South China Tigers ready to roar: Global Rapid Rugby

The Global Rapid Rugby (GRR) 2019 Showcase series kicked off last Friday, with the Western Force defeating a World 15s team in Perth. Now Hong Kong-based South China Tigers are set to take on the Western Force as part of the Asian Showcase.

South China Tigers: team selection

The team selection of the South China Tigers has also been unveiled for their opening game against the Western Force. The Tigers team is an incredibly diverse one. Most of the squad are made up of players who compete in the HKRU (Hong Kong Rugby Union) Premiership.

However, marquee additions include Fiji Olympic gold medallist Samisoni Viriviri, English premiership’s all-time leading try scorer, Tom Varndell, and Chinese national players Ma Chong and Liu Junkui. Of the 4 players, only Varndell and Ma Chong appear in the lineup to play on Friday.

You can read more in our article on the Tigers and GRR.

Malaysian Valke

In addition to the previously announced games versus the Western Force and Asian Pacific Dragons, a game against a Malaysian team called the Malaysian Valke appears on the latest schedule.

This seems to confirm the Malaysian representation for the future of the GRR which was rumoured to be backed by South African Currie Cup division one club Falcons (Valke).

• Date: Friday 29th March 2019
• Venue: HPF Park, Perth, Australia
• Time: Game kicks off at 7.40pm (Perth, Australia time)

The opening game was available on Fox Sports (Asia local channels) as well as streaming via the GRR website.