HONG KONG CHINA RUGBY AND JAPAN RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION SIGN MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

Against the magnificent backdrop of Kai Tak Stadium on Sevens Saturday, Hong Kong China Rugby (HKCR) and Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) confirmed the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The agreement pledges to build on the existing relationship between two of the founding member Unions of Asia Rugby to benefit rugby in Japan and Hong Kong – as well as to promote and grow the game in Asia.

Following the Melrose Claymores match between Hong Kong China Men and Japan, JRFU President Masato Tsuchida and Chairman Kensuke Iwabuchi, appeared pitchside alongside HKCR Chairman Chris Brooke and CEO James Farndon. They were joined by Hong Kong China Captain James Christie and Japan Captain Daigo Morio for a ceremonial moment, relayed to the stadium screens as a near-capacity crowd watched on.

James Farndon, CEO of Hong Kong China Rugby, expressed his excitement at the opportunities created by the agreement:

“Firstly, on behalf of everyone at Hong Kong China Rugby, I’d like to thank the JRFU delegation, the JRFU President and Chairman for their continued support leading up to today’s announcement.

“Our two Unions have been working successfully together for a significant period of time, and this was the opportunity to formalise our historical work and look ahead to what can be achieved moving forwards.”

Masato Tsuchida, President of the Japan Rugby Football Union, commented:

“We have a long history of collaboration with Hong Kong China Rugby and we are delighted to formalise future partnership opportunities through this MoU”. 

“Both Japan and Hong Kong have actively supported the growth of rugby in Asia since the foundation of Asia Rugby over 50 years ago. We will continue to leverage our respective Development and High Performance systems and expertise to strengthen the relationship between our Unions, and explore additional opportunities to enhance the technical assistance that we provide to Unions in the Asia Region.” 

Collaboration areas include creating a regular schedule of fixtures between men’s and women’s 15s representative teams; joint sevens rugby training camps; age grade rugby fixtures; domestic club rugby fixture and technical exchanges and joint medical and player welfare initiatives. There will also be a focus on the ways in which the two unions can best support rugby development across Asia.