Jonny Rees is a current Hong Kong Rugby Union player. He plays for the Hong Kong Football Club, the Hong Kong National Team and previously for the Hong Kong Sevens team. Rees made his international debut in 2012 at the 2012 Cup of Nations tournament in Dubai against Zimbabwe. [1] He featured in the 2013 Asian Five Nations match against the Philippines where he scored two tries to help Hong Kong to a 59 – 20 victory in Manila. [2] He had also scored two tries earlier in the tournament against the United Arab Emirates beating them 53 – 7. [3]
Rees was included in the squad to the 2015 Asian Rugby Championship. [4]
Rugby sevens is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. Rugby sevens is administered by World Rugby, the body responsible for rugby union worldwide. The game is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months. Sevens is one of the most well distributed forms of rugby, and is popular in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and especially in the South Pacific.
Waisale Tikoisolomoni Serevi is a Fijian former rugby union football player and coach, and is a member of the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Serevi is renowned for his achievements in rugby sevens, while also enjoying a long career in fifteen-a-side rugby at both club and national team levels. Nicknamed "The Wizard" by commentators, he is widely considered to be the greatest rugby sevens player in the history of the game. A biography of Serevi titled Waisale Serevi: King of Sevens by Nick Darvenzi was published in 2018.
Rugby World Cup Sevens (RWCS) is the quadrennial world championship of rugby sevens, a variant of rugby union. Organised by World Rugby, it currently consists of men's and women's tournaments, and is the highest level of competition in the sport outside of the Summer Olympics.
Ratu Seru Rabeni was a Fijian rugby union player. He played as a centre or wing. At both club and international level, his physicality and heavy tackles earned him the nickname "Rambo".
The Hong Kong national rugby union team, nicknamed the Dragons, has made the qualifying rounds of the Rugby World Cup. Rugby union in Hong Kong is administered by the Hong Kong Rugby Union since 1952, and successfully competes annually in the Asia Rugby Championship.
William Michael Phillips is a rugby union player who plays at scrum-half. On 16 March 2013, Phillips surpassed the record of 76 caps set by Dwayne Peel as the most capped scrum-half for Wales.
The Philippines national rugby union team, nicknamed the "Volcanoes", represents the Philippines in international rugby union. The Philippines have been playing in the Asia Rugby Championship since 2006 when the team was first created. In 2012 they won the Division I championship and were promoted to the top 5 for the 2013 tournament where they earned 4th place and again in the 2014 tournament. The Philippines have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup.
The Arabian Gulf rugby union team was a combined team of players that represented the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council in international rugby union competitions. The team competed in international matches between 1993 and 2010, and was governed by the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union (AGRFU). Associate members were Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan.
Rugby union in China is a growing sport; however, it is still not overly popular. China became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1997 and as of 1 July 2019, its women's XV side was ranked 24th and its men's XV side 80th in the world. Neither the women's team nor the men's team has yet qualified for a Women's Rugby World Cup or a men's Rugby World Cup. However, China has hopes of one day hosting the men's event, and World Rugby has indicated it supports taking the event there.
Kurt Baker is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a fullback or wing for Old Glory DC in Major League Rugby (MLR).
The Hong Kong national rugby sevens team is a regular participant in the Rugby World Cup Sevens. The team's greatest achievements include winning the gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and winning the Asian Sevens Series in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2022.
Roderick Robert Grant is a Scottish rugby union coach and former player. He played as a flanker for Border Reivers, Edinburgh and Scotland sevens between 2006 and 2015, and has coached at the Scottish Rugby Academy and Edinburgh. Since 2019, he has been forwards coach for Ulster.
The 2011 Emirates Cup of Nations was held at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai as a season ending tournament for tier 3 teams from different continents. The four competing teams were hosts UAE, Asian 5 Nations rivals Hong Kong, 2011 Africa Cup champions Kenya and South American Rugby Championship A Division team Brazil.
In the Asian Region for 2015 Rugby World Cup qualifying, Japan took the sole qualification spot, Asia 1 by winning Round 3: 2014 Asian Five Nations, while second placed Hong Kong qualified for the repechage playoff.
The Philippines national rugby sevens team is a minor national sevens side. The 2012 Hong Kong Sevens was their first appearance in an IRB Sevens World Series. They were 1 of 4 Asian teams that qualified through regional tournaments to be included in the 2012 Hong Kong Sevens, it is also a qualifying tournament for inclusion in the 2012–13 IRB Sevens World Series. After the Philippines won third place against South Korea in the 2012 Singapore Sevens Series, they gained qualification to the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow. The Philippines finished third at the 2018 Asia Rugby Sevens Series, and qualified to the 2019 Hong Kong Sevens World Series qualifier. At the tournament, the team defeated Zimbabwe and advanced to quarter-finals, where they lost to Asian rival Hong Kong.
The Ireland women's national rugby sevens team participates in international competitions such as the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the Rugby Europe Women's Sevens and Rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics. Unlike the Ireland women's national rugby union team, the sevens team is a professional team with players contracted to the Irish Rugby Football Union.
The 2012 Emirates Cup of Nations is the second Cup of Nations tournament to be hosted by the United Arab Emirates and will be again held at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai. This tournament acts as a year ending tournament for tier 3 teams from different continents and provides greater preparation for teams to play in their regional competitions.
Kenneth Mitchell Stern is a Filipino-American rugby union player for the Philippines national rugby union team, nicknamed the "Volcanoes". He had represented the Philippines in both rugby fifteens and sevens. His primary position is wing.
The Hong Kong national rugby league team represents Hong Kong in the sport of rugby league.
Christine Gordon is a Hong Kong rugby union player. She represented Hong Kong at the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup in Ireland, it was Hong Kong's first-ever World Cup appearance. She started in their game against New Zealand at Number 8.