Hong Kong Sevens coach Monaghan takes Rugby Canada role, but expects big things from city’s women this year
- Iain Monaghan is taking a new role with Rugby Canada after spending four years helping usher in a new era for women’s teams in Hong Kong
- Scotsman believes his soon-to-be former charges can ‘achieve something special for themselves’
Sevens coach Iain Monaghan is expecting big things from Hong Kong’s women this year, even if he won’t be around to see it in person.
The Scotsman is ending his four-year association with the team next month to take up a new role with Rugby Canada, a move he called “exciting and daunting”.
Still, the 42-year-old will be watching the progress his soon-to-be former charges make with interest, as the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series and Asian Games all loom on the horizon.
Hong Kong teams face difficult journey to HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series
“I’m pretty confident where we’re at with the preparation this year that they can achieve something special for themselves in and around some of the big tournaments,” Monaghan said.
With men’s and women’s teams involved in the Hong Kong Sevens at the end of March, the city’s players will have the opportunity to test themselves against the best in the world, and Monaghan said that and the Challenger series would “ideal preparation” for his side’s Asian Games push.
“The Hong Kong Sevens will be a massive jump for them. Players will get opportunities who didn’t expect to get them, but there is loads of growth still in the group and they are nowhere near the finished article.
“It will be a big, challenging year for them, because it’ll be the first time they’ve had a season’s worth of tournaments and preparation, but equally they’ll have a good 15s calendar that 15-20 of them will have some involvement in.”
Since his arrival in 2018, the women’s game in Hong Kong has changed considerably, and for Monaghan one of the most rewarding aspects of his job has been “watching the young players develop”.
“Three years ago we were training with 12 girls, because of transitions and retirements, now we have a group of 28 to 30 training,” he said. “And I think only four don’t hold a [Hong Kong] passport at the moment, so that’s healthy for the major tournaments. Maybe three out of those four are considering applying for a passport, and that’s how much they are committed to the programme.”
Despite a slightly disappointing end to last year’s Asia Rugby Sevens Series, the women’s 15s side finished it with two Test wins over Kazakhstan, and the Sevens team proved on its day it “could beat anybody”.
Monaghan said that his leaving did not mean he would lose touch because he would be interested in how the players “are doing as people”, and he was confident that success on the success wasn’t very far away.
Rugby Canada will no doubt be hoping that the improvements Monaghan has helped usher in during his time in Hong Kong will be replicated there, where the Scotsman will have a roving brief across the Sevens programme as part of his job.
And while he called it a “positive move”, Monaghan said he was leaving with a “heavy heart”.
“After four years it’s home for my wife and I, and obviously we’ve spent a lot more time in Hong Kong than we thought we would,” he said.
“In coaching, generally if you’re lucky, you’re working in two-year cycles, three-year cycles depending on contracts, so to have managed four has been great.”
Ultimately, the opportunity to work with a new group players in a new place was too good to turn down, and it was not an easy choice to make.
“I know how exciting a year ahead it is for Hong Kong, having seen the draft plans, and again that makes it a big decision,” he said.
“I wouldn’t have got that role if I hadn’t been in Hong Kong, so I’ll be forever grateful for the opportunities that have been given to me here with the Sports Institute and the rugby union.
“I know I’ll be leaving the place in good hands and on good terms, and you never say never, I might be back here one day.”
