Dave Edgar’s Hong Kong Tens diary

 
The Scatterlings of Africa after winning the Bowl at the HK Tens
Well, not really, but we caught up with the Ikey Tigers center after his Hong Kong Tens (and Sevens) adventure.

uctrfc.co.za: How was Hongkong, or Honkers as some like to call it?

Dave Edgar:   It was a great experience and is always nice to see different places around the world. It’s a very busy city with loads of people everywhere, I think I’ll stick to the laid back lifestyle in Cape Town though. Everything was a bit to quick for me.

uctrfc.co.za: Can’t blame you. How did the Tens go? Day one was a bit wet, by the sounds of it.

Dave: The tens was good fun. The level of rugby was a lot better than I thought it would be and there were some good teams from NZ, France and Oz. The first day was very wet and we were playing on astro turf, which was new to all of us. Unfortunately we lost to a Hong Kong side, one we shouldn’t have, but it was a wake up call for the other games.

uctrfc.co.za: So, how did you go on the second day? What was your best moment and how did you end in the rankings?

Dave: Second day went well for us, we won our quarter and semis of the bowl and then we had a good win in the final of the bowl. We would have ideally liked to have competed for the cup, but in the end it was good to come away with some silverware. Theres no real moment that stood out for me, but I think just the winnng of the bowl was probably the best.

uctrfc.co.za: Well done! Who were the other guys in the Scatterlings of Africa team?

Dave: Our side was just made up of mates from Natal. Sean Jennings who lives in HK, suggested to Rorke Slater to organise a few okes to come have a jol and play in the tens. So we managed to get a little team of us together, found some sponsorship from Edusport and Worldfirst and headed off to HK. Most the players were old Kearsney, Michaelhouse, Hilton and Maritzburg College boys. As you know Bob Skinstad was also in the team. Always nice to have an ex Bok in our side.

uctrfc.co.za: Sounds like a dangerous bunch. How were those Leopard print jerseys? You guys must have been a hit with the ladies!

Dave: The jerseys were a laugh. First day we played in Leopard print and on the second day we played in Zebra skin. I wouldn’t say they were a hit with the ladies, but I actually got offered HKD500 for the leopard skin jersey, so they couldn’t have been too bad. Next year we planning on playing in Snake skin the first day and Nguni cow hide on the second.

uctrfc.co.za: You sure it wasn’t 500 Zim$? Jokes, they weren’t so bad. How was the vibe and the after-match partying?

Dave: The vibe in HK around this time is amazing due to the tens and then the sevens. There are so many expats there and every bar was pumping. We had a good fines meeting after the tens and headed to ‘Stormies’, which was our local for the time we were there. We all managed to smuggle some bottles of Cane into the pub with us as chaps weren’t that keen on paying R70 for a draught.

uctrfc.co.za: The HK Sevens must have been an awesome experience. Did you enjoy it?

Dave:  The Sevens is something everyone has to try and get to watch. We all sat in the Southstand which is just one big party, everyone dresses up in outfits and is there to have a jol. The Saturday I’ll be honest I didn’t watch much rugby, but I managed to skip the Southstand on the Sunday and got to see a few games in the afternoon.

uctrfc.co.za: Sounds excellent! Did you get to see any of our Ikeys Sevens legends? Impi, Kyle Brown or Paki?

Dave:  I was on the same flight as Impi and Kyle on the way there, I managed to watch a few of their games but didn’t manage to meet up while we were in HK. Unfortunately Paki wasn’t in the US team for the Sevens this time around, so didn’t get to see him either.

uctrfc.co.za: Thanks you legend! We’ll speak to Gavin to see if we can upgrade our Tiger stripes for next year.

Dave has promised some pics – so check in again soon.