Team spirit key to overcoming challenges ahead
Call-up to help shape future of sevens game in Hong Kong a ‘privilege’ for new coach
I recall a conversation I had with my father when I was 11 years old during which he claimed that by the time I reached the age of 18, rugby players in Wales would be paid as professional athletes.
Being an economics lecturer at Cardiff University and a fanatical Llanelli supporter, his claim came with some credibility and was enough to persuade an impressionable youngster, who was in love with the sport anyway, that rugby was the career for him.
Some 30(ish) years on I am hugely grateful that his insight was proven correct and eternally appreciative that my life has been so heavily influenced by the game.
Growing up in Wales during the ’70s and ’80s there was only one team sport to play and compete in at an elite level and that was rugby union, at least to me.
My first experiences of the game were from the amateur era and very much ran alongside my education. However, at the age of 22 I was fortunate enough to sign my first professional contract and I remained a professional player for 13 years until my retirement at 35, finishing at the Newport Gwent Dragons.
During this period, the challenges that came with being a professional player were enormous as the pressure to deliver became vital to the success and survival of your club. However, it has always been a pressure that I enjoy. I am sure that it is not everyone’s idea of fun, but the daily pressure to develop and improve is what I believe characterises elite performers.
As a player, this pressure was never more intense than when playing sevens for Wales on the HSBC Sevens World Series. Physically and mentally some of my toughest times have been on a sevens pitch.
While I love both versions of the game, personally I have never felt the pain and exposure like that which comes with only being one of seven. It teaches you a lot about yourself and what you can endure and overcome. Not least, it forces the individual to recognise and adhere to the principles of the team.
I suppose in many respects this is what has driven me on to the challenge of coaching and in particular, seeing if lessons learned through my own playing career can be put into practice in developing others.
Now, I find myself with one final game with my present employer, the Cardiff Blues, while looking ahead to my new role as head coach of rugby sevens for Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Sports Institute.
I am aware of the strong sevens tradition that exists in this part of the world, having been lucky enough to have played and coached at the Hong Kong Sevens, and I feel extremely privileged to have the opportunity to help shape the future of the game in Hong Kong.
The challenges for all concerned will be numerous, but I am certain our strengths as a team will overcome these and enable this group of athletes to create a legacy for future sevens stars of Hong Kong.
