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South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong make change of head coach, 6 weeks after qualifying for 2027 Rugby World Cup
Little more than six weeks after qualifying for a men's Rugby World Cup for the first time, Hong Kong have changed their head coach. After leading the city's successful Asia Ruby Championship campaign to reach the 2027 tournament in Australia, Andrew Douglas is to focus on his role as head of technical rugby, with assistant Logan Asplin making the step up. Douglas had been juggling both positions since being appointed in 2023, but will now take on an expanded role that includes overseeing a new full-time men's programme. Alongside Asplin's promotion, Lewis Evans will stay as assistant coach, while Hong Kong China Rugby are working on recruiting a new scrum coach to replace Alex Allan, who has returned to the UK. 'Logan played a key role in the Asia Rugby Men's Championship campaign as a coach, driving our attack and instilling an expansive style of play. He is widely respected by the coaching staff, playing group and across the rugby community in Hong Kong,' Douglas said. Andrew Douglas will step away to focus on his job as head of technical rugby. Photo: Jonathan Wong 'I believe this move is a natural progression for Logan and also a testament to the pathway that exists for coaches coming into rugby in Hong Kong. He will bring great energy and enthusiasm to his new role, and we all look forward to seeing him coaching at the World Cup.'
HKFP
07-07-2025
- Sport
- HKFP
Hong Kong China qualifies for the Men's Rugby World Cup 2027
Hong Kong China have qualified for the Men's Rugby World Cup 2027 for the first time, following their 70-22 win over Korea on Saturday. Hong Kong also made history as only the second Asian team, after Japan, to qualify for the tournament according to a statement released by World Rugby. 'There has been an enormous commitment from the team over the last 12 months to best prepare. The team travelled to Chile, Paraguay and Brazil last summer, hosted Brazil twice in November, completed a full domestic rugby season, then held pre-tournament camps in Australia and Japan,' said Head Coach Andrew Douglas following the Asia Rugby Emirates Championship victory, the statement said. The Asia Rugby title granted the team an automatic qualification for the tournament taking place in Australia in October, 2027. The team, currently ranked 23rd in the World Rugby Men's Rankings, won their sixth consecutive champions trophy at the Incheon contest on Saturday. Chris Brooke, chair of Hong Kong China Rugby, congratulated the team on their achievement: 'We have always said that potential Rugby World Cup qualification marked a huge opportunity for the four teams competing in this tournament, and indeed for rugby in Asia as a whole – and we are very proud to be joining Japan as a second Asian team at a Men's Rugby World Cup,' 'Qualifying for a Men's World Cup is a historic moment that will act as a further catalyst for growth at all levels of the game,' he added, according to the press statement.
South China Morning Post
02-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Sevens' financial future at stake, changes necessary for Olympics
World Rugby said the changes to its sevens competition were designed to secure the sport's financial future and grow its global reach ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Advertisement Confirming it was slashing the number of teams in the World Series from 12 to eight, and installing a six-team second division, the sport's governing body also said regular tournaments would be cut from three days to just two. There was no word, however, on the format for the new World Championship Series, which will be played over three events and include the 12 best men's and women's teams. In its statement, rugby bosses said they would launch a 'global host tender process' this month. 'The Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens is a globally renowned, iconic event for rugby sevens fans and we are committed to supporting World Rugby in delivering a sustainable and exciting new model of SVNS,' Hong Kong China Rugby said in a statement. 'Further details and event dates will be announced in due course.' The Rugby Sevens structure for 2026 A stand-alone Challenger event, which the new structure suggests will take place before the start of the second-tier competition, would continue to provide a pathway for lesser sides to progress, World Rugby said.
South China Morning Post
03-04-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong Sevens delivers a winner in Kai Tak stadium
Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at [email protected] or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification Advertisement The Rugby Sevens has proven the new stadium at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Sports Park to be a great venue. Hats off to all involved in the stadium development on operations – the stadium project team, the organiser Hong Kong China Rugby, the government, the police and everyone else who have contributed to the redevelopment of Kai Tak, the stadium and the event. As members of the Harbourfront Commission, I and others have been kept abreast of the metamorphosis of the Kai Tak Airport since 2004. Twenty-one years later, and before entering the stadium for the Sevens, I spent time walking around the neighbourhood. On my way back, I enjoyed watching from the promenade the Cathay Pacific plane flying over the harbour in a surprise fly-past. I look forward to the gradual completion of the ongoing construction projects enhancing the vitality of the area. Inside, I wandered around to as many areas as possible – the corporate suites, through the drunken south stand, the general corridors and the many staircases. The stadium is well designed with ample room to manoeuvre at full capacity. There was some confusion over electronically locked doors, and concerns over sound quality, especially at the higher seats. I'm sure the stadium team has a list of adjustments to make. Advertisement The test events ensured the stadium, transport and police were synchronised. Catering to the food cravings of the tens of thousands of attendees for the Rugby Sevens – 110,000 visits were recorded in total across the three days – could only have been tested during the actual event. The team will surely be even better prepared next year. In short, bravo and congratulations. The new stadium is a very good facility to support Hong Kong's ambitions for events.
South China Morning Post
31-03-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Greenpeace urge Hong Kong's Kai Tak Sports Park to improve sustainability
The three-day Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament generated about 860,000 disposable items after spectators were banned from bringing their own reusable containers, according to Greenpeace. Advertisement It left the green group, on Monday, once again urging Kai Tak Sports Park to reinstall a reusable cup system that had been in place for the annual tournament in 2019, 2023 and 2024 before it was scrapped this year, for its long-term sustainability development. The group said the operator should kick-start the system as soon as possible, with the newly open stadium expected to host at least 40 more large-scale events a year. 'Otherwise, the more mega-events the park hosts, the bigger the snowball will be. More and more disposable tableware would be produced [after each event], and that would fundamentally violate the park's goal in sustainability,' Greenpeace campaigner Leanne Tam Wing-lam said. Lam said the group learnt that the sport's governing body Hong Kong China Rugby tried to negotiate with the park to bring back the initiative this year, but to no avail. Advertisement Jamie Farndale, Hong Kong China Rugby's general manager of club development and sustainability told the Post on Monday that green cups 'could indeed become a viable option' for the park when it became more established and had gained insights into event frequency and cup reuse. 'However, given that this was the first event and Kai Tak's primary focus was on getting operations under way, we strongly encouraged them to utilise fully compostable packaging, ensuring that organic material was collected and processed correctly through their on-site composter,' Farndale said.
