You might think that athletes could take a long break after major tournaments. But this is not the case for 40elite players selected by the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU) and HSBC. The union and the bank co-organised a training camp for the most outstanding performers at the first All Hong Kong Inter-School Rugby Sevens competition.
The inaugural tournament was held last month, and players of B grade (under-16) and C grade (under-14) battled it out.
Choi Hung Estate Catholic Secondary School and the Hong Kong Management Association K S Lo College won the boys' and girls' trophies.
Of course only one team can be champions, but it doesn't mean the defeated players have no talent. Fan Shun-kei, the former Hong Kong scrum half player who is now a skills development coach at the HKRFU, went to see the boys' matches and picked some 40 players for further training starting from July. Notably, these players are all from local Chinese schools.
The organisers arranged a meeting on May 24 with Hong Kong team players Cado Lee Ka-to, Alex Ng Wai-shing and Salom Yiu Kam-shing - all of whom would play two days later in the final match of the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2012 at Mong Kok Stadium.
During the training, the national players and coach Fan taught some basics and practised passing and receiving on the field.