HONG KONG CHINA RUGBY CONFIRM APPOINTMENTS FOR NEW WOMEN'S CLUB COACHING OFFICERS

Hong Kong China Rugby (HKCR) has confirmed a line-up of Women’s Club Coaching Officers (CCOs) ahead of the start of the 2024/25 Nan Fung Group | AIRSIDE Women’s Premiership season.

The newly appointed roles represent a significant investment to grow the women’s game in Hong Kong. This comes as the Women’s Premiership expands to seven teams for the 2024/25 season thanks to the promotion of HKU Sandy Bay Storm from the Championship. SCAA Causeway Bay Phoenix have also partnered with Championship side KPMG HK Scottish Kukris to form SCAA Causeway Bay Scottish for the new season. 

The additional resource also comes as Hong Kong China Women’s 15s are set to start their WXV3 campaign in Dubai this weekend, hoping to qualify for the Rugby World Cup 2025 in England next summer. 

Hong Kong China Women’s Programme Lead, Royce Chan, spoke of the impact the CCOs can have on the women’s game in Hong Kong:

“HKCR’s investment into these new hires allows us to supercharge the growth of the women’s game, which was always a big ask when coaches were only working part time. It is a significant and positive move for us as a union, and one that means we are dedicated to advancing the development of women’s 15s rugby in Asia through our exciting Premiership league.

“I think everyone is really eager to see the impact this will have on the Women's Premiership this year, particularly as the league expands to more teams and more games.”

The coaching structure in place now mirrors the Men’s Premiership, with CCOs set to take on coaching roles within Hong Kong China representative teams alongside their club commitments. Royce spoke about the mix of coaches who had been recruited into the roles, adding:

“We have an interesting variety of expertise among our CCOs, showcasing how special the rugby community is in Hong Kong and giving us an exciting and quality group of coaches from Hong Kong as well as overseas to step up into these roles. With their knowledge and experience, we are looking forward to seeing how they can elevate the game in Hong Kong.”

Bella Milo, who has been appointed as Women’s CCO for 2023/24 Grand Final Winners Societe Generalle Valley RFC, talked about her enthusiasm for the new role:

“I arrived in Hong Kong in 2015, initially as a player before moving into coaching. The Women’s CCO role is a dream job for me, not only to be a full-time women's coach but also to do that with the club that brought me over and where I have such strong connections.”

Preparations for all women’s teams are well underway for the season ahead, with Bella also reflecting on Valley’s off-season work: 

“We've held two summer programmes, which have been quite successful in bringing in around 20 new players. I want to deliver good coaching sessions, keep players working off the field, and also help them become invested in the club through our history and connecting with former players.”

Marlize Van Der Merwe, who is the Women’s CCO at HKU Sandy Bay Storm, steps into the CCO role after working with the team during last season’s promotion-winning Championship campaign:

“When I arrived (in 2023) we had a great social side to the club and the aim was to try and get into the Premiership. This role gives us a great opportunity to carry on what we started last year and to continue to build a high-performance environment.”

As well as being coaching rivals on a Saturday, Women’s CCOs will work together to share best practices and collaborate on areas including recruitment, player development and strength and conditioning. Marlize continued:

“This is really exciting for all of the CCOs. We have already spent time with Royce Chan and Andrew Douglas this week to discuss the ways we can close the gap between club rugby and representative rugby, and how we can work together to bring our players up to the next level.”

FULL LIST OF WOMEN’S CCOS

• Society Generale Valley RFC – Bella Milo, former Samoa 15s and 7s player who competed at the 2006 and 2014 Rugby World Cups
• Kroll USRC Tigers RFC – Conor Joyce, former player for Ulster Rugby and Jersey Reds RFC, and former Head Coach of Jersey Reds RFC Women
• DLA Piper Kowloon Rugby Club – Terry Sibanda, former Age Grade Coach at HKCR and Head of Women’s Rugby at Kowloon RFC 
• Gai Wu Falcons – Tumua Ioane, former Director of Rugby with Dunedin RFC and Coach Developer at Otago & New Zealand Rugby 
• SCCA Causeway Bay Scottish – Kevin Moggridge, former Forwards Coach for England Women’s U20s, Head Coach of Sweden Ladies and Head Coach at Walcot RFC
• HKU Sandy Bay Storm – Marlize Van Der Merwe, former Springboks 15s and 7s player and World Rugby panel referee 
• Hong Kong Football Club – Hannah Edwards was recently hired as Asia’s first Head of Women’s Rugby. Hannah previously worked for England Rugby, coaching within the women’s pathway and delivering as part of the National Coach Development Team. This followed a playing career that saw her represent Wasps 175 times in the Women’s Premiership. Hong Kong Football Club will shortly commence the recruitment of a Women’s CCO who will report into Hannah – with the role being advertised at hkrugby.com/about-hkcr/career