USRC Tigers (三軍會猛虎欖球會) is a rugby union club based in King's Park, Hong Kong. It arose from the merger between Kai Tak Tigers and DeA Flamingo Rugby Football Club in 1990 to become "DeA Tigers". In 2014, DeA Tigers associated with the

United Services Recreation Club The United Services Recreation Club (USRC) () is a historical club located on Gun Club Hill Barracks site at Gascoigne Road in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Originally it was a British colonial establishment but now is a property of the People's Liberation ...

(USRC) to become "USRC Tigers".

History

Kai Tak Mini Rugby Club, a precursor to the present-day club, was created in the late 1970s to cater for

mini rugby Mini rugby, also known as New Image Rugby, is a form of rugby union designed to introduce the sport to children. It uses a smaller ball and pitch than standard rugby, and has eight to ten players a side. Invented in England in 1970, mini rugby was ...

. It derived its name from its location at the sports ground at Kai Tak.Rugby section
''The KCC Magazine'', May 2008,

Kowloon Cricket Club The Kowloon Cricket Club, also called KCC (), is a members only cricket club and social club situated in Kowloon, Hong Kong, on Cox's Road. History The Cricket Club was established on 4 October 1904 and was provided land from the government i ...

However, as the Kai Tak Airport expanded, the club was relocated first to Blackdown Barracks where the

British military The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, su ...

were stationed, and then successively to Shek Kip Mei and finally King's Park, where it shared the grounds with 'Tigers Rugby Club' of the British Armed Forces. After the British departed in 1997, Kai Tak Minis adopted the word 'Tigers' into their name and became the Kai Tak Tigers Mini Rugby Club until the merger with DeA. The 'seniors' part of the club was formed in 1988 to pursue a Rugby Development Programme under the auspices of the

Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, that has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and young ...

, and was thus named 'DeA'. This group of local male and female P.E. teachers joined with the scheme participants to enter the first ever touch rugby training and tournament. In 1990, 'DeA Flamingo Rugby Football Club' was created to cater for older rugby players in need of a senior club. Over time, the 'Flamingo' in the name was dropped. In September 2002,About DeA
DeA Tigers, 12 September 2008 upon its merger with Kai Tak, creating only the second club to cater for rugby at all levels, the club henceforth become 'DeA Tigers Rugby Football Club'. At the club's general meeting in 2014, members approved an association with the

(USRC) and a name change to USRC Tigers RFC, and as of 2021 season KROLL USRC Tigers. "USRC TIGERS"
USRC Tigers RFC. 4 August 2014

from the original on 8 August 2014

Grounds

Tigers' "home ground" at King's Park is shared with other members of the King's Park Sports Association – sporting clubs that play a range of sports such as football, baseball. The actual tenant is the

Hong Kong Rugby Football Union Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU) is the governing body for rugby union in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1952 and became affiliated to World Rugby (then known as the International Rugby Board) in 1988.Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' ...

, which signed the underlying seven-year lease with the Hong Kong Government for the grounds, and invested in laying artificial turf on all pitches and installing floodlighting.

Men’s senior 2021-22 squad

in bold = players internationals

Notable players

Rowan Varty Rowan Varty (born 20 March 1986) is a British-born Hong Kong rugby union player. He plays for the Hong Kong Cricket Club in the HKRFU Premiership. Rowan has also captained the Hong Kong national rugby union team, Hong Kong Sevens team and bee ...

–

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

international, former Toyota Shokki Shuttles player, also the first Hong Kong player to represent the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

.Sallay, Alvin (23 April 2013). "Rowan Varty to add pace to Barbarians". ''South China Morning Post'' * Mark Reddish –

Wellington Rugby Football Union The Wellington Rugby Football Union (known as the Wellington Lions for competition reasons) are a New Zealand governing body of rugby union in the New Zealand province of Wellington Region. The main stadium is Sky Stadium (formerly named Westp ...

and

Hurricanes (rugby union) The Hurricanes ( ; formerly the Wellington Hurricanes) is a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Wellington that competes in Super Rugby. The Hurricanes were formed to represent the lower North Island, including the East Coast, Ha ...

player. *

Adam Hill Adam Hill (born 19 October 1986) is a New Zealand Rugby Union player who currently plays as a loose forward for in the ITM Cup and the in Super Rugby. Career A South Island native, Hill started out his senior career for the Dunedin based ...

–

and

player. *

Senirusi Seruvakula Senirusi Seruvakula (born 12 November 1969) is a Fijian rugby union coach. He is currently the Head Coach of the Fiji women's national rugby union team. Rugby career Seruvakula played for the Brothers Rugby Club in Brisbane for seven years. He m ...

–

Naitasiri Rugby Club :see also Naitasiri District Naitasiri is one of the 14 provinces of Fiji and one of eight located on Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. Geography and infrastructure Naitasiri covers an area of , and occupies the area mostly to the north of Suva, ...

Fijian rugby union Fijian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Fiji * The Fijians, persons from Fiji, or of Fijian descent. For more information about the Fijian people, see: ** Demographics of Fiji ** Culture of Fiji * The Fijian language ...

player *

Kiniviliame Radaveta Kiniviliame Radaveta (born 17 March 1975 in Naitasiri, Fiji) is a Fijian rugby union footballer, who has played at flanker, centre, and hooker. He has been capped once for Fiji in a match against neighbours Tonga. At a young age he played rugby ...

–

Hydro Rugby Club Hydro from Ancient Greek word ὕδωρ (húdōr), meaning ''water''. Hydro may also refer to: Energy technologies * Water-derived power or energy: ** Hydropower, derived from water ** Hydroelectricity, in electrical form * "Hydro", AC main ...

and

player. *

Dane Maraki Dane or Danes may refer to: People Pertaining to Denmark * Dane, somebody from Denmark * Danes, an ethnic group native to Denmark * Danes (Germanic tribe) Other people * Dane (name), a surname and a given name (and a list of people with the name ...

–

Manly RUFC Manly Rugby Union Football Club is a rugby union club based in Manly, a suburb of Sydney. The club was formed in 1883 and competes in the New South Wales Rugby Union competitions, the Charter Hall Shute Shield. Manly, known as the Marlins, pl ...

player. *

Ivan Zenovic Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgar ...

–

international. * Charles Armstrong – Ireland U18 international, former

Nottingham R.F.C. Nottingham Rugby Club is a rugby union club based in Nottingham, England. The club's first team currently plays in the RFU Championship, the second tier of English Rugby. The first XV are nicknamed The Archers, in reference to the famous Robin ...

player. * Marc Siddons – former Lazio Roma Rugby player. * Donald Blake – former

player. * Sam Wood – former

player. * Robert Cleary – former

and Northampton Old Scouts RFC player. Braam Gerber (RSA) Blue Bulls

Membership

Tigers currently have about 1,000 playing members in the minis, youth, senior and social sections. Membership of the mini/youth rugby club is relatively open, and is achieved through the players themselves; registration takes place at the start of each season in late August/early September. Costs are kept to a minimum by parents' active involvement in the running of the club, such as taking on the role as coaches or in other capacities, and/or join the Section or General Committees that administer the club.

Seasons

USRC Tigers have a semi-professional Men’s and Women’s team in the HKRFU Premiership, the highest league in Hong Kong rugby. Furthermore USRC Tigers field teams adult, development and social teams in Prem A and several lower leagues. Youth are playing their games in the Youth Premiership while Minis have several inter-club festivals throughout the season.

Club structure

The club is divided into three main sporting divisions: Senior, Youth, and Mini; each division has its own committee, and sections for girls/women's rugby. The club is run by a General Committee consisting of six Elected Members and three ''ex officio'' members, who are the chairmen of each of the Seniors Colts and Minis, and a number of co-opted members. It also has activities on a social level for adults. The DeA 1st, 2nd and 3rd XV all reached the finals in 2010/2011 season.

Youth-rugby section

The Colts are youth section, for children aged between 12 and 18. Tigers Youth rugby is the largest and most successful Youth rugby section of any club in Hong Kong having won many successive U19 championship titles.

Mini-rugby section

The Minis cater for children from the age of 4 up to the age of 11. Minis play touch rugby from 4 years onwards while full contact tackling is gradually introduced for kids aged 8 years. The Tiger Minis usually train on Sunday mornings at their home ground at Kings Park. Every November they are hosting Tigerfest, one of the largest mini rugby festivals in the world, often with over 3,500 participating players.

Vice presidents

There is a further unofficial section consisting of distinguished former players, club officials, coaches and supporters called The Grey Commandos.

Affiliations

As of August 2014, Tigers RFC is associated with the

. In the 2017-18 season, USRC Tigers came top of the league with 39 points.

References

External links

Seniors and coltsMinis
{{Rugby union in Hong Kong Rugby clubs established in 1978 Rugby union teams in Hong Kong King's Park, Hong Kong