HONG KONG CHINA DRAGONS XVS READY TO ROAR IN SINGAPORE

Hong Kong China Rugby’s (HKCR) men’s and women’s senior development XVs squads - the Hong Kong China Dragons - are set to face off with their Singapore Select development team counterparts on 20 June in the Lion City.

The women will play Singapore on Saturday at 16.00 (Singapore time) with the Men’s tie immediately following at 18.15.  

This is the first international tour for the Hong Kong China Dragons Women’s XV, whose head coach is HKCR Hall of Fame representative Royce Chan Leong Sze, an ex-captain for Hong Kong China at both sevens and fifteens rugby. It is also the first occasion that the official women’s development programmes of Hong Kong China Rugby and Singapore Rugby Union have ever played each other.

With the players coming from the HKCR domestic leagues, the Dragons season started with trials in April with the squads in training since May.  The off-season preparation has been intense with both programmes’ players balancing full-time work or school commitments with their rugby.

Royce Chan, Hong Kong China Rugby Dragons Head Coach and one of Hong Kong China Rugby’s consummate professional athletes in her time, was pleased with the response from the Dragons Women’s players.  

“The squad has shown immense character, buying into our structured Strength and Conditioning programs and committing to early Sunday morning training sessions. Their work ethic in the buildup has been great.” 

Prior to departing for Singapore, the squad played a training match against the HKCR U23 women’s squad.  The two teams will meet again in Hong Kong on 4 July when they headline a day-long celebration of women’s rugby at Hong Kong Football Club.

Chan believes her team is ready to take maximum value from the experience of their debut international tour, and that includes five new coaches she has included in the group to Singapore, including HKCR XVs representative Lee Ka Shun.

“The primary goal is to provide both players and management with a positive, meaningful experience of what representative rugby entails. It is about learning to train, coach, and execute under pressure, and navigating a challenging performance environment. 

“Given that most of the players come from HKCR Premiership A or community club backgrounds, and our coaching staff are stepping up from assistant coaching roles in their local clubs, this tour is a safe but challenging environment to accelerate their growth.

“The coaching staff are showing tremendous potential. This tour is just as much about their pathway as it is for the players. The objective is to give them a platform to transfer their club playing and coaching experience into a representative environment, learning how to manage a squad on tour and developing their leadership for the long-term benefit of Hong Kong rugby,” Chan, who has also coached the Hong Kong Women’s XV previously, added.

While the women will be facing their first international competition as Dragons, it will be the second meeting between the Men’s Dragons and the Singapore Development XV, after a first tour last season.

Another HKCR Hall of Famer, Salom Yiu Kam-Shing, the SAR’s most capped sevens player, is leading the men’s Dragons programme as Hong Kong’s rugby legends turn to growing the game in their post-playing careers. 

Yiu is confident the team is returning even better prepared one year on:

“Last year the squad we sent to Singapore was made up of young players and several senior members. Although the result was not ideal, the experience was very important for the players’ development.”

“We have retained several core players from last year, while also adding some new faces. Overall, we have improved in terms of our experience, tactics, and fitness. The players also have a deeper understanding of our game plan, so we believe the team is stronger compared to last year.

“Against Singapore, we are expecting a more mature performance, and improvement in both execution and discipline, and we aim for better results. The players’ attitude has been very positive, and the team spirit is strong. We are satisfied with our current level of preparation,” Said Coach Yiu.

“Most importantly, it is about gaining valuable international experience for the players.

The Men’s Dragons will be without one of their stars from last year’s tour in young scrumhalf Eric Chiu Wai Lap, who vaulted from the Dragons into a role as one of three dozen professionally contacted players in the city’s Rugby World Cup training squad - a career trajectory that others will be hoping to follow.

That kind of potential underscores the need for programmes like Dragons which identify young and predominantly local players from lower league rugby to accelerate their development and push them up the ranks and hopefully to Hong Kong China Rugby representative level.

While Eric Chiu is now with the Rugby World Cup squad that has departed for a month long tour playing in New Zealand and in the World Rugby Nations Cup in South America, the Dragons can look to players like Billy Ng, Siu Lung who was capped for Hong Kong China for the first time in the Asia Rugby Championship in May and June, scoring the last-second, game-winning try on his debut against Sri Lanka in May.

“This group of players has great potential with some strong leaders including a couple of guys training with the Asia Rugby Championship squad, Ng Siu Lung and Yum Ka Chun. They are young, energetic, and willing to learn. If they stay focused and continue improving, I believe they can achieve even greater things for HKCR in the future. This competition is an excellent opportunity for their growth,” added Yiu. 

The matches will be live streamed on the Singapore Rugby YouTube channel at:  https://www.youtube.com/@SingaporeRugby

SQUADS

Women’s Dragons:

Players 

Team Management 

Head Coach: CHAN Leong Sze, Royce

Team Manager: CHENG Tsz Ting Candy

Coach: CHAN Ho Ting

Coach: IOANE Tumua

Coach: LAI Pou Fan

Coach: LEE Ka Shun

Coach: TSANG Sin Yan

Coach: WONG Sze Nga          

Lead S&C Coach: ROSZYNSKI Katrina

S&C Coach: CHAN Hoi Ling Miko

Team Medic: LAM Sin Tung Yuri

Men’s Dragon's:

Players 

Team Management 

Head Coach: LAI Yiu Pang Sailo

Team Manager: Renee FUNG

Coach: NG Wai Keung Kenny

Coach: Sam HOCKING

Coach: FUNG Kai Hang          

S&C Coach: Nelson TSANG

Physiotherapist: Hugh EVERSON

Sports Therapist: Geoff LEE