WOMEN'S XVs LOOK AHEAD TO ASIA RUGBY EMIRATES CHAMPIONSHIP AND CONFIRM SQUAD

Hong Kong China Women’s XVs Excited For New Chapter At 2025 Asia Rugby Emirates Women’s Championship in Japan

Hong Kong China Women will face Kazakhstan and Japan in Fukuoka for the 2025 edition of the Asia Rugby Emirates Women’s Championship, with two games over the space of a few days on Tuesday 20 and Sunday 25 May, respectively. A 28-player travelling squad has now been announced, with kick-off times and streaming links confirmed in due course.

Team Management: 

Royce CHAN (Programme Lead)
Lewis WILSON (Head Coach) 
Tumua IOANE (Coach) 
Conor JOYCE (Coach) 
Bella MILO (Coach) 
Kevin MOGGRIDGE (Coach)
Ian BONNET (S&C Coach) 
Jake MARTIN (Analyst) 
Sophie RAINE (Physiotherapist) 
Suzzen CHONG (Sports Rehabilitator) 
Dora KWOK (Team Manager) 

Players:

Front Row: Tanya DHAR, GOT Yuei-Tein Fion, Kea HEREWINI, LAM Tim Yeung Iris, LAU Nga Wun, LEE Ka Shun, LEUNG Wing Yi Vincci, NG Ki Sum
Second Row: Chloe BALTAZAR, CHOW Mei Nam, Naomi PEETERS*, Roshini TURNER
Back Row: AU YUENG Sin Yi, Shanna FORREST, PUN Wai Yan ©, SIU Wing Ni Winnie
Scrum Halves: AU King To, WAN Tsz Yau
Fly Halves: LEE Tsz Ting, LO Wing Yin
Centres: Abigail CHAN, Grace HOOD, Qian Jiayu
Outside Backs: CHONG Ka Yan, Zoe SMITH, Jessica EDEN, POON Hoi Yan, Haruka UEMATSU
*Potential debut

Tournament Preview:

Lewis Wilson has stepped into the interim role as Hong Kong China Women’s Head Coach while HKCR recruits for a new full-time role. Working alongside Women's Performance Lead Royce Chan, a new-look coaching staff has been appointed, which consists of the domestic Women’s Club Coaching Officers (WCCOs), while Pun Wai-yan (PY) is set to captain the team as they head to Japan for the Championship.

Lewis has been in the HKCR coaching setup for the past couple of seasons, both as a Men’s Club Coaching Officer at Kowloon Rugby Club and with the representative women’s team. He took on the role of their forwards coach at last summer's Asia Rugby Women’s Championship and at WXV3 in Dubai later in the year.

He said about being in the Head Coach role, “I am honestly privileged to work with this team. As a group, the girls are outstanding, and I love working with them. They're also pretty inspirational, balancing their off-field work commitments with the on-field stuff, and I am personally grateful for the opportunity to lead them into this championship.”

PY again has the captain’s responsibility and will lead a 28-player squad, which was cut down from the 35 that were initially training in preparation for the ARWC. One potential debutant will travel, Naomi Peeters, alongside six players with five caps or fewer.

Of the new coaching team, Lewis Wilson said, “It's a brand new on-field coaching team, which is exciting. They're the CCO group, so they are the head coaches of their respective women’s clubs. That means it has been a really easy transition, as they see the girls day in and day out. Royce Chan has also been massively supportive and a key supporting person for me. She has years of experience working with the group and has been a big help throughout.”

For himself, he added, “My focus has always been developing the players as much as we can and supporting the group on and off the field as much as we can as a coaching group. My only priority at the moment is getting the girls best prepared for these two upcoming test matches, and that's all I can do.”

Highly Competitive Squad Selection As Player Pool Expands

Wilson confirmed that the wider group has already had more than 25 sessions together, before making the tough choice to select 28 from the group of 35, with five uncapped players initially involved.

Of the team captain, Pun Wai-yan, Wilson explained, “She is outstanding. The stuff she does on the field and off the field is amazing. She's extremely inspiring and a role model for not only me and the coaching group, but also for every female who plays or is thinking about playing in Hong Kong. She's a credit to Hong Kong China.”

PY said of the changes for this championship, “We have got a quite different squad, but the mix of some senior players as well as new players, means I am excited to play. It is a new environment, and we have had to help the new players adjust to the standards and intensity of the representative team. 

“My captain's role is to bring the intensity and the focus during training and help everyone fit in and adapt. It is about finding that balance, but I have seen a lot of improvement and progression over these recent weeks.”

Some experienced players are being rested or miss out due to studies or recovering from injury, which means it's a prime opportunity to give new players a taste of the international test environment.

The Head Coach explained, “That player pool is expanding. The competition is getting bigger and bigger for spots. Some key names from previous campaigns are missing, but there's some really exciting talent in the group. I've really enjoyed seeing our uncapped players as well. That competition is exactly what we need to push us forward to chase that World Cup dream in 2029.

“The girls have been committed. We also had a domestic camp, which gave us a really good opportunity to spend some time with the girls off-field. It accelerates learning.” 

PY agreed that the coaching group has brought a lot of energy, and they have focused on the on-field and off-field environment to ensure they are bonding. She is adamant that the group still wants to go out to Japan and deliver performances they can be proud of. “We are still looking for good performances, as we cannot say we are looking at development and rebuilding but then don't deliver the performance. I don't want to mention results, but I hope we play well and the results will follow. We need to focus on how we play our way and in our style and to show that we are a competitive team in Asia, and around the world.”

Of the final team selection, Lewis Wilson said, “Some girls will miss out, unfortunately, and the competition has been extremely good in the group. There will be some disappointed players, but that competition is exactly what we need. So as we board that plane and fly on 18 May to Japan, we will all be very excited about what we can deliver.”

The advice PY would give to any less experienced players who are selected to join them on tour is, “Be brave and do what you're good at. Be confident in the game. Just do what you are used to and have been doing in training. Enjoy every second, every moment that you are on the pitch. Then you will feel excited to play and enjoy the game.”

Hong Kong China Rugby usually has a small gathering to send off the team and invite family and friends, which is an important part of the capping and touring process too. PY added:

“I think the send-off event is very important for our players. It's great that they see the support we have before we head away on tour to represent Hong Kong China. That family support is really important for the players to keep on doing what they love in rugby.”

This article was posted in collaboration with our good friends at RugbyAsia247 – check them out for all the latest Asia Rugby news!