'Breathe the fire'. This will be the home team's call to arms this weekend and in the future. A slogan born in the hope it will fire the SAR team to greater heights as they prepare for next year's Rugby World Cup Sevens.
With the winds of change sweeping through the local sevens set-up, new coach Dallas Seymour believes Hong Kong strongly needs a new focus, a vibrant spark. So was born the catchphrase - Breathe the Fire. Seymour hopes the new byword will raise flagging spirits and push tired legs to greater efforts in pressure situations. He hopes it will be the rallying call for skipper Paul Dingley and his troops.
'It's all about trying to create a heritage and a tradition,' says Seymour. 'In New Zealand, placing your hand on the silver fern means a lot. It symbolises tradition and means you are not only representing yourself, but everything you value - country, culture, family and friends.'
When Seymour was installed as the Hong Kong sevens coach this year - with locally based Rodney McIntosh assisting him - he knew the transient nature of this town continues to make it difficult to instil a sense of belonging among the overseas-born players, especially those who have recently qualified to play for Hong Kong.
And from his years as a player, Seymour also knew that when it came down to the crunch, it would be the inner-fire burning which would make the difference between winning and losing.
'There has to be passion in a player. Here in Hong Kong, we have thousands of years of culture at our fingertips. Let's look at that culture, place our hand on the Dragon and draw strength from that. I want the players to feel proud when they put their hand over the heart and grab hold of the Dragon. I want them to breathe fire,' says Seymour.
