Robbie Fergusson, who retired from Team GB 7s following the Olympic Repechage in June, has joined the Hong Kong China 7s coaching team ahead of the 2024/25 season.

An illustrious career saw Fergusson play for Scotland 7s and Great Britain 7s, competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 and two Commonwealth Games, while also collecting 50 HSBC World Sevens Series caps including captaining Great Britain on the HSBC SVNS Series for the last two years.

Hong Kong China 7s Head Coach Paul John was delighted to be able to bring a new face into the coaching setup, commenting:

“Robbie brings us a wealth of knowledge and experience in playing international sevens and of the modern game, something that gives everyone a chance to keep learning. He started his coaching with GB Women’s 7s while still playing, so he is used to balancing his schedule and working hard.

Fergusson spoke of his excitement at the chance to join the representative sevens full-time programme, which is supported by the Hong Kong Sports Institute:

“Earlier this year I had started to think about life after rugby, knowing that I wanted to finish this summer. When I was playing at the Hong Kong Sevens in April, I had a few chats with the coaching staff and got a feel for the place, and then when the role came up I decided to give it a shot.

“I believe that sevens is in a real stage of transition around the world right now, and I feel this full-time model is the best one moving forwards. The coaching squad here are young and enthusiastic so I think it will be a brilliant environment for me to learn in as well.”

After arriving in Hong Kong two weeks ago, Fergusson is already taking sessions with both the men’s and women’s Hong Kong China 7s squads. John continued:

“Robbie is settling in well and has been a good addition to the squad so far. The players will always respect high-profile figures within the game, so they are responding to him and it’s nice for them to have another voice. It will be a bit of a baptism of fire for him to move straight into our tournaments over the next month, but judging the type of character he is, I think he will thrive.”

After some initial time on the coaching field, Fergusson also shared his first impressions of the two playing groups:

“I think our men's squad is in a brilliant spot at the moment and just seem ready to play. At Team GB, we previewed them heading into Monaco for the Olympic Repechage and were genuinely worried about the firepower they had. I think that belief will be a huge factor this season. 

“Our women’s squad are at a stage where if we can really focus on executing our skills through the Asia Rugby Sevens Series then we will be in a good spot, as we have a lot of talented individuals and just need to put it all together.”

Fergusson will support Women’s Head Coach Andy Vilk in preparing the girls for their Asia Rugby Sevens Series, with Men’s Head Coach Jevon Groves and Peter Jericevich (PJ) preparing the boys for their campaign. John added:

“I think it's important that coaches work across the men’s and women’s teams because it keeps things fresh and lets ideas flow through a busy schedule each week. As we get near to a competition, we split the coaches to give everyone a chance to do the analysis they need on their games and the opposition they're going to play against.”

Hong Kong China Men’s and Women’s 7s will head to Incheon, Korea, for the first leg of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series on 7-8 September. A squad announcement will follow.

Saturday 7 September

Hong Kong China Men vs Singapore – 11:15 local (10:15 HKT)

Hong Kong China Women vs Singapore – 12:30 local (11:30 HKT)

Hong Kong China Men vs Korea – 14:35 local (13:35 HKT)

Hong Kong China Women vs Malaysia – 15:50 local (14:50 HKT)

Hong Kong China Men vs UAE – 17:55 local (16:55 HKT)

China vs Hong Kong China Women – 19:35 local (18:35 HKT)

Sunday 8 September

Play-off schedules TBD