Hong Kong Rugby Union axes professional men’s 15s elite programme as Covid-19 continues to crush budgets

The Elite Rugby Programme, comprising 30 professional athletes and five staff, will not have contracts renewed after June
‘Exceptional circumstances necessitated a change to our current model,’ says HKRU chairman Patrick Donovan

Hong Kong Rugby Union

Andrew McNicol

Published: 3:10pm, 18 Jan 2021

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The Hong Kong Rugby Union will terminate its Elite Rugby Programme (ERP) – the full-time men’s 15-a-side national team set-up – after current player and staff contracts run out at the end of June.

The decision to revert to its previous semi-professional model was a reluctant but necessary one given Covid-19 and its resultant financial and logistical impact, the Union said.

This means 30 athletes, four part-time “junior ERP players” and five staff members, will not be renewed on a full-time basis when their contracts expire on June 30. They will be the final batch of players and coaches under the programme introduced in 2016.

As of Monday, all affected players and staff have been informed of the decision with assurances that they will receive compensation and help for future employment opportunities. The Union will continue to fulfil their contracts, health insurance and retirement funds until contracts expire.

Hong Kong international Harry Sayers scores on his debut against South Korea in 2019. Photo: Handout

The Union also said it would continue to review models on how to fund the semi-pro players-to-be in future.

The domestic and international rugby scenes have felt the wrath of the pandemic this season. The two-year postponement of the city’s marquee event, the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, along with uncertainties over future tournaments and qualifiers, and the ending of the Hong Kong government’s Employment Support Scheme (a limited-time anti-epidemic fund or financial support for employers to maintain struggling employees), meant the Union could no longer sustain the ERP.

The opening ceremony for the elite training centre at the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong in 2016. Photo: Handout

The Union said the cut applies only to the elite men’s 15s set-up; the men’s and women’s sevens and the women’s 15s programmes remain intact.

“These exceptional circumstances necessitated a change to our current model with the objective of ensuring our long-term financial sustainability,” said HKRU chairman Patrick Donovan.

“Having made this difficult decision, it was imperative to give the affected players and staff as much notice as possible so we can work with them to support the transition to other opportunities.

The launch of Saxo Markets Men’s Domestic League 2020-21 at Hong Kong Football Club in November last year. Photo: Ike Images

“The decision has not been taken lightly and player welfare has been at the heart of what has been a very difficult and lengthy discussion process over the future of the ERP. This is something we remain fully committed to.”

The men’s 15s national team, who came heartbreakingly close to qualifying for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, had been setting their sights on the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France as postponed qualifiers beckoned. They have not played competitive rugby since March last year.

Though chances are slim, there is a route to one of the eight remaining spots should they win the postponed Asia Rugby Men’s Championship [ARC] 2021 against South Korea and Malaysia.

Hong Kong celebrate their Asia Rugby Championship win after beating South Korea at the Hong Kong Football Club in 2019. Photo: Edmond So

Hong Kong are the defending 2018 and 2019 ARC champions. The winners would be thrust into a home-and-away play-off against the Oceania Cup winners, either Tonga or Samoa. If they do not win the play-off, they will be seeded in a last-ditch repechage qualifier tournament.

“Many unions around the world are having to make – or have already made – similar decisions,” Donovan said. “The global game is facing a period of uncertainty as we try to assess the lasting impact of the pandemic on the sport.

“The continuing financial challenge imposed by Covid-19 on our hosting of the Hong Kong Sevens, which accounts for 95 per cent of our income, has been further exacerbated by the end of Global Rapid Rugby and the postponement of the Rugby World Cup qualifier from November 2021 to August 2022.”

Andrew Hall, who heads up the Elite Rugby Programme, oversees a training session in 2020. Photo: Ike Li

In its annual general meeting in July last year, the Union said it had suffered a “significant” financial setback of more than HK$150 million, a stark difference to its loss of HK$6.6 million in 2019. Two months earlier, it laid off 12 of its 155 full-time staff.

Other factors such as the postponement of the inaugural Asia-Pacific Rugby Championship until 2023 and uncertainties over the proposed moving of the Sevens to the new Kai Tak Stadium also played a role in the decision.