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Former Hong Kong Rugby Union men’s head coach Andrew Hall to return to the UK

  • The former Scotland player helped set up the Elite Rugby Programme and led the team to Asia Rugby Championship
  • Hall ‘grateful for every minute’ of decade-long rugby career in city and confident that successors can keep momentum

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Andrew Hall helped to found and manage the Hong Kong Rugby Union’s Elite Rugby Programme for its 15s men’s team. Photo: Ike Images

Former Hong Kong men’s rugby coach Andrew Hall is leaving the Hong Kong Rugby Union to take up the director of rugby role at Uppingham School in the UK in August.

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The newly appointed HKRU interim general manager of rugby performance played crucial roles in the club and national scene, notably co-founding and managing the full-time Elite Rugby Programme (ERP) set-up as the head of men’s performance and development.

Though the ERP is scheduled to end in June, Hall returns home after helping bring Hong Kong men’s 15s rugby to new heights. He arrived in 2010, won a Premiership title as then-named Hong Kong Cricket Club’s club coaching officer, before joining up with former men’s coach and director of rugby performance Leigh Jones.

This is the second high-profile exit from the Union in two months after Jones announced in March that he would become English Premiership side Leicester Tigers’ next general manager.

Former coach of the Hong Kong national rugby team Andrew Hall during a game against the South China Tigers at the Aberdeen Sports Ground in 2019. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Former coach of the Hong Kong national rugby team Andrew Hall during a game against the South China Tigers at the Aberdeen Sports Ground in 2019. Photo: Jonathan Wong
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“Not many people have an opportunity like this and I am grateful for every minute,” the former Scotland international said.

“Leigh Jones took a punt on me … and my time with the HKRU has been among the most rewarding of my career. I have greatly accelerated my development and in working with [former HKRU chief rugby officer] Dai Rees and Leigh over the past five to six years. It’s been an incredible experience.
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