New coach and infusion of talent show HKCC’s intent
Former Fiji captain and Waikato Chiefs star Deacon Manu takes charge
Defending HKRFU league champions Leighton Asia Hong Kong Cricket Club are setting their sights on Grand Championships glory after recruiting former Fiji captain and Waikato Chiefs star Deacon Manu as club coaching officer this season.
HKCC want to reprise their excellent season of last year, a campaign that included the league title and a spot in the Grand Championships final, a narrow 20-14 loss to Societe Generale Valley. Last season’s only blemish was the club’s inability to secure a win over Valley, with their four defeats against the eventual grand champions marking their only losses of the year.
Adding to the challenge this season is the loss of key players like number eight Pale Tauti and scrum-half Kenneth Hsieh, both of whom retired in the close season. First-choice fullback Nick Wheatley has returned to the United Kingdom, while lock Mike Parfitt transferred to Bloomberg Hong Kong Scottish.
I expect most teams will target us early on. We are missing a few of the sevens boys early in the season and have a couple of guys out injured
HKCC will rely on an experienced core of Hong Kong national team stars to mount their challenge, while also drawing on new locally recruited talent such as Adrian Griffiths, an incoming transfer from Scottish, and wing/centre Rowan Varty, who has come over from USRC Tigers. Varty will join his Hong Kong sevens squad teammates Alex and Tom McQueen at Aberdeen Stadium this season, adding potency to the HKCC backline.
“The opportunity with HKCC was too good to pass up,” said Manu. “It is my first full-time foray into coaching so I’m excited. It’s been a lot of work so far but I’m really enjoying it.”
Manu’s initial impressions of local rugby are equally positive. “It’s more of a southern hemisphere style of rugby here, maybe the artificial surfaces contribute to that, but the skill levels are high. There are a lot of players who have played to a very high standard, so the league standard is quite high,” he said.
“We were fortunate to retain some key players from last season. There are a lot of guys who have been there and done that, especially the national team players. That experience is going to be important in making the transitions we want to make.
“We will be focusing on closing out those tight games that we have lost in the past. We need to get that confidence and make sure we don’t get away from what we want to do on the pitch, which is continue to score good tries and maintain our structure.