SEND OFF IN STYLE – HONG KONG CHINA WOMEN HEAD TO WXV3

Hong Kong China Women’s XVs headed to Dubai on Sunday ahead of the WXV3 tournament and their chance to qualify for the 2025 Rugby World Cup. On Saturday morning, HKCR management, staff, family and friends joined the team for a send off event at Hong Kong Football Club.

Hong Kong China Rugby CEO, James Farndon, spoke at the event to pass on a message of support:

“It was a pleasure to welcome family and friends of our women’s squad to today’s send off. This gave us a chance to recognise the important role they play in the journey that all players go on to make it to this level. 

“The event also gave us a chance to celebrate the squad's achievements to date and, on behalf of the entire rugby community in Hong Kong, to wish the squad all the very best in Dubai.”

The squad has been working hard over the summer in preparation for WXV3, with HKCR Head of Women’s Performance Royce Chan saying:

“We can feel excitement building in the group. When we train we know that some nerves are there, but that will be the same for all teams preparing for a big competition like this.

“We have five possible new caps now fully settled in. It’s also great to have the sevens girls after leg 1 of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series. They were able to win the silver medal, and it has been brilliant for them to inject that energy into the 15s group.”

HKCR Head of Technical Rugby Andrew Douglas, who has joined the women’s group as Head Coach for the WXV3 campaign, reflected on the preparations on home soil: 

“The girls are a great group who are really easy to work with. They're keen to learn, and they're very coachable. They have all been working really hard in long training sessions and early morning starts, and they've responded really well to the challenge.”

Hong Kong China Women qualified for the World Cup in 2017, and Douglas also spoke about what it would mean for the group to return to the very top of the international game:

“If we can market the team appearing at a World Cup, then that can be really pushed through the schools and the clubs. People will get excited about seeing the team on TV and on social media, and that grows the fanbase and the number of people who play the game.

“The other factor is that I think these players deserve it. They've all worked really hard, and it would be great to see this group go all the way through to a World Cup.”

Linda Olson-Thorne, whose daughter Natasha is set to play in her second World Cup, and who made history scoring the sides first try in the 2017 tournament, gave her thoughts ahead of the team’s departure:

“I feel immensely proud of their hard work and of the progress they have made as individuals and as a team. There are many women working full time outside of rugby, some of whom will have taken unpaid leave for this tour, which is a great commitment to wearing the Hong Kong China jersey.”

“Beating Fiji to qualify for the World Cup in 2017 was a major accomplishment for our first representative team to play at a World Cup. To overcome the pandemic and return with more media coverage, a bigger squad, further coaching support and better preparation is great to see. The group is now full of role models, and the saying "if she can see it, she can be it" has never sounded truer.”

Hong Kong China 15s Captain Pun Wai Yan, who was part of the 2017 squad, added:

“When I went to a World Cup in 2017 I was a junior player. Now is a brand new challenge for me as the captain and a leader in the group, and I’m proud to get the chance to bring a new group to a World Cup.

“The whole squad has been together for quite a long time now, so we can’t wait to see what will happen and what our chemistry can bring to the tour. If we play our best, we perform the skills we have on the pitch, then we can produce really good results.”

The team will be away for a month, playing three group matches which will determine which two teams will join already qualified Fiji at the Rugby World Cup 2025. Hong Kong China will face Fiji, Madagascar and the Netherlands, with Spain and Samoa completing the tournament line-up. Chan discussed the schedule and demands it places on the group:

“Our management team has mapped out the work and rest ratio, with input from our player leadership group on what we should be doing during the rest time, which will be equally important. We don’t normally spend this length of time together, so we have to enjoy the time when we are in Dubai and the time as a team.” 

Hong Kong China forward Chloe Baltazar, who stars for the 7s and 15s, looked back on her tournament buildup:

“I think our preparations have been going really well. The girls are now all set not only on conditioning, but also putting the hours in on our analysis and tactics. It will be really good to see how the girls go against such competitive sides and seeing how we link together as a group to compete against these teams as well.”

Chloe’s sister Micayla, who also plays representative 7s and 15s, looked back on the work that has gone in, and what could lie ahead for the team: 

“These past few months have definitely really challenged the girls, and we've all worked together to take us to another level in training. I think we're now in a really good position both physically and mentally. We're really excited to showcase what we've been doing these past few months and looking forward to our opportunity to compete and to try and qualify for the World Cup.”

Hong Kong China WXV3 Fixtures: The Sevens Stadium, Pitch 2, Dubai

• Saturday 28 September, 18:00 local (22:00 HKT) – Fiji vs Hong Kong China
• Friday 4 October, 19:00 local (23:00 HKT) – Madagascar vs Hong Kong China
• Saturday 12 October, 18:00 local (22:00 HKT) – Netherlands vs Hong Kong China

At this stage, all Hong Kong China matches will be available to view on RugbyPass TV, pending final confirmation from World Rugby. All WXV3 fixtures are FREE for fans to attend in person – you can simply arrive on the day without the need to prepurchase a ticket.  

Hong Kong China WXV Full Squad

Front Row: LAU Nga Wun, TSANG Hoi Laam, CHAN Hiu Tung, Kea HEREWINI, LEE Ka Shun, Tanya DHAR, GOT Yuei-Tein Fion, LEUNG Choi See; Second Row: Chloe BALTAZAR, Morena GRIERSON*, Roshini TURNER, CHOW Mei Nam; Back Row: CHAN Tsz Ching, Micyala BALTAZAR, PUN Wai Yan, Shanna FORREST, SO Karen Hoi Ting; Scrum-halves: AU King To, HO Jessica Wai On, WAN Tsz Yau; Fly-halves: Georgia RIVERS, FUNG Hoi Ching; Centres: Natasha OLSON-THORNE, Gabriella RIVERS, Lucia BOLTON*; Outside Backs: CHONG Ka Yan, Zoe SMITH, Sabay LYNAM, UEMATSU Haruka*, SHEK Ching Yi*

*Potential Debut

Hong Kong China Team Management

Royce CHAN - Programme Lead
Andrew DOUGLAS - Head Coach
Samuel BEARD - Assistant Coach
Lewis WILSON - Assistant Coach
Ian BONNET - S&C Coach
Peter NUGENT - S&C Coach
Sophie RAINE - Physiotherapist
Jonny MOSES - Physiotherapist
Jake MARTIN - Analyst
Dora KWOK - Team Manager