On the 1^st January 1966 a team of KGV students lined up against a side comprising youngsters who were studying at UK boarding schools, and when the Overseas Schoolboys (as they became known) lifted the Middlesex Cup for the first time a wonderful Hong Kong rugby tradition was born.

50 years later this annual celebration of the best of local youth rugby has grown to incorporate 9 matches for boys and girls from Under 12s through to Under 19s, and attracts throngs of spectators, many somewhat tired and emotional, for a full day packed to the brim with bacon sandwiches, balloon-animals, superb rugby, and even the odd cleansing ale for those brave enough.

The 2017 Prudential New Year’s Day Youth Tournament kicked-off in fine style with a closely-contested Roberts Shield match between the Under 12 Girls representing the Peninsula Dragons and the Hong Kong Lions; Petty Lai, the Principal Assistant Secretary of the Home Affairs Bureau and a great supporter of local rugby, was on hand to present the first silverware of the day to the victorious Lions. The Lions continued to roar in the next 3 games, and it was rapidly turning into a “bluewash” until some balance was restored in the Under 16 Girls’ Naylor Cup match, with the Dragons securing their first trophy of 2017.

The latter stages of the day saw the fixtures revert to the traditional Overseas v Hong Kong format, and the passion and commitment of these encounters remains as strong today as it was five decades ago…Hong Kong dominated in the Under 16 Boys’ encounter and secured the George White Trophy, and they took the honours and the Lassies’ Quaich in the Girls’ Under 19 match as well. The penultimate game saw the most recent addition to the event, the Jin Si Trophy, contested between two sides made up from players in the Warriors local development programme, with a fast-paced encounter won by the Lions.

With the captain of the victorious 1966 Overseas Schoolboys team, Brian Forsgate, watching from the stands, attention turned to the final fixture of the day, and the two Under 19 boys’ teams didn’t disappoint the packed crowd. The Overseas Lions started brightly, and dominated the first half, but the Hong Kong side, boasting a number of veterans from the team that lifted the Asia Rugby Championship last month, came back strongly in the latter stages, and provided the fans a fitting finale with the Overseas just holding on to win 19-17 and lift the Middlesex/Wright/Naylor Cup.

The final presentation of the day saw the prestigious Larry Abel Award for the “Best & Fairest” player of the tournament awarded to Anna Birkett of the U16 Peninsula Dragons, only the second girl to be so recognised behind national star Natasha Olson-Thorne.

Of course, no birthday celebration is complete without champagne and cake, and HKRU President Peter Duncan led a prestigious official cake-cutting crew comprising Pieter Schats, Case Everaert, Vern Reid, John Shanahan, and Brian Forsgate who then joined with all present to raise a toast to 50 more years of this wonderful rugby tradition! For Richard Thomas this was a doubly poignant moment, as after 10 years as the Tournament Director he will be handing over the reins as his family returns to UK – huge thanks to all he has contributed over the past decade.

With thanks to tournament sponsors Prudential, the Medical Team, the Hong Kong Society of Rugby Football Union Referees, and the Hong Kong Football Club who have provided the home for the Tournament since 1966 – see you on 1^st January 2018!