Rugby union in Hong Kong

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Rugby union in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Sevens Parade.jpg
Opening Celebration of Hong Kong Sevens, 2008
CountryHong Kong
Governing body Hong Kong Rugby Football Union
National team(s) Hong Kong
Registered players7,142 [1]
Clubs57
National competitions
Club competitions

Rugby union in Hong Kong is long established, partly as a result of its being a British colony. Rugby union is one of the most popular sports in Hong Kong. In contrast to the People's Republic of China, it has had a continuous existence dating back over a hundred years, and is most notable for the Hong Kong Sevens tournament, the best known of the rugby sevens tournaments. The top domestic club competition is the HKRFU Premiership.

Contents

Governing Body

The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union was established in 1952, and joined the IRB in 1988. [2]

History

Rugby football has been played in Hong Kong for over a hundred and fifty years.

Hong Kong is best known for its development of rugby sevens, an abbreviated code from Melrose in the Scottish Borders. Naturally it became popular amongst other groups in the city, particularly other white ex-patriates. Hong Kong Football Club was established in 1886, and played its first game of rugby against a 'Garrison XV' the same year. Prior to that it is likely that ad hoc games were organised by businessmen, such as HSBC. British forces sides would also have been prominent.

Formal competition began in 1910-11 with a 'Triangular' tournament between HKFC, the Royal Navy and Army. This was expanded to a 'Quadrangular' in 1940 with the addition of a side from Hong Kong Police. After WWII the competition recommenced in 1947-48, becoming a 'Pentangular' in 1954 when the RAF joined in, and a year later a 'Hexangular' when the Army split their resources 'North and South'.

Nevertheless, the HKRFU decreed in 1957 that however many teams there might be in the top flight competition, it would be known as the 'Pentangular' - and so it remained until 1975 when a 'Division 1' championship was instigated following the founding of two new civilian clubs, Valley in 1975 and Kowloon in 1976 (having previously competed as YMCA from 1974).

In the late-1980s, the local Chinese began to participate more fully, with the establishment of a Police team of locals, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme (DEA) had a team as did a team of Japanese, Gai Wu. With the booming of the HK economy came more and more expatriates, in 1992 a team of expat old boys of King George V School formed Typhoons and Aberdeen RFC was established in 1993. In the same year a team, with many local players Causeway Bay RFC was established.

Women began playing full contact rugby in 1991, and a women's league, playing 7s, was set up in 1992. After a few seasons playing 10s, women's league is now full XV-a-side.

Rugby caught on slowly but surely with the local population, thanks to HKRFU's constantly improving development programme, and the fact that many more local Chinese had played whilst in overseas education, and simply because rugby has been widely recognised as an excellent game to play.

This fact is clear to see from the explosion of mini rugby in the local population since c.2000. Having previously been established by expat parents in 1979, the game expanded slowly through and the 1980s and became more and more attractive to local families as the 1990s went on. There are now rugby clubs in all parts of Hong Kong, and playing numbers are measure in thousands, if not tens of thousands.

The transfer of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China was not the total disaster for rugby there that some predicted. Since the handover, the Hong Kong Sevens continue to flourish, and there is increasing interest in the game within Mainland China as well.

Hong Kong Sevens

Because of the territory's small size, it was argued that rugby sevens would be more useful in promoting the game than 15-a-side.

The Hong Kong Sevens have proven a powerful missionary force in Asia, [2] allowing nations with small numbers of players to compete at a high level, and improve the standard of their game. Perhaps because of this high profile, Hong Kong was allowed to compete in the Asian Championship, a predecessor to the Asian Five Nations. [2]

Bill McLaren, in his autobiography Talking of Rugby writes at length about his Hong Kong Sevens experiences:

"I remember a big South Sea islander saying that, in his view, the Hong Kong sevens were really the Olympic Games of Rugby Union. Certainly, the Hong Kong event encapsulates all the really good things that the game has to offer —splendid organisation, wonderful sporting spirit, universal camaraderie, admirable field behaviour, the most enjoyable crowd participation, the chance for emergent rugby nations to lock horns with the mighty men of New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Wales, Scotland and the Barbarians. There is, too, scintillating running and handling which is what the game is supposed to be all about." [3]

The Hong Kong Sevens (Chinese: 香港國際七人欖球賽) is considered the premier tournament on the IRB Sevens World Series in rugby union. The tournament was set up in 1976, and attracted clubs from Asia and beyond, from Indonesia, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Japan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Fiji for the first tournament alone. It was held at the Hong Kong Football Club in Happy Valley. After an initial proposal was refused by the Rugby Football Union in England, the HKRFU changed focus and sent out invitations to Asian and Pacific sides.

The Rugby World Cup Sevens have been held twice in Hong Kong - see 1997 Rugby World Cup Sevens and 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens.

2013 British and Irish Lions Tour to Australia

The 2013 British and Irish Lions Tour to Australia started with a match against the Barbarians in Hong Kong. [4]

National team

Hong Kong has two 15-a-side teams - men's and women's

The men's team is a third tier rugby playing nation. They first played in 1952, the first local Chinese to be capped was Chan Fuk-ping in 1994. These days, HK players consist of a mixture of both Hong Kong Chinese, and Caucasian players, with some players being mixed race.

They have competed in the first Asian Five Nations recently.

HKRFU Premiership

The 6-team HKRFU Premiership is the top level of competition. The HKRFU Premiership A is the next rung down.

See also

Related Research Articles

The Hong Kong Sevens is a rugby sevens tournament held annually in Hong Kong on a weekend in late March or early April. Considered the premier tournament on the World Rugby Sevens Series competition, the Hong Kong Sevens is currently the seventh tournament on the World Series calendar. The tournament spans three days, beginning on a Friday and concluding on Sunday. The tournament is organised each year by the Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 respectively. The latest Hong Kong Rugby Sevens was held on Friday 31 March, Saturday 1, Sunday 2 April 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Rugby</span> International governing body of rugby union and its variants

World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competitions, such as the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the World Under 20 Championship, and the Pacific Nations Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby sevens</span> 7-a-side team sport, sub-code of rugby union

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens</span>

The 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens was held at Murrayfield in Edinburgh, Scotland, in April 1993. This tournament was the inaugural Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament. The International Rugby Board invited the established rugby union nations but also were keen to involve emerging nations in the event, recognising the fact that Sevens was providing the bridge between the developed rugby nations and those whose rugby union traditions were less well established.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hong Kong national rugby union team</span> Korean rugby mens team

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby union in Fiji</span>

Rugby union in Fiji is a popular team sport and is considered to be the national sport of the country. The sport was introduced to Fiji in the 1880s. Fiji is defined as a tier two rugby nation by World Rugby. The national team has competed at the Rugby World Cup and made it as far as the quarter-finals. Their sevens team is also noted for their success, winning multiple Olympic gold medals, World Rugby Sevens Series and Rugby World Cup Sevens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Singapore national rugby union team</span>

The Singapore national rugby union team has yet to make its debut at the Rugby World Cup, though since the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Singapore have been participating in qualification competitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian rules football in China</span>

Australian rules football in China has been played since the 1989 and grew in popularity in the 2010s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's rugby union</span>

Women's rugby union is a full contact team sport based on running with the ball in hand. The same laws are used in men's rugby union with the same sized pitch and same equipment. Women's rugby has become popular recently. These days, women's rugby is gaining a higher profile thanks to international tournaments' exposure and financial investment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby union in Portugal</span>

Rugby union in Portugal is a very prevalent sport, though still a long distance from association football. The sport is essentially amateur in Portugal, with some professionalisation in its top flight league and the national rugby union team. The rugby union teams in Portugal are mostly university sides, from Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra, with multi-sport clubs like Benfica and Belenenses having rugby union collectivities.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lanka Sevens</span>

The Sri Lanka Sevens is an annual international rugby sevens tournament held in Sri Lanka. Sponsored by telecommunications provider Dialog, the event has been part of the Asian Sevens Series since 2015. It was founded in 1999 as the Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7s.

Rugby union in Indonesia is a minor but growing sport, dating back several decades, and which has experienced fluctuations in its success. There are currently just under six hundred registered players in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby union in Sri Lanka</span>

Rugby union in Sri Lanka is mainly played at a semi-professional and recreational level. It is a popular team sport with a history dating back to 1879. In 2012, according to International Rugby Board figures, there were over 160,000 registered rugby union players in Sri Lanka, making it the second largest rugby-playing nation in Asia, behind Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby union in Malaysia</span>

Rugby union in Malaysia is a sport with a long history, and a significant participation. There are 41,050 registered players, and the country is currently ranked 47th. There are sixteen unions, associations and councils affiliated to the Malaysian Rugby Union, more than 300 clubs, and 600 schools which teach the game. Malaysian rugby's most notable contribution to the game at large is the invention of rugby tens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby union in Singapore</span> Rugby in Singapore

Rugby union is not a major sport in Singapore. Singapore is currently ranked 58th in the world and 6th in Asia. As of February 2015, there over 12,000 registered players, with more than 2,000 women playing the sport. There are also 15 formally organised clubs with 4 registered Women's sides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby union in Taiwan</span>

Rugby union in Taiwan is a significant sport. For political reasons, they compete as Chinese Taipei. They are currently ranked 61st, and have 3040 registered players.

Rugby union in Thailand is a significant sport. They are currently ranked 60th, with 16,121 registered players.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hong Kong Scottish</span> Rugby football club

Hong Kong Scottish is a rugby football club in Hong Kong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rowan Varty</span> Hong Kong international rugby union player

Rowan Varty is a British-born Hong Kong rugby union player. He plays for the Hong Kong Cricket Club in the HKRFU Premiership. Rowan has also captained the Hong Kong national rugby union team, Hong Kong Sevens team and been selected to play for Barbarians. His sister Lindsay represents Hong Kong in rugby sevens women's team.

References

  1. ↑ "International Rugby Board - HONG KONG". Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  2. 1 2 3 Bath, Richard (ed.) The Complete Book of Rugby (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ISBN   1-86200-013-1) pp 67, 68
  3. ↑ McLaren, Bill Talking of Rugby (1991, Stanley Paul, London ISBN   0-09-173875-X), p 166
  4. ↑ "Lions line up match in Hong Kong". BBC News. 18 October 2010.
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