Hong Kong name 30-strong squad for WXV3, with women chasing return to Rugby World Cup
- Women’s team will take on Fiji, Madagascar and the Netherlands in Dubai for the right to play in next year’s tournament in England.
Hong Kong have named a 30-strong squad to travel to Dubai for the WXV3 tournament next month, and brought in men’s head coach Andrew Douglas to help in the bid to qualify for the women’s Rugby World Cup next year.
The tweak in coaching set-up sees Royce Chan, who was part of the squad that played at the women’s World Cup in 2017, and has been coaching the team, made programme lead.
As part of the six-team tournament, Hong Kong will take on Fiji, Madagascar and the Netherlands, with Spain and Samoa also involved. With Fiji already qualified, the top two teams from the event will earn spots at the 2025 World Cup in England.
With a largely settled squad, there are only three new faces in the group, with back Lucia Bolton targeting a first cap after returning from a stint in New Zealand, while 7s academy player Haruka Uematsu and Kowloon forward Morena Grierson are in line to make their 15s debuts.
Going into the tournament on the back of a successful showing in the Asia Rugby Championship, and with the team already in a training camp, front-rower Tanya Dhar, who plays for Valley in the women’s Premiership, said there was excitement in the squad for what lay ahead.
