HOW quickly roles reverse in Hong Kong rugby.
After coaching only last weekend, Rodney McIntosh will run on to the pitch at Mongkok Stadium today as part of the SAR squad who will play Western Australia in the first of three tour games. From coach to coached - a move that would normally have its recipient in a spin.
But in McIntosh's case, the move is fluid as he has been in this position throughout the past domestic season.
The tough midfielder was part of the coaching team who spearheaded Valley's triumphant defence of their League title in the regular season. He then dropped his notes and pen on Saturday afternoons, tied up his bootlaces, and played a starring role as the champion club won their fifth consecutive title.
Now the stage is set for bigger deeds. New Hong Kong coach Phil Campbell is using Western Australia's visit as a build-up to next month's Pacific Rim Championships and, in the longer run, as a case-study on which game plan to use for the all-important Asian tournament - a World Cup qualifier - in October in Singapore.
And McIntosh will play a big part in Hong Kong's qualification hopes for the 1999 World Cup in Wales.