South China Tigers
The South China Tigers is a professional rugby union team from Hong Kong that plays in the Global Rapid Rugby competition.[1]
 | |
| Union | Hong Kong Rugby Union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2018 |
| Location | Hong Kong |
| Ground(s) | (Cap: 40,000) Hong Kong Stadium(Cap: 11,981) Siu Sai Wan(Cap: 9,000) Aberdeen Stadium |
| Coach(es) | (Head coach) Craig Hammond(Team manager) Andrew Hall |
| Captain(s) | Liam Slatem |
| League(s) | Global Rapid Rugby |
| Official website | |
| southchinatigers | |
The team was launched in 2018 to participate in the inaugural Global Rapid Rugby season.[2]
For the naming of the team, South China tigers are considered as the most distinctive of all tiger subspecies. The population once numbered more than 4,000 in the wild, distributed from Hunan, Jiangxi in the north to as far south as Hong Kong.[3]
History
The inaugural Global Rapid Rugby season was played as a showcase series in 2019, with the South China Tigers playing four matches in the Asia Showcase.[1] In the first Rapid Rugby match, Glyn Hughes scored the Tigers' first try in the ninth minute against the Western Force in Perth on 29 March 2019.[4] The team secured their first Rapid Rugby victory a month later in a home match against the Asia Pacific Dragons, winning 29–19 at the Aberdeen Sports Ground.[5]
Players and personnel
Squad
The squad for the 2020 season includes:
| South China Tigers – 2020 Global Rapid Rugby [upper-alpha 1] | |
|---|---|
Hooker
Prop
Lock
Backrow
|
Scrum-half
Fly-half
Centre
Wing
Fullback
Notes:
|
| Bold denotes player is internationally capped. (c) Denotes team captain. 1 denotes marquee player. |
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Staff
Appointments for the 2019 season:[7]
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Craig Hammond | Head Coach |
| Scott Sneddon | Assistant Coach |
| Sam Hocking | Assistant Coach |
| Brett Wilkinson | Assistant Coach |
| Andrew Hall | Team Manager |
Records
Season standings
Global Rapid Rugby
| Year | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | +/− | BP | Pts | Play-offs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 * | 3rd | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 93 | 145 | −52 | 2 | 6 | — |
Notes:
^* 2019 Rapid Rugby matches in the Asia showcase.
Head coaches
- Craig Hammond (2019–present) [7]
References
- "Rapid Rugby 2019 Schedule on show" (PDF) (Press release). Global Rapid Rugby. 1 March 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2019.
- "HKRU confirms involvement in Global Rapid Rugby" (Press release). Hong Kong Rugby Union. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
- "HKFP History: A brief history of South China tigers in Hong Kong" (Press release). Hong Kong Free Press. 30 April 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
- "Force power their way past Tigers". Global Rapid Rugby. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- "Global Rapid Rugby: South China Tigers win first home match as they beat Asia Pacific Dragons". South China Morning Post. 21 April 2019. Archived from the original on 18 January 2020.
- "One Tean, One Dream". South China Tigers. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
- "Tigers ready to roar". The Standard. Hong Kong. 6 March 2019.
- Blennerhassett, Patrick (5 March 2019). "'Chaotic and high speed': South China Tigers unveil diverse roster for Global Rapid Rugby". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019.
