https://www.scmp.com/rss/311121/feed Robbie joined the HKRFU in 2003 after 11 years with the Hong Kong Police Force and is currently the head of rugby operations. A driving force behind the game in Hong Kong, Robbie’s experience touches on nearly every aspect of local rugby from the senior and tertiary game, touch rugby, facilities and IT, to tournament operations and support services. As such, there isn’t much around the local scene in which Robbie hasn’t been involved, making him a real authority on the game in Hong Kong. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Hong Kong’s unprecedented success at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics has again showed the power of sport to unite and inspire in a way little else can. As a member of the city’s sports community, I was not surprised at the golden performances from our dedicated and talented elite athletes, many of whom overcome significant personal challenges to represent Hong Kong on the global stage. Given the equally daunting challenges facing the industry at large, it has been heartening to hear of the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3149310/time-hong-kong-sport-join-dots-and-build-tokyo-2020-success?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3149310/time-hong-kong-sport-join-dots-and-build-tokyo-2020-success?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Sep 2021 05:42:27 +0000 There has been a changing of the guard this summer up at The Rock in Shek Kip Mei with three key figures in the remarkable success story that is Hong Kong Scottish RFC having hung up their claymores and relinquished the old bagpipes. Whilst the concept of a Scottish Exiles club in the Far East was the brain child of rugby legend Gavin Hastings – and without the support of London Scottish and the Scottish Rugby Union it would never have got off the ground – it was the commitment and determination... https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/fifteens/article/1842864/raise-wee-dram-departing-exiles-who-leave-lion-rampant-fine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/fifteens/article/1842864/raise-wee-dram-departing-exiles-who-leave-lion-rampant-fine?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jul 2015 14:00:15 +0000 The internet connection between Fairfax in Virginia and Hong Kong has been buzzing overnight with the news that our disciplined services men’s sevens team struck gold at the World Police and Fire Games. The Hong Kong lads won the Division 2 gold medal Thursday with a hard-fought 10-7 triumph in the final against the Royals, a services team from Berkshire in the UK. This biennial multi-sport event is, in a good year, bigger than the Commonwealth Games. I’m not kidding – between the grand opening... https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1832087/what-winning-world-games-gold-means-disciplined-services-side-and-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1832087/what-winning-world-games-gold-means-disciplined-services-side-and-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Jul 2015 09:45:45 +0000 In recent weeks there have been a fair number of South China Morning Post column inches devoted to the debate over the number of “foreigners” being selected for Hong Kong’s national football and rugby teams. And by and large this is quite understandably regarded in a negative light and is seen as blocking the pathway for local players to achieve representative level in their chosen sport. Similar criticisms are regularly levelled at other Hong Kong sports such as cricket and hockey, and while... https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1813316/player-diversity-key-growth-and-success-team-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1813316/player-diversity-key-growth-and-success-team-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 May 2015 15:32:18 +0000 The dust has started to settle on the 2015 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, and already feedback forms are being completed and wash-up reports compiled as we identify what went well and what we can improve for 2016. As this was the 40th year of the Sevens we hoped to pay due homage to those whose efforts on and off the pitch over the past four decades have contributed to the success of the event, and the centre piece of that was the gala dinner on the Wednesday before the tournament. More... https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1760768/sevens-show-what-can-be-achieved-when-hong-kong-pulls-together?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1760768/sevens-show-what-can-be-achieved-when-hong-kong-pulls-together?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2015 11:45:00 +0000 Remember the Madonna movie Desperately Seeking Susan? Well, we at the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union are currently seeking Susan or Jane, Abi or Agnes, or any other young lady who is interested in trying out for the Hong Kong national women’s sevens programme. If I was composing a recruitment ad it would probably say something along the lines of “No previous rugby experience required”, though that would of course be an advantage. Our hope is to find talented women who have previously... https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1677704/calling-all-female-athletes-looking-tackle-new-challenge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1677704/calling-all-female-athletes-looking-tackle-new-challenge?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jan 2015 14:15:00 +0000 The 133rd Varsity Match between Oxford and Cambridge universities takes place at Twickenham on Thursday (December 11), with a 14:30 (22:30 HKT) kick-off. Whilst it no longer attracts quite the crowd it once did, the fixture still holds a special place in the global rugby calendar and will be shown live here in Hong Kong on Setanta. Hong Kong doesn’t have anyone playing in either the light or dark blues this year, but we have a close association with the event and there are many local veterans –... https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/community/article/1661252/my-tip-avoiding-varsity-blues-embrace-dark-side?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/community/article/1661252/my-tip-avoiding-varsity-blues-embrace-dark-side?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2014 14:30:45 +0000 Last Saturday I had the pleasure of emceeing a question-and-answer session with Scottish rugby legend Craig Chalmers. The occasion was the third members luncheon arranged by Bloomberg HK Scottish rugby club, and the audience comprised many of the great and good of our local rugby community. They weren’t disappointed by the guest speaker as former fly-half Chalmers spoke openly and honestly about his life in rugby – the good times and the bad – with lots of humour along the way. Sharing the stage... https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1626070/hk-scottish-luncheon-goes-hard-core-pride-past-glories-and-chalmers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1626070/hk-scottish-luncheon-goes-hard-core-pride-past-glories-and-chalmers?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Oct 2014 12:30:15 +0000 With the kick-off of Hong Kong's own domestic rugby competition still a few weeks away, rugby fans will be eagerly awaiting this weekend's opening fixtures of England's Aviva Premiership and the newly branded Celtic league the Guinness Pro12. With our local clubs increasingly boasting veterans of these competitions, I thought I'd get the inside scoop and some predictions from those in the know... First up, James "Jimbob" Brooks, now Kowloon Rugby Club's head coach, but previously a sparkling... https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1584703/uk-premiership-old-boys-offer-tips-top?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1584703/uk-premiership-old-boys-offer-tips-top?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Sep 2014 15:15:56 +0000 One of the perks of working in the sports industry is the occasional opportunity to meet a childhood hero or modern day athletic legend. Not that I consider myself a celebrity jock strap-sniffer, but I must confess it is interesting to meet in the flesh those whose careers one normally follows on TV or in the pages of the SCMP. Inevitably, you sometimes end up a bit disappointed – there is no prerequisite for an elite athlete to be either charismatic or charming. Indeed, many of the character... https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/community/article/1571410/sometimes-marvelous-opportunity-just-comes-along?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/community/article/1571410/sometimes-marvelous-opportunity-just-comes-along?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Aug 2014 09:45:45 +0000 The usual excited shrieks of youngsters attending summer sports programmes in the vicinity of Wylie Path in Ho Man Tin have been temporarily replaced by the clatter of heavy machinery as the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union replaces the three artificial pitches at its King’s Park Sports Ground. Dubbed the “home of rugby” since its 2003 rebirth under HKRFU management, the venue is also home to the Yau Yee Football League and the Hong Kong Slo-Pitch Softball Association, as well as Kowloon and DeA... https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1553462/clubs-set-field-day-kings-park-gets-makeover?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1553462/clubs-set-field-day-kings-park-gets-makeover?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Jul 2014 13:00:30 +0000 Organising the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens is a task most easily equated to painting Scotland’s 2.5-kilometre Forth Rail Bridge – no sooner have you completed the job than you have to start again. Although on the plus side with the Sevens, you don’t often get orange paint on your clothes. With the 2014 event wash-up report having been put to bed last month, attention has already turned to preparations for the weekend of 27-29 March 2015, all the more exciting this year as we celebrate... https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1549160/ensure-sevens-hits-all-right-notes-work-starts-now?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1549160/ensure-sevens-hits-all-right-notes-work-starts-now?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Jul 2014 13:30:45 +0000 The local rugby community has been and continues to be spoiled by a succession of international competitions being hosted here in Hong Kong. The annual festival of Sevens week in late March was followed by the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy (JWRT), which featured eight international under-20 teams playing some of the most passionate and engrossing games witnessed here for many a year. We are now midway through the Asian Five Nations competition, which doubles as the region’s World Cup qualifier,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1504952/after-final-whistle-legacy-game-begins?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1504952/after-final-whistle-legacy-game-begins?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 May 2014 06:45:30 +0000 Last week’s numerous Burns Supper celebrations were a reminder of how expatriate social and business groups have long played a prominent role in Hong Kong’s societal fabric – from the swirling kilts and skirling pipes of the St Andrew’s Society to the hanky-waving Morris Dancers of the St George’s Society. But equally significant is the impact expatriate Hong Kongers have made in numerous spheres around the world, and none more so than international rugby. A brave, and rather unlikely claim you... https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1419296/hong-kongs-absent-sons-leave-fine-rugby-legacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1419296/hong-kongs-absent-sons-leave-fine-rugby-legacy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Feb 2014 12:15:30 +0000 Every year our domestic rugby league takes a break over the festive period to allow for holidays and guilt-free consumption of mince pies and Quality Street, but not all competitive activity ceases as Hong Kong's Disciplined Services host their annual fixture against the People’s Liberation Army for the TK Lai Cup. For those involved, this is one of the highlights of the rugby calendar and a reminder of the important role the police and military played in the development of Hong Kong rugby. In... https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1400805/uniformed-brothers-play-key-role-growth-game?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1400805/uniformed-brothers-play-key-role-growth-game?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Jan 2014 11:45:45 +0000 I never met Nelson Mandela, I'm not a South African, and I haven't even read Long Walk to Freedom, and yet like millions of others around the world my life has been touched by the words and actions of this great man. I suppose in some respects that is what separates the true global statesmen such as JFK, Gandhi and Churchill from their peers – the way in which their influence has somehow transcended the world of politics and instead helped to define the culture, or zeitgeist, of an age. For... https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1378956/sport-has-power-change-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1378956/sport-has-power-change-world?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Dec 2013 06:30:30 +0000 The buzz is back in Dubai – that was the message on everyone's lips after an almost perfect weekend of rugby at “7he Sevens” complex. The sun shone, the corporates wined-and-dined, and an estimated 50,000 spectators on the final day enjoyed some fabulous rugby. Undoubtedly the party atmosphere was bolstered by the happy coincidence of a public holiday the next day, but it was just one of those events where everything seemed to hit the mark – the DJ played all the favourite musical stadium... https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1370959/dubai-gets-its-groove-back?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1370959/dubai-gets-its-groove-back?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Dec 2013 05:45:45 +0000 Dubai and its sevens tournament are giving me rather mixed emotions. I suspect that as a proud member of the organisational crew for our own Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens I was hoping my first experience of this famed rugby festival in the Middle East would be mildly negative and leave me able to safely declare that it wasn’t a patch on our own event ... but I'm just not sure. I got off to a perfect start with a soul-destroying 45-minute wait in the immigration queue at Dubai airport,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1369640/jury-still-out-dubai-sevens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1369640/jury-still-out-dubai-sevens?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Nov 2013 10:00:00 +0000