Latest News
- Silverbacks spread message across the web
- Nsenga makes whistle-stop tour of Scotland
- Rwandan rugby hails ‘great friend’ Ruth
- Kit collection caps successful Silverbacks tour
- Silverbacks relish run to Cup semi-finals
- Rwandans eye silverware on return to Hong Kong
- Hong Kong tour sparks Rwandan rugby boom
- Silverbacks planning Hong Kong return
- Skinstad and Bentley impressed by Silverbacks
- Silverbacks take tips from awesome Aliens
Historic first trip a success
both on and off the field
The Silverbacks made their first trip outside East Africa with a 10-day tour to Hong Kong in late March 2010. The 13-man squad, plus coach and manager, took part in the Altus Kowloon RugbyFest, a 10-a-side tournament at King’s Park featuring teams from around the world. The RugbyFest is one of several tournaments in the territory’s week-long Festival of Rugby that culminates in the famous Hong Kong Sevens.
Before RugbyFest, the Silverbacks enjoyed a joint training session with renowned New Zealand touring side Aliens, the defending champions in the elite-level HKFC Tens. They also trained alongside another top Tens squad, the UK-based Penguins, and were put through their paces by Penguins Coaching Academy staff including Japan coach John Kirwan and former Scotland coach Frank Hadden.
The Silverbacks made their mark at RugbyFest. They won four of their six games in Pool One, only losing narrowly in the other two, to finish second in the standings. That put them through to the Plate final where, despite dominating possession, they went down 7-0 to the ARC All-Stars, a mixture of players from Hong Kong, New Zealand and South Africa. Rwanda’s displays impressed a crowd that included Springboks great Bob Skinstad and former British and Irish Lions winger John Bentley, who both praised their pace and skills.
The Penguins Coaching Academy then put the entire squad through a basic IRB coaching course at Hong Kong Football Club so the players would be able to coach others back in Rwanda. The team also attended the world famous Hong Kong Sevens courtesy of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union, who waived the cost of tickets. In addition, HKRFU director of development Ruth Mitchell organised a huge collection of playing kit and boots for the players to take back to Rwanda.
|
|
 |