Never played in Prem - and now face World Cup hosts

It is 1 October 2027. There are 61,000 fans inside Perth Stadium.

There is a global TV audience in the millions as two teams go through their final warm-ups preparing to open the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

For hosts Australia, twice world champions with a proud rugby history across the codes, it is familiar territory.

For their opponents Hong Kong China, it is anything but.

It will be their World Cup debut and for their players it will be biggest match of their lives.

Among them, all being well, are Jack Combes and Alex Post. Two players more used to the lower semi-professional tiers of the English league system than the global spotlight.

It is David v Goliath - in football parlance it is Spain v Cape Verde.

Twelve months earlier to the day, Jack and Alex are in Hong Kong. It is a national holiday and both have taken time out to tell BBC Sport about how their sporting and personal lives have been transformed.

"I think the whole run-up to the whole qualification process was already a dream in itself. To qualify for a men's first World Cup was huge," said Combes, a scrum-half.

There are glints in their eyes and smiles on their faces - why wouldn't there be?

Hong Kong China have been drawn in Pool A at the World Cup, where not just the hosts await, but also Chile - and the All Blacks.

"People will say it's daunting and it's a huge challenge to have those two top nations in your pool, but if you're going to do it, do it properly. Why not?" said Combes.

"People might question whether we deserve to be there. But for me, if you asked anyone as a kid, if you could open up the World Cup in that first game in a year's time, it's genuinely amazing. A dream come true.

"And I'm sure anyone who does give us any criticism about us being there, there's no way they wouldn't be doing the same thing if they could, 100%."

Despite having made his international debut a decade ago, until recently Post was hooking for Richmond in The Champ.

"Unfortunately, I've never played at The Prem level. But The Champ definitely doesn't get the credit it deserves," said the 31-year-old.

"It's a very tough league. And that was great preparation for the international games."

Post was a full-time rugby player with Hong Kong China, before the Covid pandemic brought that to an end and he began a Masters degree at the University of Oxford.

The Varsity match at Twickenham remains one of the larger crowds he has played in front of.

"One of the unique selling points for Hong Kong is the players are contracted all year round and spend all their time together," said Post.

"So it wasn't really feasible for players like myself to stay at Richmond.

"Hong Kong was very much, 'we need boots on the ground'.

"I've moved my family and myself over the last couple of weeks and yeah, kind of chase the dream for the next year."

A full-time professional contract has enabled greater focus on the game away from being a financial analyst.

"With Richmond, we'd train twice a week and then you would do your own gym sessions in your own time," added Post.

"But you can probably do twice as much as that with Hong Kong now."

For Combes, 29, a former student and teacher at Hartpury College, it has been a circuitous route to professional sport that included a spell at Birmingham Moseley in England's third tier.

"So I've been full-time in the sevens for about three and a half years now," he said.

"I've done my career in reverse. I went from teaching after an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament injury), to playing semi-professional rugby, to being a full-time athlete at the age of 25.

"I wouldn't change it for the world, but going into a full-time environment where you have the resources, you have the training time, physical development, it's necessary for what we're facing."

Hong Kong has a proud tradition of rugby stretching back seven decades, not least around its annual sevens tournament.

They qualified for the World Cup by defeating Korea 70-22 in the final round of the Asia Rugby Championship last year.

A late 42-40 victory over fellow World Cup finalists Uruguay in July was perhaps the strongest showing yet of where they stand.

"The mindset's changed from years gone by where you compete in Asia and you play against teams that you know you probably should be beating," said Combes.

"Now we're completely on the other side of the spectrum where we've got nothing to lose.

"I think just be ambitious, be fearless, and go for it.

"'Be memorable' is the phrase that coaches have been talking about."

Both Post and Combes were born in Hong Kong and came up through the age-grade system there. They have witnessed how the game has grown there and are aware of the criticism they have faced, often focused on the international make-up of the team.

"It's always the first criticism we get after an international game," said Post.

"We don't go looking for that criticism or feedback. But it's always going to be there. I think for us, just perform and try and put something out there that people are proud of."

"I was born here in 1997," added Combes.

"Mum is half Chinese and going through the whole minis rugby here where we probably had one of the biggest mini rugby numbers base in the world, up until Covid.

"But I think the game's back growing within local schools - primary, secondary.

"Hopefully we can inspire the next generation."

Former London Irish and Ospreys director of rugby Toby Booth has joined the coaching set-up.

A good test of where they are at will come when Hong Kong China take on three countries in the Nations Cup next month, all with World Cup heritage, in the shape of USA, Canada and Tonga.

"Personally, I've got a whole bunch of pressure just from my family and friends," said Post.

"I've been getting messages all today saying it's one year, you better make the team.

"There will definitely be a big Hong Kong contingent [in Perth]. We want to be everyone's second team."

"You know, we are always going to be the underdogs," said Combes, who is known to his team-mates as Maradona for his keenness to kick any stray footballs that make their way on to the training pitch.

"I think our whole string of games leading into the World Cup with Nations Cup, warm-up games we're always going to be sort of looked over.

"But I think that works in our favour - we're just a bit fearless."

Oh, and remember Spain v Cape Verde at the Fifa World Cup? That ended in a draw.