The Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU) has announced that Peter Drewett, Head of Elite Coach Development at the Union, has accepted the post of Performance Coach Manager with the Welsh Rugby Union. After nearly three years in his present post, Drewett will assume his new posting in Wales on 1 March 2017 and will depart Hong Kong at the end of February.

“I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to be involved in the professional game since 1992, including stints with the RFU, professional rugby in the UK and of course my experience here in Hong Kong, which has been hugely fulfilling,” said Drewett.

“It is safe to say that it will be a sad day when I leave Hong Kong, but due to family circumstances, with my family unable to join me permanently here, the position with Wales offers an incredible opportunity to both expand my career and to spend more time with them in the UK.”

Drewett remains grateful to the Union, the coaches he has mentored and worked closely with for the past three years, and Dai Rees, General Manager of Rugby Performance at the HKRU.

“I am hugely excited to take up a new challenge in my career and to work with one of the leading rugby nations in the world.

“I am equally grateful for the support I have received from the HKRU. My experience here is undoubtedly one of the reasons I was considered for the job and the support I have received from everyone in Hong Kong, and their understanding of the personal situation that makes this new position even more fulfilling for me, is a sign of the character and quality of my colleagues and Dai Rees, who is one of the best bosses I have ever had,” he added.

Drewett, who previously spent 16 years with the Rugby Football Union in England, will take a similar role in Wales as to that in Hong Kong, with a focus on identifying talented coaches that can be further supported and mentored to international level. Drewett will also work closely with the coach education department at the WRU to review the present courses and workshops to ensure they are achieving their designed objectives.

Rees was effusive in his support of Drewett, while acknowledging that his departure will be bittersweet for those in the Hong Kong rugby community.

“We brought Pete over three years ago to bolster the department after Leigh Jones left for Japan. Through his achievements and his commitment he has repeatedly proven that this was a smart decision.

“With 16 years at the RFU, Pete’s experience was unquestioned, but it was the passion he brought to his role in Hong Kong that has taken the game and his department to a new level. After a global search, the WRU chose Peter to head their coach education structures and it is clear to all of us that they have selected the outstanding candidate.

“The Union, the coaches and the entire rugby community wish Peter all the best and we look forward to collaborating with him and deepening our relationship with Welsh rugby in future.”

Drewett’s departure, on the heels of Gareth Baber accepting the head sevens coaching role in Fiji, once again confirms the HKRU’s role as a hothouse for international rugby talent.

“Peter and Gareth both being recruited for major international posts in recent months demonstrate that Hong Kong is pushing new levels in our recruitment. The expertise of our people is now speaking for itself on the world stage,” Rees noted.

Drewett and Baber add to several other high-profile appointments out of Hong Kong in recent seasons including Leigh Jones recruitment to Japan and former Club Coaching Officer Joe Shaw’s appointment at Saracens Rugby Club in the United Kingdom, where he played an instrumental role in the team’s success in winning the Premiership in 2015.

The unassuming Drewett wouldn’t be drawn on his personal contribution to Hong Kong rugby but is satisfied that he and the team he assembled at the Union have seen results.

“Let’s put it this way, I would hope that Dai Rees, who I have huge respect for, would say that things are better now than when I arrived. That is my goal in anything I do, work-wise or not, to leave things in a better state than I found them,” Drewett added.

“Working with the HKRU has been an incredible experience and something I will treasure in my career. I think we have made real progress. We now have a greater quantity - and quality, of coaches then we had when I first arrived and have held a World Rugby Level 3 coaching course for the first time this year with ten coaches taking part, which is a huge positive for Hong Kong rugby.

“World Rugby was pleased with our implementation of the course and we are also now offering World Rugby Sevens coaching certification for the first time. With the support of Steve Jones and Fung Kai-hang in particular, we have been able to transform the website into a hugely influential resource for local coaches and have increased our delivery of Cantonese-language coaching courses.

“It has also been great to see how our coaches have developed in recent years with Gareth being named head coach in Fiji and Jo Hull’s recent achievements in the women’s game. I have also worked closely with Andy Hall who is now working towards his Level 4 coaching certification with the Scottish Rugby Union and the work he has been producing for this has been truly impressive.

“As a whole, my time in Hong Kong has been an extremely gratifying experience. It has been special to be surrounded by the quality, both professionally and personally, of the people I have worked with for the past three years.

Drewett added that one of the most pleasing experiences of his time in Hong Kong has been his role in coaching the U19s and U20s squads.

“We have started to develop a very talented young group of players at U19s and U20s level, winning the Asian championship on multiple occasions and repeatedly qualifying for the World Rugby Junior Trophy. I wish all of the players well and hope that they will continue to develop as people and players and look forward to seeing them advance to the senior Hong Kong team,” said Drewett.