Po Leung Kuk girls picked to represent Hong Kong in new UK tournament
Local charity to send 10 youngsters to Touraid’s nine-country under-13s rugby festival
Ten youngsters from the Po Leung Kuk residential care centres are preparing for the adventure of a lifetime after being selected to take part in the inaugural Touraid U13 International Girls’ Rugby Festival in England.
The Hong Kong youngsters will join girls from eight other countries – Brazil, Colombia, India, St Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, Swaziland and Uganda, plus hosts England who will be represented by Southwark Tigers – on a 10-day tour that gets under way on March 5.
Numerous activities and team-building exercises are planned for the girls, including netball at Surrey Sports Park, a visit to 10 Downing Street and a special cultural event to mark International Women’s Day on March 7.
We believe passionately that what goes on tour no longer stays on tour – it stays with you for life
The main event for the young rugby enthusiasts will be a nine-team tag competition to be held at Allianz Park, the new north London home of Aviva Premiership giants and current league leaders Saracens.
“This has already been a life-changing experience for the girls in many ways,” said Michelle McEwan, director of studies at the PLK Language Training Centre. “Not only have they been learning how to play tag rugby and netball, but they’ve also had to apply for passports and prepare themselves for their first foreign trip and, for most of them, their first flight.
“I have no doubt that they will come back full of confidence and self-esteem, having made friendships that will last a lifetime.”
Andy Berry, chief executive officer of UK charity Touraid, commented: “We are delighted to be organising our first girls’ rugby festival in partnership with Premiership Rugby, and I think the time is right to redress the balance and give girls from across the globe the same opportunities we have afforded the boys.
“We believe passionately that what goes on tour no longer stays on tour – it stays with you for life.”
Rugby was first played at the Po Leung Kuk residential centres in 2011, but it really took off the following summer when the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union embarked on a three-year programme to grow the game in Po Leung Kuk’s mainstream schools, of which there are more than a hundred.
The HKRFU-assisted programme, which is named “Tackling Life”, is funded by Macquarie Bank and the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents Club, and it has already produced an annual Po Leung Kuk Rugby Fun Day and a primary school tournament with eight participating schools.
Po Leung Kuk students have also been hosted at the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens and they have benefited from coaching clinics conducted by the visiting Scotland sevens team.
