Stephen Kidd will once again strap his knees up and go into battle for Hong Kong - in the final match of the Asian Triangular Series against Taiwan at the Hong Kong Football Club this evening (7.30pm).
Over the years, scrumhalf Kidd has picked up more injuries in the line of duty for Hong Kong than most players. His knees have been the most injury-prone parts of his ravaged body.
And last week Kidd picked up one more knock, against Samoa in the Holyland Sevens, which left him hobbling.
'My knee is painful and is still quite swollen. But I will hopefully be on the bench tomorrow night. I can't imagine I would start,' said Kidd yesterday.
In the last home game against Singapore, Rob Naylor started at scrumhalf before being replaced by Kidd early in the second half. Expect a similar scenario tonight.
It has not been the first time that a half-fit Kidd has played for Hong Kong and speaks volumes about how invaluable Kidd is to the scheme of things. He showed it against Singapore, sparking Hong Kong to life as soon as he came on. Within a minute of replacing Naylor, Kidd scored one of his trademark tries, dancing down the blindside from 15 metres out.
'I need older heads in the side. The young guys can learn from them,' said coach Phil Campbell, emphasising how important a player like Kidd is to up-and-coming youngsters like Naylor.
