Boots and all | Valley’s future full of peaks as pathway system starts to pay off
Four out the five Grand Championship trophies on offer this season, including Grand Final success in the top-flight Premiership division. No wonder Dean Herewini and the other coaching staff over at Societe Generale Valley were all smiles after a near clean-sweep last Saturday.
Four out the five Grand Championship trophies on offer this season, including Grand Final success in the top-flight Premiership division. No wonder Dean Herewini and the other coaching staff over at Societe Generale Valley were all smiles after a near clean-sweep last Saturday.
It is a remarkable achievement by one of Hong Kong’s most successful clubs. To underline the impact they have on the domestic game, seven Valley sides – five men’s and two women’s – reached the semi-final stage of the Grand Championship, proving there is depth across the board.
No single player is greater than any other, whether they be at the top Premiership level or in the Ma Jais
“Winning trophies is an added bonus but what matters is the bigger picture where everyone has a role to play and feels wanted,” says Herewini, Valley’s director of rugby. “The unity of the club is what is important. No single player is greater than any other, whether they be at the top Premiership level or in the Ma Jais.”
This brotherhood – and sisterhood – has always been one of the club’s key components. I remember turning up for matches at Happy Valley and hearing the handful of loyal fans shouting themselves hoarse. The women were the loudest as lifelong partnerships were made on and off the pitch. In fact, I believe that Hong Kong Rugby Football Union chairman Pieter Schats met his wife, Robyn, on the touchlines at a Valley game.
This togetherness is something Bloomberg Hong Kong Scottish and others are trying to replicate, though it’s harder for the more established set-ups such as Hong Kong Football Club and Hong Kong Cricket Club where rugby is just one of several sports played.
