Having players as full-time athletes at the Sports Institute has changed the face of women's rugby in Hong Kong. Photo: Nora Tam
The benefits of becoming a full-time athlete at the Hong Kong Sports Institute are already paying off for women's rugby with Hong Kong now proving a serious challenger to Asian powerhouse China.
With 12 full-time athletes on the cards at the elite training academy, the Hong Kong women have twice gone down narrowly to China, losing with the last try of the match at the Shanghai Sevens, giving rise to expectations of an Asian Games medal in Incheon, South Korea, next year.
"If this is the progress the girls have made in just three months [since becoming full-time athletes], I can't wait to see what it will be like 10 months down the line when we take part at the Asian Games. The potential is there for a medal and these are exciting times," said women's sevens coach Kane Jury.
These results are extremely encouraging and is proof the elite programme at the Sports Institute is working
China defeated Hong Kong 19-14 in Shanghai before going on to overcome Japan in the Cup final. In September, at the first leg of the HSBC Women's Sevens Series in Thailand, China beat Hong Kong 17-12 thanks to a golden try in extra time.
"These results are extremely encouraging and is proof the elite programme at the Sports Institute is working," Jury said. "The fact that the girls are now doing four skill sessions a week, including intensive gym sessions where the focus is on strength conditioning, is paying off."
Rugby sevens, men and women, became an elite sport in April but the programme only came fully on board in August. There are 12 full-time and seven part-time athletes in the women's programme with the full-time numbers to increase further in November.
"This programme has changed the face of women's rugby. For the first time I face a difficult time in selecting a squad for our next tournament, in India in a fortnight, and will be forced to leave a lot of good players behind. This is due to the increased competition for places," Jury said. "While our short-term goal is to finish the Women's Sevens Series [in Pune, India] with a top-two finish, our eyes are on winning a medal at next year's Asian Games."
Four years ago, Hong Kong lost the bronze medal match to Thailand under controversial circumstances when they were denied the chance of taking a conversion in front of the posts with the scores level at full time as the referee said the goal-kicker had used up the time allotted to take a kick. Thailand went on to win the match in sudden death.
Hong Kong won the Bowl competition in Shanghai, defeating Papua New Guinea 27-10.
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