England's top club team, two-time European Cup champions Leicester Tigers, will take on board three Hong Kong youngsters and the captain of China's national side, Johnny Zhang Zhiqiang, in a move to forge links here and on the mainland.
Hong Kong flyhalf Liu Kwok-leung, Under-19 flanker Ben Ho Tsz-chun and fullback Law Chun will accompany China's fullback Zhang at the end of August for a training stint with the famous English club that currently boasts such illustrious names as England captain Martin Johnson, Neil Back and Austin Healey.
'All the players turn out for DeA Tigers in the local First Division and we have tied up with Leicester Tigers who want to increase their profile in Asia and especially China. Peter Wheeler [chief executive of Leicester Tigers] told me he was very happy with the tie-up. This is a huge move for Hong Kong rugby,' said Trevor Gregory, secretary of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union and executive member of the DeA Tigers committee.
Zhang, who plays both 15s and sevens for China, and Liu will train for a couple of months with the Leicester squad during their pre-season build-up before returning to join DeA Tigers for the start of the season in October. Law, 16, and Ho, 17, will stay on as they have been offered two-year and one-year scholarships respectively with Brooke House College, a private boarding school for A-Level students in Market Harborough, Leicester.
Don Williams, the director of Brooke House College, which has close links with Leicester Tigers, was on hand yesterday to present the players with their scholarships. Williams interviewed six players from a shortlist before offering Ho and Law the scholarships. Williams welcomed the players, saying this would be a golden opportunity to study and play rugby.
'This is the first time we are doing something like this in conjunction with the Leicester Tigers. They will study with us and will train with the Leicester Tigers. They will get the opportunity to meet and train with the international stars,' said Williams, headmaster of the school that has a student population of around 200.
