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Departing players and the increasing difficulty of staying in the territory after the handover have led to two leading clubs cutting their representation in the Hong Kong First Division next season.

 A senior official of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union revealed there will be a dramatic reduction - from eight to five - in the number of teams in the elite level for the 1997-98 season.

 'At the moment it looks as if there will be only five teams playing in the First Division next season,' said Jamie Scott, the Union's director of development.

 They will be Hong Kong Football Club, Valley, Kowloon, DeA and Aberdeen. Both Football Club and Valley have said they would not be able to field a second team - which they had done in past seasons - in the top league.

 The other team missing will be the Tigers. The British military side, who have been integral to Hong Kong rugby for many years, played for the final time last season - moving up from a lower division. They disbanded due to the handover.

 Football Club, one of the founders of rugby in the territory, have fielded two sides in the First Division for many years. But, according to Simon Earles, last season's chairman of the club's rugby section, they were finding it difficult to find players.

 Scott, a stalwart Valley supporter said it is estimated nearly 30 per cent of the club's membership will have left Hong Kong by next season.

 The change of sovereignty will result in stricter visa controls for expatriates, including the British who in the past have been free to come and go as they like. This will affect the clubs' traditional source of rugby players.

 The only way clubs can bring in players after the handover is if they have job contracts, said Scott.

 Thanks to the HKRFU's development programme, the future of Hong Kong rugby is ensured. This should eventually be strengthened with the HKRFU pursuing the goal of getting the People's Liberation Army involved in the local league.



Local league depleted by handover influence