Former England sevens player Charlie Kingham revisits city’s proud history with Hong Kong Football Club – ‘I’ll never forget it’
- The 26-year-old, who played in the Hong Kong Sevens in 2018, feels ‘lucky’ to be back playing rugby as UK still on hold
- ‘His resume is exactly what we want,’ says Football Club coach Wiggins ahead of league title defence
New Natixis Hong Kong Football Club recruit Charlie Kingham did not need long to acclimatise to the city’s bright lights – the former England sevens player has played on its biggest stage: the Hong Kong Sevens.
“Watching the Sevens previously, you kind of thought, ‘what would it be like to go and play in that tournament? Maybe one day’. Thankfully, it’s something I got to experience. I’ll never forget it,” the 26-year-old said, sitting in the HKFC stands in Happy Valley as the next generation of players completed their training drills.
“You understand how big a tournament it is here, not only from a player’s perspective, but socially and culturally. How important is it to Hong Kong. It’s a real shame it didn’t get to happen in 2020 – you never know about 2021.”
Kingham, who will play No 8 having transitioned back to 15s rugby, was part of England’s Sevens World Series squad in 2018. Head coach Simon Amor gave Kingham and the younger players a well-earned run-out in Hong Kong ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Australia a week later.
“That was a very different way of experiencing what Hong Kong’s like out here,” said Kingham, whose family moved to Hong Kong for three years when he was a child. “Playing for England in that tournament was a huge opportunity and something I’m very proud of.