Hong Kong rugby needs ‘depth’ to strengthen squad
All Blacks legend Christian Cullen says a feeder system has to be promoted
Christian Cullen has been among those taking great interest in how the advent of full professionalism has started to alter the landscape of sevens rugby in Hong Kong.
The All Black great knows first-hand the benefits a full-time contract can offer a sportsman, having been part of the first wave of professional players to enter the game after the 1995 World Cup.
"As a player it takes so much of the worry away," said 2002 player of the tournament Cullen, who took centre stage with other MVPs at Hong Kong Stadium on Sunday.
If DJ Forbes goes down injured in the All Blacks [Sevens] set-up, we have someone who can step up. Here – and in the other smaller nations – that’s the problem. The numbers just aren’t there
"You don't have to think about work and that is something everyone worries about. So it becomes all about the sport. You get paid to train and that's all you do."
While the 38-year-old said he expected Hong Kong to improve now players were able to head full-time to the Sports Institute, he wasn't predicting miracles.
"The reality is the depth, that's the problem here in Hong Kong," said Cullen. "If DJ Forbes goes down injured in the All Blacks [Sevens] set-up, we have someone who can step up.
"Here – and in the other smaller nations – that's the problem. The numbers just aren't there. Until you get depth and a bigger rugby scene where that feeder system comes into play, you might do all right in one or two tournaments but you get a few injuries and you slip right back again."
Cullen knows full well how playing in Hong Kong can lead to greater acclaim, having turned his sensational efforts as part of the sevens squad in 1996 into a career with the All Blacks 15s squad that boasted 46 tries in 58 tests.
"Hong Kong was important to me because it gave me a chance to show what I could do," said Cullen.
Cullen has continued to support the growth of the game in New Zealand, his latest venture helping take new technology to the game's furthest reaches with the Advantage4Me online video analysis system.
It reflects, he says, just how much the game has changed.
"We had video analysis but when we turned up on a Monday it had all been done for us. I never had to watch the game and do anything myself and that's a process that really teaches these people so much more about what they are doing," said Cullen.
"If they start at 15 or 16, and if they reach the very top levels of their sport, they have been through that learning process and they know all about what systems are now available to them and how to put them to work.
"It really gives them an advantage. Every kid's got a smartphone these days and this is a way sport is learning how to use that technology."
And technology is one of the reasons, Cullen says, that the gap between the rugby's traditional forces and its minnows is closing. Nowhere more is that the case than with sevens, he says.
"Look at the Olympics. No one can go into that tournament as favourites, even if they had won the tournament before," said Cullen.
"Things are that close these days that anyone can win. It's great to see teams like Kenya and those smaller nations find more consistency. It shows how much the game is improving and how much more popular it is becoming.
"With the Olympics coming up, there is more money being thrown into it too by countries so things will only keep improving."
