How Hong Kong rugby sevens star Liam Herbert went from age-grade reject to national team game-changer
- The 23-year-old Edmonton Sevens player of the tournament discusses his partnership with Max Denmark, and the future of Hong Kong rugby
- ‘I had to pull myself together and say [rugby] is what I want to do,’ recalls Herbert, who failed to make the cut at Aston Villa football trial
It’s tied 14-14 with seconds to go. The Hong Kong men’s rugby sevens team are on their own try-line against World Rugby Sevens Series core team Ireland.
Liam Herbert, who starred throughout the double-header Vancouver and Edmonton Sevens tournaments, wriggles away from a couple of Irish tackles, then offloads the ball to teammate Max Denmark, who palms off Jordan Conroy – Ireland’s record try-scorer – before sending it back to Herbert to score the unlikeliest of overtime winners.
“When they score the first try, our heads would go down and we’re just pushovers to them. But in this tournament we actually went for it. After they scored, we thought ‘we’re good enough to get back at them’.
“Denmark always had a rivalry with Conroy because they’re similar players. Earlier he made a line-break and popped the ball straight up to Conroy who scored their first try. Max was fuming – I saw it in his eyes from the bench. After [we scored the winning try] he said ‘that’s how we do it’ and gave me a massive hug.”
