Hong Kong Sevens curtain-raiser HKFC 10s is back with women’s debut – and England legend Rochelle Clark vows to be ‘vocal’
- Women’s tournament included for the first time as 10-a-side tournament at Hong Kong Football Club is revived
- Growth in the women’s game ‘going through the roof at the moment’, Clark says
The Tradition HKFC 10s returns to the city on Wednesday for the first time in four years, reclaiming its traditional place during Hong Kong Sevens week.
Back for its 35th edition, the tournament has a new element this time around with the inclusion of a women’s competition. Five teams will battle it out for the cup over the next two days.
Among those involved is Rochelle Clark, who with 137 appearances is one of the most capped England players of all time. Here in her capacity as coach with RKS Legal Samurai, and as a tournament ambassador, the player they call “Rocky” said she was “absolutely elated” to be part of the week.
“Women’s rugby, the growth is going through the roof at the moment,” Clark said. “It’s such an exciting time to be involved, and getting tournaments like this is fantastic.”
Well known for her achievements on the pitch, this week the 41-year-old will be “trampling the sideline”, as her squad of “youngsters with a lot of speed” go up against Ashbury Tropics, Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix, FindRugbyNow and Hong Kong Football Club’s Natixis Ice side.
Not overly impressed with being “chucked on the bench” this time around, Clark, who described herself as a “vocal supporter” when coaching, said she loved that role and called it a “priceless opportunity”.
“I played for Samurai years ago,” she said. “I played some Sevens for them when I was a lot younger and fitter. It’ll be interesting to make memories as a coach rather than a player, but I’m delighted to be here.”
For a long time Clark was England’s most capped player, until Sarah Hunter passed her record at the Women’s World Cup last year. Hunter retired last Saturday after England’s 58-7 win over Scotland, her 141st Test appearance.
In an international career that spanned 16 years, Hunter won a World Cup, numerous Six Nations titles and countless accolades. Now she will need to find her next path.
For Clark that has been coaching and media work, but she will reach out to a fellow England legend to offer any help she can.
“Once you retire nobody tells you how hard it is,” Clark said. “It’s really hard to go from being that England player and that person who is so used to training for something, and you can feel like you’ve lost your purpose.
“And it’s stuff like this [the 10s] that gives you that purpose and that focus to know what the next stage is. And it takes a while to adjust, it really does. I’ll be in close contact with her, knowing how hard I found it, to make sure she has a better time.”
