Hong Kong rugby golden boy Salom Yiu going off beaten path to find stars of tomorrow
Local governing body’s talent test day attracts 200 rugby novices with dreams of becoming international stars
Around 200 rugby novices were given the chance to impress the sport’s leading figures, as an innovative talent ID programme, spearheaded by two-times Asian Games gold medallist Salom Yiu Kam-shing, was launched at Hong Kong Sports Institute on Sunday.
The local rugby association dreamed up the idea of staging talent testing days as part of a concerted drive to increase the city’s playing pool. Yiu, who competed in 75 sevens tournaments, and won 49 caps in the 15s code, began playing rugby only after being wowed by the Hong Kong Sevens as an 18-year-old.
A track-and-field athlete at the time, he concluded the sport could be “quite easy for me”.
“I am a sprinter, I saw there were only seven people on each side, so there was a lot of space, and I thought I could use my speed to run through and put the ball down,” Yiu said.
His only available route into the game was a summer course, and Yiu, who acknowledged he received a rude awakening when introduced to the physicality of the sport, has resolved to “provide a platform for people to touch rugby, know rugby and engage with rugby”.
“We want them to show us their talent and, hopefully, represent Hong Kong,” Yiu added.
