There was a brief window this year when Hong Kong rugby was one of the world’s only operating rugby leagues. There is plenty of action now what with the makeshift Autumn Nations Cup ongoing and the recently concluded Bledisloe Cup, but question marks remain over the resumption of the major European club leagues. As the Covid-19 pandemic continues its perilous international tour of disruption, some players opted to prioritise game-time above all, with several heading to the Far East. The likes of Japan and Hong Kong are looking to reap the benefits as the level of talent and interest only heightens. While the city may have missed out on titans such as New Zealand stars Beauden Barrett and TJ Perenara – who signed huge-figure “sabbatical” deals with Japan Top League’s Suntory Sungoliath and NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes in 2021 – it nonetheless welcomed several high-level prospects across its 12 men’s and women’s top-division teams. “We’ve had a lot of calls over the last six to eight weeks from players from the UK and everywhere else,” said DAC Kowloon coach Scott Sneddon, who has managed to convince exciting Welshman Harry Johnston and former Scotland youth captain Euan McLaren to join him. Meanwhile, former Wales youth player Harrison Dobbs joined Borrelli Walsh USRC Tigers alongside former Scotland under-20 international Joshua Henderson , while former England sevens player Charlie Kingham became reigning champions Natixis Hong Kong Football Club’s newest draw, and Societe Generale Valley tied down former Exeter Chiefs player Peter Laverick. These are just some of the European contingent to head East. Others like South African Pro14 star Tertius Kruger joined Herbert Smith Freehills HKU Sandy Bay and former Fijian U20 international Isaac Cavu joined Bloomberg Hong Kong Scottish. “I’ve been in Hong Kong for four seasons and the standard just keeps getting better. The signings and recruitment from every club is really good and it keeps driving the standard and development of the local guys as well,” Sneddon said, adding that the truncated season means teams cannot “take their eye off the ball for even a moment”. “It’s a bit of a spectacle now. The league is starting to be known around the world. It’s going to get better and that’s great for Hong Kong rugby.” Given that some of these players are only in Hong Kong for the short-term, there are still plenty of avenues for potential national 7s or 15s team converts from the Saxo Markets Men’s Premiership. Hong Kong’s men have a busy schedule lined up, pandemics willing. “It’s a short season and clubs have recruited well from what I understand,” former national head coach-turned-Hong Kong Rugby Union rugby performance general director Leigh Jones said. “There is more pressure on players to perform in a shorter window because the season is closely followed by an Asian Rugby Championship – that’s a [2023] World Cup qualifier.” Having previewed the 2020-21 season with players and staff from all six teams, there is one underlying theme: that this is undisputedly the highest level the league has reached. The 2018-19 season MVP Luke van der Smit ran out of superlatives when describing the future of Hong Kong rugby: “Every year, it just seems like the level gets taken up such a huge notch. I can’t wait to see what it’s going to be like in five years. It’s going to be out of this world.” While the sceptics will continue to raise their eyebrows at the rugby potential and profitability from the relatively small community, it may be of note that the league has managed to stand taller even without the hype provided by the Hong Kong Sevens each year. “Certainly there have been challenges, but against the adversity we’ve managed to recruit three or four new players and get up and running pretty quickly,” Football Club coach Jack Wiggins said. “We’re all in a very unknown place or have been over the last year. Our normal routines have been completely thrown upside down from a coaching perspective. Not being able to coach from months on end, then coming back in and having a short preparation period then trying to get it right. But everyone was in the same boat. We’ve got to do what we can do in the limited preparation time and get it right. We can’t use it as an excuse. That’s our mentality.”