Ally Maclay got his first wish in his debut for Hong Kong this weekend. His back-up plan was not a bad idea either - parading half naked for a noble cause.
'The past two years I spent the Friday of the Sevens at the Christina Noble Children's Foundation ladies' long lunch,' Maclay said. 'You show me a man who wouldn't like being made a fuss over by a couple of hundred women on a Friday afternoon, while raising some money for an excellent cause. Had I missed out on the Sevens selection, I would have been at the lunch again in a heartbeat.'
The 'ladies-who-lunch' enjoyed the rugby eye candy at the Jockey Club in Happy Valley yesterday and gave more than HK$700,000 for the foundation's children in Vietnam and Mongolia. The charity has attracted other Hong Kong players including Anthony Haynes and captain Rowan Varty as ambassadors, but they had playing duties.
The team have supported the charity with their six-pack calendar, which has raised HK$260,000, with half of the money going to the Ben Kende Foundation. 'We didn't have long to shoot the calendar, but it was fun getting off the field and playing 'the model card',' said Maclay, the 27-year old teacher from Glasgow who is now with the HKRFU.