Valley Fort RFC

Being a mini/youth rugby club, membership is through the youth players themselves; parents are not required to obtain a membership before their child can participate in rugby. Although there are no adult memberships, unlike the social norm practised by a number of prominent social clubs which offer mini/youth rugby, parents get involved by taking up the role as a team manager or coach – usually in one group in which their own child plays. In other cases, these parents join the club council/committee and administer the club.[3] Membership application is relatively straightforward. There are few formalities apart from annual membership renewal at the start of each season in August/September.[4]

Minis (U5-U12)

All the Minis teams train on Sunday mornings.  The older children (U9 to U12) also train on a Friday evening from mid-October onwards. Girls and boys train and play together until U9s when ‘contact’ skills begin to be introduced.  After that the girls teams for U9/U10 and U11/U12 are combined while we run separate age-group teams for the boys.

Competitive opportunities for the Minis up to U11 in the most-part take the form of ‘festivals’ where teams play short games of approximately 10 minutes against a number of different oppositions, as part of a family-oriented full day event.  There are usually six festivals each season, held once a month on a Sunday, from October onwards.

At U12, instead of festivals, teams play in one of two tournaments: The Richard Hawkes Cup (a mixed/boys tournament) and The Kim Lam Cup (a girls tournament).  There are six rounds of both tournaments and these are typically played on the same dates as the Minis festivals.

There is also a chance to compete overseas on the annual Club tour which has, in recent years, taken Minis players and their parents to Singapore, Japan and Malaysia.  The highlight of the season however, is the Hong Kong Sevens held in April each year, where the Minis play in showcase games at the Hong Kong Stadium in front of thousands of rugby fans and some of the players have an opportunity to be ball boys or girls.

Youth (U13-U19)

Our Youth teams train on Tuesday and Thursday evenings as well as on Sundays.  For boys, individual teams are fielded in the U13, U14, U16 and U19 age-groups.  For girls, teams are combined at the U14 and U16 age group level.  In many of these age groups, both Premiership and Championship teams are fielded.

The season is split into three main parts:

• September & October – Training and friendly games
• November & December – XIIs and XVs league fixtures
• January, February & March – Xs and Sevens

Youth squads play regular full-length matches against a single opposition. Many of the Club’s Youth players are well represented in Hong Kong’s National Age Grade teams.

Valley Fort RFC Coaches

From U5 to U8, coaching is led by knowledgeable parents focused on fostering a love of the game and an understanding of the basic non-contact laws.

From U9 onwards, each of the teams is coached by a professional coach from Valley RFC.  He or she is supported by a parent coach whose role is expected to fade as the children progress towards Youth level.  The Valley RFC coaches are all high-level players; some play or coach at national level.  All are experienced professionals with a love and respect for the game, as well as up-to-date knowledge of training and playing strategies.

in bold = players internationals
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union Andrew Kelly Hooker Scotland James Lythgoe Hooker England Rico Lorenzana Hooker Philippines Alastair Kalin Hooker England Alex Ng Prop Hong Kong Jack Bennett Prop Hong Kong Terry Tsang Prop Hong Kong Tom Morgan-Harris Prop England John Hamilton Prop Hong Kong Kevin Curtis Prop New Zealand Chris Mason Lock New Zealand Sean Emmerton Lock England On King Lock Hong Kong Brent Kotze Lock South Africa Paul Nolan Lock England Grant Livingston Lock England Andrew Bridle Flanker Hong Kong Nick Hewson Flanker Hong Kong Ollie Niessen Flanker England Rory McGregor Flanker England Tony Wong Flanker Hong Kong Terence Montgomery Flanker Hong Kong Alex Baddeley Number 8 Hong Kong Edward Taylor Number 8 England Jack-Daniel Spoors Number 8 England

Player Position Union Kirk Munro Scrum-half Hong Kong Joshua Peters Scrum-half Hong Kong Kaikobad Karbhari Scrum-half New Zealand Ben Rimene Fly-half Hong Kong Ryan Meacheam Fly-half New Zealand Charlie Knox Fly-half England Niall Rowark Fly-half Hong Kong Lee Jones Centre Hong Kong Ian Molyneux Centre England Ian Chan Centre Australia Justin Temara Centre Hong Kong Tim Sutton Wing Hong Kong Salom Yiu Wing Hong Kong Chris Scott Wing Wales Dom Sing Wing Hong Kong Martin Field Wing England Jean Baptiste Aldigé Fullback France Kelvin Lea Fullback Australia

The club is a recognised member of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union, and is affiliated to Valley RFC as their Rugby Academy Section.[5] Valley RFC is an adult Rugby Football Club also offering Team-Hockey and Netball. The hockey and netball sections also have a Youth Academy.[6]

• Rugby Football
• Rugby Union
• Rugby league
• Hong Kong Rugby Football Union
• Hong Kong national rugby union team
• Hong Kong women's national rugby union team
• Hong Kong Sevens

• Official Club site
• Valley RFC: Senior Section of Valley Fort RFC
• Official site of Hong Kong Rugby-Football Union