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Silverbacks take tips from awesome Aliens
Hong Kong, 22 March 2010 - Rwanda’s national rugby team hit the ground running on the first day of their historic visit to Hong Kong with a training session alongside one of New Zealand’s top touring teams, the Aliens.
The Silverbacks, making their first trip outside East Africa, were put through scrummaging and lineout drills and enjoyed a game of touch rugby in the morning sunshine at Hong Kong Football Club.
Their efforts were enough to impress Aliens coach Willie Los’e. “The Rwandan boys have got some excellent athletes and lovely skills, so we’ve just been trying to educate them in some of the finer points of the game,” he said.
“We didn’t go full out, obviously, but they’ve got some quick players, no doubt about it. We had a game of touch with them and they showed that if they get some space, not many players are going to catch them.
“It’s just a question of them staying onside and getting to grips with the laws but there is no doubt in my mind that if they do get some quality ball then they will score some tries during this tour.”
The Silverbacks – named after Rwanda’s signature mountain gorillas – are in Hong Kong to play in the Kowloon RugbyFest, a 10-a-side tournament at King’s Park on Wednesday (24 March) featuring teams from around the world.
Aliens are the defending champions in the elite-level GFI HKFC Tens, to be played at Hong Kong Football Club on Wednesday and Thursday (24-25 March).
Both tournaments are part of the territory’s week-long Festival of Rugby that culminates in the famous Hong Kong Sevens this weekend.
“We always love coming back to Hong Kong and to be spreading the rugby gospel by training with the Rwandan boys makes it even more special,” added Los’e. “We know it’s their first trip here and very exciting for them, but our guys got just as much of a buzz out of it as they did.”
The 13-man Silverbacks squad will continue their rugby education on Tuesday with a training session alongside another top HKFC Tens team, the UK-based Penguins. In addition, Penguins staff will put each player through a grassroots coaching course so they can teach the basics of the game back home.
At the end of the week, the Silverbacks will complete the rugby trip of a lifetime by attending the Sevens.
“Rugby is still a young game in Rwanda so this visit is about opening up our minds to the rugby world,” said Silverbacks coach Gerald Nsenga. “There is a lot planned for us on this trip, we have much to learn and it is going to be very interesting and rewarding for us.
“It’s fascinating to be here in Hong Kong. It’s our first time to be in such a country and our first time to train on such a top quality pitch. Everyone is very excited and it’s a bit of a culture shock for the guys, obviously.
“Ever since we learned we would be attending the Hong Kong Sevens our spirits have been very high. We’ve seen the Sevens on TV but to see the matches live will be a fantastic experience. We are very proud to be here and we know it is not just about the rugby, it is about being good ambassadors for our country.”
Hong Kong-born rugby enthusiast and Rwanda volunteer worker Dave Hughes, who has organised the tour, thanked the HKFC for their hospitality. “It’s been an incredible experience for the guys to train at HKFC and we are very grateful to the Club for their help,” he said.
“Our thanks also go to Aliens for today’s training session. To have access to that level of coaching is unbelievable and will inspire the guys to work even harder at their game. The session with Penguins is also going to be invaluable.
“There are so many people and organisations who have helped make this trip happen that it is impossible to thank them all, but we would like to mention Kowloon RFC, the hosts of RugbyFest, and their chairman Anson Bailey for inviting us to the tournament and sourcing sponsorship.”
Companies backing the Rwandan team’s trip include Silver Heritage, KPMG, Blank Rome and G4S. The squad have been given a free minibus for their entire visit 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 new and second-hand kit and boots for the players to take back to Rwanda.
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Released on behalf of the Rwandan Silverbacks by Two Up Front - Asia’s sports PR specialists.