John Barclay will likely lead Scotland into next years 2019 Rugby World Cup, but who are the best rugby players from Hong Kong to make their mark in rugby? Steven Smith counts them down.
1. John Barclay
Born in Hong Kong, Barclay made his Scotland debut in the 2007 Rugby World Cup match against New Zealand at Murrayfield the day before his 21st birthday. He has since won over 70 caps for the dark blues and was appointed captain by Gregor Townsend in 2017.
He began his club career with Glasgow Warriors before moving to Welsh region Scarlets where he'd capture the PRO12 title. The 31-year-old has since headed back to Scotland, signing for Edinburgh on a three-year contract.
2. Ruth Mitchell
Mitchell has long been one of the driving forces in the growth of the women’s game, serving in a variety of roles, including representing Hong Kong at both sevens and fifteens, serving as the Hong Kong team manager and as the tournament director of the Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens.
3. Nathan Earle
Hong Kong-born Earle joined England’s party for the senior tour of Argentina in the summer of 2017 and impressed Eddie Jones so much that he earned another international call-up as part of the 35-man squad for the 2018 NatWest 6 Nations.
The 23-year-old didn’t make his debut in the Championship but was called on by Eddie Jones once again for the 2018 summer tour to South Africa. He's also recently swapped Saracens for Harlequins as he looks to continue a bright start to his career.
4. David Lewis
He joined the Hong Kong Police in 1988, with whom he served for 28 years. He first represented Hong Kong at rugby in 1989 and last played for a representative Hong Kong team against the Penguins in 2003.
He then went onto become the most capped player for Hong Kong with 55 appearances.
5. Edmund Rolston
ED ROLSTON (Left)[/caption]
The winger is the youngest ever Hong Kong international, having represented Hong Kong at all age groups from under 14s through to the senior team when he was capped aged 17 years 4 months and 25 days.
His previous clubs are Loughborough Students RUFC (2009–2012, national division 1) where he represented the senior 1st team in 30 starts scoring 25 tries.[3]
He played with Leicester Tigers for the 2010–2011 season and was part of the team that won the Aviva A League. He was also a member of the Leicester Tigers 1st team squad[4] for the 2011–2012 season. He returned to Hong Kong in 2015 and now plays for the premiership side Valley RFC.
6. Ashley Billington
Billington made his international debut on 23 October 1992 at Dubai International Sevens. He played his final XVs match for Hong Kong on 31 October 1998 at Jelan Besar Stadium in the Hong Kong vs Japan match.
In 1994 he scored a world record 50 points (10 tries) in a single match against Singapore in a Rugby World Cup Qualifier. He in total won 22 caps, scoring 156 points.
After his rugby days had passed, he taught at Hong Kong International School as a P.E. Instructor. Ashley is still teaching at HKIS, an international school in Hong Kong, as of 2016.
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