‘I don’t think I was ready for a desk job’: Harry Sayers talks club and Hong Kong ahead of Asia Rugby Championship

Hong Kong continues to unearth and lure eligible, high-end rugby players to the city to suit up for club and country.

The latest acquisition has been Surrey, United Kingdom native Harry Sayers, who made his South China Tigers debut on Sunday in the Global Rapid Rugby league against the Western Force. The Tigers lost their final match of Andrew Forrest’s condensed showcase series 40-16 at the Aberdeen Sports Complex.

However, Sayers proves the future of local rugby remains bright as the Hong Kong Rugby Union’s vast network continues to stretch overseas to nab talent.

Sayers, whose mother was born in Hong Kong in 1966 when her parents were stationed in the city for the military, said he didn’t even know about the opportunity until recently. Sayers made his debut for Hong Kong in Singapore this April at the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

“I was in England and I really didn’t think about the birth certificate of my mom which qualified me to play here,” said the 22-year-old who slots in as a back. “I had finished university and didn’t know what to do, and so the option of playing rugby full-time was fairly appealing to me, so headed out here and here we are.”

Sayers, who previously played for Canterbury RFC’s National League 2 side, and graduated from the University of Kent in 2018 with a bachelor of Business Administration, also captained his university squad.

The Force showed why they have remained undefeated so far in the first iteration of GRR, pounding against a Tigers defence who tried valiantly all game to slow wave after wave of attacks. Sayers said the games they’ve played so far in GRR have taught them some important lessons moving forward.

“Just a bit of clarity for us. Obviously it’s a showcase and the start of something but maybe we underestimated a little bit about how tough a tournament this is going to be, but this is going to be a fantastic platform for us. We’ve got a very diverse group of players who play different ways so it’s all about coming together and finding that happy medium.”

Tigers head coach Craig Hammond, who noted there had been preliminary talks with GRR about 2020 and potentially playing 14 games, said Sayers is an excellent pick-up moving forward.

“He’s just a young, exciting talent for us and it’s great that Valley have gone out and found him. He’s young and he’s got a lot to learn but he’s got that X-factor and that’s what we need from our backs.”

Sayers made his debut in Hong Kong for Societe Generale Valley this past season in the men’s premiership, regularly ending up on the scoresheet and said it was easy to make the leap from the UK given his life goals.

“I don’t think I was ready for a desk job just yet, and my dad lived and played out here for two years as well for the Hong Kong Police, and so it’s been very good so far.”

The speedy back will most likely make his debut for the 15 a-side team during the Asia Rugby Championship, which kicks off May 18. Hong Kong’s first game will be on June 8 against South Korea in Incheon. The squad will then play Malaysia on June 15 at the Hong Kong Football Club, and then Korea again on June 29 at the HKFC. Sayers said getting capped will be a big step for him on a stage where anything but a positive result will be expected.

“Nothing less than wins is expected of us in that, so we’ve got a big job to go out and deliver there.”