Players bearing the brunt of indecision by officialdom

HONG KONG rugby must quickly re-evaluate its priorities if dreams of playing in next year's Rugby World Cup do not disappear down the drain.

While the Hong Kong national squad is turning into a team of walking wounded, a more worrying aspect seems to have crept in - most of the Hong Kong internationals who went on tour recently to southern Africa seem to have lost all their zip and zest for the game.

Injury is a part of the game. It is unfortunate that presently nine members of the Hong Kong squad are shouldering injuries ranging from minor to serious.

But the major cause for concern is the feeling that some Hong Kong squad members have become a jaded and spent force, fully exemplified by Valley's performance in their 22-9 loss at the hands of Club on Saturday.

Is it because they are training too much (with club and national squad commitments), or are the players psyched up so much about the forthcoming Asian Rugby Football Tournament that they just cannot get motivated for the domestic competition? Valley is under the spotlight in this instance simply because a large part of the team are in the national squad. Football Club too have an equal number, but on Saturday, most of their internationals - prop Ashley Jones, lock Grant Jamieson, flanker Rick Shuttleworth, fly-half Robin Bredbury and full-back Justin Weston - were missing in action because of injury.

The three other national squad players injured are Valley trio, prop Toby Bland, hooker Andy Fields and lock Neil Alton. Police scrum-half Stephen Kidd is also on the sidelines.

Fields and Alton started the game against Club on Saturday. Together with skipper Stuart Krohn in the forwards and a virtual Hong Kong lineup in the backs - centres Rodney McIntosh and Vaughan Going, winger Ashley Billington and full-back Isi Tu'ivai - all of Valley's 'internationals' were on show.