Ahead of the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, a Tale of Two Players
One seasoned squad member and another who’s debuting in the tournament show the sport is as dangerous as it is glorious.
When I interviewed two rugby players ahead of the Hong Kong Sevens, I didn’t know what to expect from them. But I quickly saw that Ben Rimene was willing to sacrifice his own health for the love of the sport and his teammate James Cunningham left his family in Australia—all for the glory of the game.
Rimene started his local rugby career in 2009 and his debut in the Hong Kong Sevens squad took place just three years later, during the Asian series. Today, he is one of the few players on the squad over 30 years old.
Born to a Scottish mother and a Maori father in New Zealand, Rimene says his two elder brothers made sure he knew his place as the youngest in the family. “A few ambush attacks helped, but I always lost in the end.” It’s somewhat of a surprise, then, that now a squad veteran, Rimene is a mentor to team captain Max Woodward—and Rimene and his best friend and teammate, Lee Jones, are the squad clowns.
“We are privileged to be in the position we are in. We compete against the best athletes in the world,” Rimene says.
James Cunningham, joining the ranks of Hong Kong Rugby Union elites this year, made his Sevens debut for Hong Kong earlier this month in Borneo. Next month will be his first Hong Kong Sevens. But, he is no stranger to the city—his father worked at the local branch of IBM when he was born. Cunningham’s family soon moved back to Australia, where they live now.
“If we become a part of the global World Series after a successful weekend in the Sevens, this would open up a number of travel opportunities and exposure to some great rugby, which is what I came to Hong Kong for,” Cunningham says.