be dreaming of a shock appearance in the Cup quarterfinals.

Despite the result, Hugo Stiles enjoyed a dream Hong Kong Sevens debut, converting two tries at the same stadium where he played mini rugby as a child.

“In terms of how we wanted to play, we really delivered. we didn’t sit off them, we got after them, we really met them there,” 26-year-old Stiles said. “Definitely a few things to tidy up, but with the home crowd behind us it makes a massive difference.

“I normally need quite a big caffeine hit before every game, but that is better than any sort of caffeine hit I’ve ever had. It’s just magic out there.

“Seeing my family on the sidelines – my brother and sister in the South Stand, my parents tucked away in the minis’ stand or something, brilliant – I can’t wait to get stuck in tomorrow.

“I can’t describe it in words. Hopefully they bring the same noise tomorrow.”

Memories of their opening night humbling against eventual champions Australia last time out will have been fresh in the Hong Kong men’s players’ minds.

But so too would have been the uplifting mood that swept around the stadium as the home crowd cheered them on until the final seconds, enjoying a return to semi-normality with pandemic restrictions finally lifting in the city.

With masks no longer required this time around, fans fully revelled in the atmosphere despite Friday proving to be something of a damp squib, as persistent drizzle forced some punters to stay home.

But the thousands who did turn up, and who had braved the rain, made themselves heard with some deafening support for the home side.

Hong Kong pushed for a try in the early minutes down the right hand side only to be penalised by the referee, who called play back. France soon broke down the same side of the pitch, with Jordan Sepho crossing in the corner to resounding boos.

Every decision called against the hosts was jeered with the hosts battling hard. But France’s class eventually told again, with another breakaway try down the wing for Sepho in first-half added time.

Hong Kong continued to fight in the second half, but tired themselves out having thrown everything into it, and Jonathan Laugel spotted the gap to break away again for Les Bleus.

The biggest roar of the whole day was reserved for the 13th minute, however, when Brien picked up a loose ball and powered over in front of the South Stand two minutes from time.

With the hooter having sounded, there was a final flourish as Hong Kong went through the phases and Brien again went over in the right hand side, sending the crowd home happy.

“There is a big difference in the squad after tonight’s game and last year,” Brien said. “We have largely the same squad with a few new players, but there is a good sense of confidence after that game.

“I think we just need to work on our defence and our consistency. There is no feeling like scoring in front of the South Stand, but we want the game-winners now, not the consolation tries.

“We showed what we can do in attack. We just need to tighten up our defence and not allow any soft scores. We made France work hard for a couple of their tries but we need to make sure we do that for the whole game.”