As axing of Hong Kong Rugby Union Elite Rugby Programme sinks in, reality bites for local stars

Top players van der Smit, Tsoi, Henderson and Parfitt underline uncertain future but insist World Cup goal still alive

Post-Elite Rugby Programme era in June may have implications on player retention and development as well as local interest

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Rugby players Luke van der Smit, Sam Tsoi Kin-san, Joshua Henderson and Jack Parfitt are part of the Hong Kong Rugby Union’s Elite Rugby Programme. Photos: SCMP, Ike Images, Handout

Published: 12:00pm, 22 Jan 2021Updated: 10:41pm, 23 Jan 2021

The Hong Kong Rugby Union’s decision to cut its Elite Rugby Programme (ERP) is not the biggest surprise given the Covid-19 pandemic’s toll on the moneymaking HSBC/Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sevens – but it is nonetheless a devastating blow to the men’s national 15s rugby set-up, said some of its last batch of professional athletes.

Once respective contracts run out on June 30, all players and staff will revert to semi-professional models familiar to the pre-2016 rugby scene. This means no more three-days-a-week national team training sandwiching Tuesday and Thursday club training. Those affected will – with the Union’s guidance – likely be searching for other employment.

Hong Kong rugby fans can be reassured that their goal this year is the same: to win the Asia Rugby Championship 2021 against South Korea and Malaysia in May and set up a home-and-away play-off against Tonga and Samoa for 2023 Rugby World Cup qualification next year.

What happens between now and then is still very much up in the air, however.

Luke van der Smit

For the 2018-19 domestic season’s MVP, Luke van der Smit, the news was a tough pill to swallow. The Herbert Smith Freehills HKU Sandy Bay loose forward understood it is a case of freak circumstance but is brainstorming contingency plans post-ERP era.

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