HKRU 2021/2022 Domestic Rugby Premiership Season

The Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU) 2021/2022 domestic rugby Premiership season kicks off this weekend on September 18 2021. We look at the changes for this season and the leagues involved.

New Title Sponsor in 2021

Earlier in September 2021, Reckitt and its brand Dettol announced its partnership with the Hong Kong Rugby Union, in becoming the Principal Partner of the Men’s and Women’s Premierships. This new sponsor to elite rugby is the first time a sponsor has supported the women’s and men’s domestic leagues simultaneously as far as we know.

As such, the Hong Kong Rugby Union’s (HKRU) showcase competitions will be known as the Dettol Men’s Premiership and Dettol Women’s Premiership, the HKRU announced via a press statement.

HKRU 2021/2022 Domestic Rugby Premiership Season

The leagues kick off on Saturday, 18 September 2021, with games being held across Hong Kong. In addition, there will be games held at the Hong Kong Stadium with a Stadium Series taking place on Halloween weekend (Saturday, 30 October) and on 6 November and 13 November.

HKRU Chairman Paddy Donovan said: “We know that fans miss watching rugby at the iconic Hong Kong Stadium, and we promised our players and supporters a season to remember so we are excited to debut the Dettol Premiership Stadium Series, which offers three great days out for members of the public, and a fantastic opportunity for rugby fans to celebrate the game with people from across Hong Kong.”

The Series will feature men’s and women’s Premiership games with “youth rugby showcase matches, music, and other entertainment staged throughout the day.”

The Series will provide the HKRU with a chance to test operational trials ahead 45th Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens planned to take place in April 2022 after two years of non-events due to the pandemic and protests in Hong Kong.

Rugby World Cup 2021 and 2023- HKRU Players compete for places

The HKRU has a concerto effect of international matches for the men and women and in 7 and XVs over the next year.

With Rugby World Cup qualification attempts for Hong Kong’s men’s and women’s representative teams (the Rugby World Cup 2021 is held in 2022 in New Zealand, while the Rugby World Cup for men will be held in France in 2023.) Furthermore, the Asia Rugby 7s Series will determine the Asian Qualifiers for the Sevens RWC 2022 to be held in South Africa.

The Asia Rugby regional qualification events take place in Q4 2021 and Q1 2022 so the eligible players will be competing for spots to possibly guide the national team to the various World Cups (and ranking for the Asia Games in 2022!)

New Hong Kong men’s coach Simon Amor said: “This will help us build as a national team towards the Asia Rugby Championships, and defending our title in January.”

Women’s Rugby in Hong Kong

Women’s rugby remains the fastest-growing segment of Hong Kong Rugby confirmed by the HKRU. The union will run four women’s leagues for the first time ever this 2021/2022 season.

Women’s Championship

This includes a new competition, the Championship, which falls below the elite Premiership level. The HKRU said “The Women’s Premiership will be contested across three full rounds for the first time, as the league jettisons the former ranking round warm-up from previous years.”

A promotion and relegation match will be introduced at season end between the championship winners and the bottom-placed Premiership side.

The Hong Kong Rugby Union – Dettol Premiership season 2021/2022

There are six clubs in the Dettol Men’s Premiership, while there are 10 senior divisions, involving over 75 teams, and features 18 teams across three grades:

The Grand Championships will take place on 12 March 2022.

Dettol Women’s Dettol Premiership

• Societe Generale Valley RFC
• Natixis Hong Kong Football Club Ice
• DAC Kowloon Ladies
• Kroll USRC Tigers RFC Ladies
• SCAA First Pacific Causeway Bay Phoenix
• Gai Wu Falcons

Dettol Men’s Dettol Premiership

• Societe Generale Valley RFC
• Natixis Hong Kong Football Club
• DAC Kowloon RFC
• Kroll USRC Tigers RFC
• ImpactHK HKU Sandy Bay RFC
• KPMG Hong Kong Scottish RFC

How to watch the HKRU rugby?

Follow the HKRU Facebook and other socials for the latest updates. We were told by HKRU CEO Robbie McRobbie that two games per weekend would be live-streamed online for free, with possible other match highlights from individual clubs.

Stay tuned for a published interview with the HKRU CEO next week.

All photos supplied by the HKRU.

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