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Hong Kong rugby appoint England legend Simon Amor as interim men’s 15s head coach to oversee Asia Rugby Championship title defence
- Former England captain and coach wants to ‘help players adapt’ and become ‘best semi-professional set-up in the game’
- Amor on post-Elite Rugby Programme era: ‘To be an elite rugby player on an amateur basis is eminently achievable’
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Former England coach and international Simon Amor will be Hong Kong’s interim coach for the upcoming Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) campaign, the Hong Kong Rugby Union announced on Monday.
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The 42-year-old is a familiar face in the city given his regular captaining or coaching of the England sevens team over the years. He is a four-time Hong Kong Sevens cup winner and was named 2004 World Rugby Sevens player of the year.
Amor has coached both the English men’s and women’s sevens teams, 2016 Olympic silver-medallists Great Britain, and was part of Eddie Jones’ England rugby union coaching staff – helping to win last year’s Six Nations Championship – before departing in May.
“I’m hugely excited about coming across. It’s always rewarding to be involved with a team with aspirations like Hong Kong and to support the preparations and continuously challenge the players,” said Amor, who will touch down in August, replacing former interim coach Craig Hammond who announced last week he will return to oversee Championship team Nottingham.
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Additionally, Amor has notable experience in working with semi-professional players having helped London Scottish to Championship promotion in 2012. This is likely to prove important as Hong Kong’s professional Elite Rugby programme ends this month, leaving a tough transition period ahead of the ARC scheduled for November.
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