Rising Hong Kong rugby star Matt Worley snapped up by French giants Racing 92
HKFC scrum-half signs professional academy contract for 2015-16 Top 14 season
Hong Kong national sevens and fifteens standout Matt Worley has joined Racing 92 on a professional academy contract, the French Top 14 club confirmed on Wednesday.
The Hong Kong scrum-half and his HKFC backrow team-mate Pierce West – son of Natixis HKFC head coach Kevin West – have been on a two-month trial at the Racing Academy in Paris since the beginning of August.
Racing’s head coach Laurent Labit and director of rugby Christophe Mombet were impressed by the skill-set and work ethic of the young pair, especially Worley who they offered a place in the club’s prestigious academy for the 2015-16 season.
WATCH: Matt Worley and Pierce West talk about their Racing Academy experience:
Worley will be in good company – the Racing Academy has produced, among numerous others, Bernard Le Roux and Eddy Ben Arous, who are both in the France squad at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, plus France sevens stars Virimi Vakatawa and Julien Jané.
Worley has represented Hong Kong at every age-grade level and has been a regular fixture in the senior sevens set-up even though he is still only 17. He joined the HKFC U7 minis side 10 years ago and over the past 18 months has seen a rapid rise through the ranks – both at club and national level.
“I’ve been able to play alongside some very good players and benefitted from some great coaching,” Worley told the HKFC website.
Head coach Kevin West was quoted as saying on the website: “Everybody at the club is very proud of Matt’s achievements ... Although we have been able to offer Matt the coaching, facilities and game opportunities, it ultimately required his outstanding dedication and application to deliver the goods.”
The chance for Worley and Pierce West to spend a month at the Racing Academy in Paris was largely due to HKFC rugby sponsor Natixis, the French bank which hosted the Natixis Cup in 2013 and 2014.
