At the age of 4 years girls can join one of Hong Kong's 19 mini rugby clubs. Here they will be introduced to the sport in a safe, fun and structured environment which takes them through an age grade pathway from modified touch rugby through to the contact form of hte game by the time they reach U9 level.  Initially boys and girls play in mixed teams, but from the U10 age group there is an option to play in all girls teams at the Mini Rugby Festivals.  

Upon reaching the age of 12, the girls graduate to Girls Youth rugby, which is divided into U14, U16 and U19 age groups.  the season lasts from September through to April and games are played in both 15-a-side, 10-a-side and 7-a-side formats.  There is also an active schools scene who play 7-a-side games in a structured league format.  

At the age of 18 girls can join a senior women's team playing in the adult domestic leagues.  There are currently two divisions, with one playing 15-a-side and the other 10-a-side.  For those who go on to further studies in Hong Kong, there are rugby clubs in 23 tertiary institutions playing 7s tournaments, and their first 15s match was held in 2009.

There are a number of representative teams and tournaments for the girls to aspire to as well.  The Standard Chartered New Year's Day Youth Tournament is an annual celebration of youth rugby at Hong Kong Football Club, with girls' "Island v Peninsula" matches at U14, U16 and U19 levels.  There is a Hong Kong National Under 18 15s team, who played in the world's first international 15s match at this age grade against Japan in 2010.

Youth Rugby Laws

Youth rugby XV and Sevens rugby in Hong Kong follow the iRB laws variations for youth rugby, which can be found at www.irb.com in both English and Chinese.

Local HK variations include:

Squeeze Ball - Law 14 and 15

No player involved in a match at any age level from under 19 downwards shall use in training or in a match the technique known or referred to as Squeeze ball.

Note: ''Squeeze ball'' is a technique where the ball carrier goes to ground, head forward (touching or close to the ground), irrespective of immediate contact with opponents) usually keeping parallel to the touchline, holding and protecting the ball close to the chest and, when on the ground, pushes the ball back between the legs.

Sanction: Penalty Kick

Match length

Match length in Youth XV rugby shall be

U14 – 25 minutes per half,

U16 – 30 minutes per half,

U19 – 35 minutes per half.

Match length for 10s shall be
 10 minutes per half

Substitutions

 Rolling substitutions are allowed

 Substitutions can only be made when the ball is dead

 Substituted players should only run on to the playing field from the half way line

 Referee's attention should be drawn to any substitution