Client News
Rwandans ready for historic Hong Kong tour
Hong Kong, 12 March 2010 - Hong Kong is about to witness rugby history as Rwanda’s national team, the Silverbacks, prepare to make their debut in the territory.
A 13-man squad, plus coach and manager, will make the long journey from East Africa later this month to play in the Kowloon RugbyFest, a 10-a-side tournament featuring teams from around the world.
The Silverbacks – named after Rwanda’s signature mountain gorillas – will also benefit from training sessions with elite coaches and go to watch the world famous Hong Kong Sevens in what promises to be the rugby trip of a lifetime.
“Many of the guys have never been outside Rwanda, never seen the sea and never flown,” says Hong Kong-born rugby enthusiast and Rwanda volunteer worker Dave Hughes, who is organising the project.
“The visit will be a real eye-opener for them and hopefully something that will encourage and inspire them for the rest of their lives.
“On a more general level, we hope it will be a massive boost for rugby in Rwanda. The country has some naturally talented players and with the right coaching and support the sport could really take off in the same way that it has in Kenya and, to a lesser extent, Uganda.”
When the Silverbacks land in Hong Kong on 21 March it will be the latest chapter in a remarkable story that began in 2008 when Hughes was working as a chartered surveyor in the UK.
After reading a book about the 1994 Rwandan genocide, he resigned from his job and flew to the country to work as a volunteer, helping set up a vocational training school for women.
While travelling to work in the capital, Kigali, he was astonished to see some youngsters playing with a rugby ball on a patch of waste ground. “I had no idea rugby even existed in that part of Africa,” he reveals.
He made further enquires and soon became involved in Rwanda’s fledging rugby scene, playing, coaching and organising tournaments.
After returning to Hong Kong last year, he hit on the idea of bringing the Rwandans over to play in the territory’s Festival of Rugby – a week-long series of tournaments that culminates in the Sevens.
Hong Kong’s rugby community embraced the project and offers of help poured in. “People have been very generous and without their help there is no way we could have made this happen,” says Hughes.
Flights and accommodation were the two biggest headaches, but Hughes talked Kenyan Airways into a cut-price deal and arranged for the squad to stay at the Scout Association of Hong Kong’s residential camp at Tai Tam.
The squad have been given a free minibus for their entire 11-day trip courtesy of Woodland Pre-Schools and they will play in a pristine new strip designed and produced at minimal cost by Tsunami Sport.
The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union has helped with logistics and has waived the cost of the team’s Sevens tickets. In addition, HKRFU director of development Ruth Mitchell has organised a huge collection of second-hand kit and boots for the players to take back to Rwanda.
As for the rugby, the Silverbacks will benefit from training sessions with some of the sport’s top coaches, with two of the best teams taking part in another Festival of Rugby event – the elite-level Hong Kong Football Club Tens – agreeing to help.
Defending Tens champions Aliens from New Zealand will conduct a joint training session with the Rwandans soon after they arrive. And Penguin International RFC, the famous UK-based touring team, will supervise a training session and also put each player through a grassroots coaching course so they can teach the basics of the game back home.
Meanwhile, in Kigali, the Silverbacks have been practising hard for their Hong Kong adventure. “They’ve been training six days a week,” reveals Hughes. “They’re very proud to be representing Rwanda.”
It has been a long time coming, but the Silverbacks are ready to roar in Hong Kong.
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Released on behalf of the Rwandan Silverbacks by Two Up Front - Asia’s sports PR specialists.