Valley Fort RFC

Valley Fort RFC
Full nameValley Fort Rugby Football Club
Founded1978 (1978) as Stanley Fort Rugby Football Club
LocationStanley and Happy Valley, Hong Kong
Ground(s)Stanley Fort (PLA barracks), Happy Valley sports ground
ChairmanSteve Medeiros
League(s)Hong Kong Mini Rugby Club League, Youth Rugby Club League
2020 / 21Premiership & Championship
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
www.valleyfort.com

Valley Fort Rugby Football Club or Valley Fort RFC is one of the oldest mini and youth rugby clubs in Hong Kong, offering rugby for players 4–18 years of age. It follows the widespread Football Code of Rugby Union and is the Academy Section of Hong Kong Rugby Football Union Division One Club, Valley Rugby Football Club.[1][2]

Valley Fort RFC was founded in the 1970s through the merger of two of Hong Kong’s oldest and most prestigious rugby clubs, Stanley Fort RFC and Valley RFC. The original training ground was Stanley Fort – at the time, the home of the British Garrison on Hong Kong Island.  Some of the teams continue to train at the Fort.  However, with over 650 playing members, it is now one of the largest junior clubs in Hong Kong and has expanded its training venues to Tai Tam, Aberdeen, and Happy Valley.

Membership

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 practiced 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]

2012-2013 senior squad

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

Notable players

  • Andrew Kelly - former Edinburgh Rugby player. Scotland A. international.
  • Kevin Curtis - former Taranaki Rugby Union player.
  • Grant Livingston - former London Scottish player.
  • Lee Jones - Hong Kong international.
  • Niall Rowark - Hong Kong international.
  • Salom Yiu - Hong Kong international.
  • Ben Rimene - Hong Kong international.
  • Jack Bennet - Hong Kong international.
  • Kirk Munro - Hong Kong international.
  • Justin Temara - Hong Kong international.
  • Alex Ng - Hong Kong international.
  • Andrew Bridle - Hong Kong international.
  • Nick Hewson - Hong Kong international.
  • Terence Montgomery - Hong Kong international.
  • Alex Baddeley - Hong Kong international.

Sponsors and affiliations

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]

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.valleyrfc.com/academy Valley RFC Academy page (See scroll-down menu)
  2. ^ http://www.valleyfort.com/Pages/TheClub.htm Introduction to the Club
  3. ^ http://www.valleyfort.com/TextFiles/club_structure_diagram.pdf Club Structure diagram
  4. ^ http://www.valleyfort.com/pages/Payment_procedures.htm Valley Fort RFC: Membership Payment Procedures
  5. ^ Valley Fort RFC: Introduction to the Club/
  6. ^ http://www.valleyrfc.com/academy Valley RFC Academy page (see scroll-down menu)