“When we touched ground in Perth we started getting a sense of how things were spiralling elsewhere in the world and the severity of the spread of this virus,” said Hall, who took over head coaching duties last year from Leigh Jones. “So when we arrived back into Hong Kong, very quickly our training was changed from day-to-day in an environment that was typical for any professional sports team to, ‘Right, training is suspended from this point on.’ And here we sit.”

Hammond said 2019’s shortened GRR “showcase season” caught them a bit off guard, but they felt a lot better prepared heading into the 2020 campaign.

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“We had a good build-up, installed a few new systems and evolved our game a bit, and we had a really good opening round win as a result.

“We were probably lucky to be able to get that first game off the ground. We went from preparing for a really intense campaign, on from Samoa to Fiji then New Zealand, so from a really intense period of activity to pretty much standing still,” said Hammond.

Hammond said he keeps going back to one word – unprecedented – when looking at the lockdown period, in which sports across the globe ground to a screeching halt in a matter of days.

“I’ve heard that word used a lot over the last four weeks or so. Not knowing and no one having ever experienced this before, but to the players’ credit they have behaved really well in managing these frustrations. I think every one of them understands the wider implications of this and recognising their social responsibility to help get a handle on this virus.”

The men’s 15s squad are coming off a tough year after being within a win of qualifying for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. They now look to France in 2023, which will feature 20 teams. Hong Kong are ranked 22nd in the world.

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Hall said he had hoped to use the GRR season to have a look at players who had impressive premiership campaigns and were also coming up on their three-year eligibility window to play for Hong Kong.

The team were also looking towards the Asia Rugby Championship, set for June against South Korea and Malaysia. Last year Hong Kong won all four games, scoring 212 points and conceding 37. However, the championship has not featured Asian heavyweights Japan since 2017.

Hall said Lucy Clarke, HKRU’s chief of player welfare and medical officer,had made it clear what was required of the players in the lockdown.

“She’s been very clear with us as the weeks have gone on,” said Hall. “As to what we can do, and what we can’t do, and they were fairly robust and strict guidelines which was good. And the lads have been sticking to that, whether it be social distancing, or in terms of the group numbers as to training.”

Hammond said it hasn’t been ideal, but like Hall, feels the players have shown a level of maturity in putting Covid-19 before rugby.

“The way it has unfolded, I think it has made us all a bit more hungry. As coaches our job is to figure out how to keep that excitement and hunger going, and how to deliver more for them now, how do we keep making them better players and better people during a situation like this.”

Hall credits tools like Zoom meetings and “banter sessions” where players can continue to gel and foster chemistry, a crucial part of any professional sports team. He said the online sessions have been eclectic, from group physio sessions and leadership chats to more fun social elements like TikTok dance competitions.

“The biggest frustration is obviously a lot of the guys have spent a lot of time in the gym increasing their strength and power over the past year. But you very quickly lose that if you’re not able to lift the kind of priming weights they were using. They have done a bit of work at home in terms of body weight and band work, but as anyone knows it’s very difficult to replicate or to compensate for that loss.”

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Hall and company are still waiting on word as to when the national team might see some action again, and the most likely scenario appears to be in the autumn after the premiership potentially starts. World Rugby has pushed a number of key events to the autumn hoping the pandemic will be under control.

He said the first point of business after training resumes is getting in shape and also letting the players get accustomed to each other once again.

“There is the part of not being able to rub shoulders and high five with their mates after games and training,” Hall said. “So that is something you definitely miss and can’t quite replicate. And that is something we really take for granted.”