Director’s Discourse | Domestic game kicks old participation records into touch
New HKRFU season gets under way with more leagues, more teams and more players than ever before
A record 81 teams and nearly 1,400 players will turn out every Saturday as rugby in Hong Kong goes from strength to strength. Up to 39 games will be played every weekend across the 10 different rugby grounds, presenting a major logistical challenge for the HKRFU, which is already facing issues concerning pitch availability every weekend.
One of the union’s key priorities is facilities and access to new pitches to create room for rugby to grow.
The issue is further exacerbated by our burgeoning mini, youth and school leagues, with nearly 5,000 more players involved every week.
The HKRFU works with the LCSD and other parties to gain access to pitches, but as with almost everything else about living in Hong Kong, the lack of space is our biggest constraint.
Super Saturday kicks off a season that promises to be more competitive than ever as all teams have recruited strongly from inside and outside Hong Kong
Indicative of our steady 10 per cent year-on-year growth in participation, the 2014-15 men’s competition will comprise the Premiership, a new Premiership A league, the Championship and National Leagues 1 through 5, with 59 men’s teams taking part. For the first time, there will be two women’s 15s divisions involving 14 teams, and a separate 10-a-side division made up of 10 teams.
A subvention review with all clubs took place in the off-season and the HKRFU has amped up its investment in rugby at grass-roots level.