12 Men’s and five Women’s teams set to battle it out at Hong Kong Football Club this month.

 Former internationals Victor Matfield, Nick Easter, Kevin Maggs, Rocky Clark and Tamara Taylor to feature in ‘world’s best’ 10-a-side invitational rugby tournament.

HONG KONG, 3 March 2023 – The Tradition HKFC 10s will feature a stellar line-up of 12 Men’s and five Women’s teams when the world’s best invitational rugby tens tournament returns to Hong Kong Football Club from 29-30 March.

Taking advantage of HKFC’s outstanding facilities, the tournament will once again play host to the stars of the game as the rugby world turns its attention to Hong Kong’s celebrated Happy Valley.

With the draw now complete, leading invitational sides confirmed to compete include 2019 runners-up Samurai RFC Warriors and twice finalists, Tradition YCAC from Japan. A-Trade Overseas Old Boys and Shanghai Rugby Football Club have also confirmed their participation and will be competing for top honours.

The mighty Samurai will be coached by former England No.8 Nick Easter and ex-Ireland centre Kevin Maggs, and will include 127-cap former Springbok captain, Victor Matfield within its ranks.

A-Trade Overseas Old Boys will boast a squad that includes New Zealand sevens star Gillies Kaka while East Africa RFC are sure to bring strong representation from Kenya and Uganda.

Hosts HKFC Natixis Club will be favourites among the Hong Kong clubs which also include tournament veterans Taikoo Place Scottish Exiles and IMPACTHK HKU Sandy Bay.

Women’s Competition

The inaugural Tradition HKFC Rugby 10s Women’s Competition will start with a bang, with RKS Legal Samurai Warriors set to roll out the big guns. The team will be coached by two titans of English rugby in Rochelle ‘Rocky’ Clark, who with 137 national appearances was the most capped English player of all time, and 115-cap team-mate, Tamara Taylor.

Other teams competing in the Women’s competition are Samurai women, Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix, Ashbury Tropics, HKFC Natixis Ice and FindRugbyNow.

Rocky Clark, who also takes on the role of Official Tournament Ambassador, said:

“Massively grateful to Samurai for inviting me to coach the team. After the opportunities they gave me as a player back in the day when I started my playing journey, to now coaching the team is a massive honour and where better to do it than the World’s Greatest Tens.”

HKFC Chairman, Neil Jensen, said:

“As a club, we are delighted to see that Hong Kong Football Club can still attract the biggest names in sport. We are really looking forward to seeing the return of the Tradition HKFC 10s to the club and to once again present this exciting precursor to the Sevens which started over three decades ago.

“I’m sure it will be a fantastic tournament for all the teams to compete in and a wonderful spectacle for local and visiting rugby fans.”

The 2023 Tradition HKFC 10s marks the 35th edition of Hong Kong Football Club’s flagship rugby event, considered by many to be the world’s leading invitational rugby tens tournament.

Inaugurated in 1986 to celebrate Hong Kong Football Club’s centenary, the Tradition HKFC 10s has long attracted the game’s top players including seven All Blacks who won the 2015 Rugby World Cup – Conrad Smith, Jerome Kaino (both 2003), Ben Smith, Charlie Faumuina (both 2008), Beauden Barrett, Sam Cane (both 2010) and Nehe Milner-Skudder (2013).

Recent stars include Australian legend Wendell Sailor (2017-18), and former France World Cup player Damien Traille (2018). In 2019, the event attracted several Fijian Sevens stars including Isake Katonibau, who won the Hong Kong Sevens a historic four times in a row from 2015-2018, and Apisai Domolailai, a 2016 Olympic gold medallist.

Tradition HKFC 10s consists of two days of fast-running rugby at Hong Kong Football Club. Matches are 10 minutes each way and scheduled back-to-back each day. Gates open at 8.30am. Tickets $120 per day, available on the gate, at www.hkfc10s.com and www.zicket.co

Tradition, a world leader in professional brokerage activities, has signed a three-year title sponsor agreement starting for the 2023 tournament, while other sponsors include Natixis (Gold Sponsor), AIA, Allied World, Samurai, Taikoo Place and Mourant (Silver Sponsors).

 For more information, visit:

Website:           www.hkfc10s.com

YouTube:        www.youtube.com/hkfc10s

Facebook:        www.facebook.com/HKFC10s

Twitter:                        www.twitter.com/HKFC10s

Instagram:        www.instagram.com/hkfc10s

Hashtag:          #HKFC10s #worldsbest10s