Youngsters Cheuk and Varty give HK some much-needed pace as they chase plate spot
'R and R' takes on a completely new meaning for Hong Kong this year. For it will be the Ricky and Rowan show - hopefully - when the home team take on the big boys of sevens rugby in a bid to emulate the class of 1997, who went all the way to the plate final in the previous World Cup held here.
Students Ricky Cheuk Ming-yin, 22, and Rowan Varty, 19, are the new faces of SAR rugby. And yes, R and R does stand for Rolls-Royce, for the pair provide welcome pace to a team who have looked pedestrian against fleet-footed opposition in the past couple of years.
'They've got really good gas,' is how Hong Kong sevens coach Rodney McIntosh describes the duo.
'We are in a great position this year. We have got youth and as much speed as the team that played in 1997.'
McIntosh knows this first-hand as he was a member of the 1997 Hong Kong team who exceeded all expectations as they stormed into the plate final, with wins over Argentina (26-5) and Scotland (43-7) before losing to Tonga (40-19).
