Hong Kong’s new rugby sevens women’s head coach Andy Vilk goes in at deep end with Asian Games, Olympic qualifier and Asia Rugby Sevens Series
- Vilk starts with four key tournaments, the first being the Asian series event in South Korea this weekend
- The team’s new boss stresses the importance of team culture, but says: ‘I don’t want to create a shock, to change too much too quickly’
After 15 years playing and coaching rugby in Italy, Hong Kong’s new women’s sevens head coach Andy Vilk instinctively reaches for the country’s language to communicate a significant point.
He is honest to a fault in his native tongue, however, and Vilk freely volunteers that he “probably didn’t get a complete handle on the culture”.
Vilk was an England sevens captain and featured in more than 30 tournaments for his country. He won the Hong Kong Sevens in 2006, shortly after claiming silver at Melbourne’s Commonwealth Games.
“I grew up English, that is my DNA, so I would still ask my Italian staff what they felt the team needed at specific moments,” Vilk told the Post.
“From a cultural point of view, as much as I try to understand, my default position is, ‘What would an Anglo-Saxon player or team need, right now?’ You don’t always have all the answers.”
Vilk is in the foothills of a steep learning curve after his appointment to the Hong Kong post this month.
The culture of Vilk’s new environment will inform the 42-year-old’s leadership model. Time is already an adversary, however: he will take his team to Incheon, South Korea this weekend for the first leg of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series.
The second series event in Bangkok in October is sandwiched by September’s Hangzhou-staged Asian Games and the Olympic qualifying tournament, set for Fukuoka in mid-November.
“In the immediate term I want to understand where I can contribute the most,” Vilk said. “Then I can assess where I contribute further ahead.
“I don’t want to create a shock, to change too much too quickly. That is unsettling for players and doesn’t work.
“The culture influences every strand of the job. It dictates how the team reacts to winning or losing, what motivates individual players, in tournaments or training. It shapes everyday interactions: how you approach meetings, how you start and finish training.”
Vilk took over the Italy team in 2013 after playing in the country for Treviso and Calvisano.
He spent his final year as the Italian rugby federation’s assistant high-performance and development coach, alongside a sevens consultancy position.
Leaving was tough, but he formed an “immediate rapport” with Paul John, head of the elite sevens athlete programme at the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI).
“The chance to work with Johnsy, and with a women’s team, which requires a different skill set, will develop me as a person and coach,” Vilk said.
“I spoke to a lot of ex-colleagues and former adversaries coaching in the women’s game to ensure I was as prepared as possible.
“There is an aura here, [HKSI] is a fantastic facility and Johnsy has created a high-class environment.”
The Fukuoka tournament provides one berth at the Paris 2024 Olympics, with additional places on offer for the repechage competition.
The forthcoming Asian series offers access to the second-tier Challenger Series, which is a gateway to the elite World Rugby Sevens Series.
“The repechage, if we don’t qualify in Japan, brings an opportunity to be an Olympic team and to have increased exposure to quality opposition,” he said.
“It is such an exciting period – four tournaments, with so much potential and so many possibilities for 2024.”
The ambition of this Englishman in Hong Kong is very clear in any language.
