Chloe Chan – First Hong Kong China Player To Feature On the Taiyo Seimei Women’s Sevens Series with Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix

Hong Kong China Women’s Sevens co-captain Chloe Chan is the latest international signing for Japanese women’s rugby club Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix, and as far as we know, the first player from Hong Kong to participate in the Taiyo Seimei Women’s Sevens Series. We spoke to Chloe about how the move came about, her expectations of competing in the highly competitive 7s competition, and what experience she hopes to have.

In 2019, a 20-year-old Chloe Chan made her debut for Hong Kong China during the Asian rugby Sevens Series along with players such as Florence Symonds and Chloe Baltazar. Symonds went on to play for Canada 7s and won a silver at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, while Chloe Baltazar is a key part of the 7s and 15s setup for Hong Kong China.

Domestically in Hong Kong, Chloe Chan plays for the SG Valley club but most of her time is spent training for the national representative side and at the Hong Kong Sports Institute as a professional rugby player with HKCR which has seen her compete on the World Rugby Sevens Challenger legs, Olympic Repechage tournament, at the Cathay HSBC Hong Kong Sevens to name a few.

“I’ve always wanted to play abroad in a Sevens league. And I’ve been seeing how Japan has got this amazing domestic league with a lot of international players going over to play, and it is a really good level. Japanese players have incredible skills, too, so I have always wanted to do it. 

I have been playing for Hong Kong China for four or five years full-time now, and I just thought this Summer would be a really good opportunity. Yohei, the CEO of Phoenix, was the head coach of Thailand last year, and I kept bumping into him around the Asian 7s tournament, so we got chatting.

Chloe Chan is a co-captain with the HKCR 7s Women

I just thought, you know what, I’d reach out to him and see if I can go to Japan and play, knowing my chances are probably really low because the level is really high. But he said yes!”

Chloe spent a couple of weeks with the team in May 2025 and will rejoin them at the end of the month as the team is in pre-season mode. The Phoenix finished 3rd overall last year, and they know it will be a competitive series of events due to the number of high-profile signings the teams have been announcing. Most of the Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix team are Japanese players, but Chloe and one more international player from Canada have joined them for the 2025 season.

Chloe Chan – Origins Story

We have spoken to Chloe several times, but it’s always been very HKCR competition-focused, so we were interested in hearing more about her backstory and when she first got involved in rugby.

“I started to play rugby quite late compared to some of my teammates. I used to play competitive tennis when I was growing up; that was always my number one sport. And I never knew what rugby was. No one in my family played it. 

Then I went to an International High School in Hong Kong, and my friendship group at the time were like, ‘Oh, why don’t you just come down to training and see if you like it or not?’

I remember really hesitating and obviously didn’t know what rugby was. I probably picked up rugby ball for the first time when I was 14-15 um and from then just continued playing at high school and realised I was actually okay at the sport, I went to university in the UK, and then played it there, got a scholarship playing rugby in university, and then came back in 2019, and then luckily got a contract with the Hong Kong Sports Institute and HKCR.

We asked Chloe if she had family support for playing rugby. A common stereotype we hear around Asia and with women specifically is that communities or families have been on the fence about girls playing rugby.

“I play for Valley in Hong Kong, and growing up, my club was DB Pirates, which is Discovery Bay where I lived. The club is really supportive, and I guess in the beginning, my parents were a bit wary of me playing rugby, just because of all the bruises and cuts I came back with from training and tournaments. 

But my family is super, super supportive, and my parents are now both retired, and they come to every tournament when I play. They came to South Africa in February for the Challenger Series, they literally come to every tournament. So I’m very lucky to have very supportive parents.”

We were intrigued about her skill set in tennis and if it had been transferable to rugby, and what attracted her to rugby when she started?

“Growing up and playing tennis – it is a very individual sport, so when I started playing rugby, it was like the sense of community and friends that really drew me into it. It was just so much fun going to training and playing with the team. I think that’s probably the main thing that drew me to rugby. 

Skill-wise, tennis was definitely transferable. I think one of my strengths in rugby is my kickoff receive and chase backs, and that’s definitely to do with my skills from tennis and hand-eye coordination. So the transition itself wasn’t too hard, but it was definitely the team and community that drew me into rugby.”

Photo Credit – Chloe Chan

As Chloe mentioned, she studied in the UK, and she is active on Instagram in promoting aspects of the game and her experiences as a pro athlete playing rugby.

“I studied physiotherapy in the UK and I really enjoyed it. I’ve always wanted to go into something sports-related. Growing up and seeing loads of physiotherapists and with HKCR around the team, I knew I wanted to do something sort of along those lines, and I know I want to do that after I retire playing as well.

I graduated in 2020, so I’m always trying to shadow our physios, and I’m always trying to get them to test me on questions, even if I get them wrong all the time. I am just always trying to involve myself around them.”

Why The Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix?

Chloe explained that in addition to the chance encounters with the club’s CEO in the Asia Rugby Sevens Series, she had watched the team play in the Taiyo Seimei Women’s Sevens Series last year as well.

“They just look like a really well-connected team. And they’ve been amazing with their 15s season as well (winning the three-peat). So I knew they were going to be a really good team to join. When I first walked in, I was really nervous. I haven’t been in a new team in a while, but they’ve all just been so friendly, and I don’t know any Japanese, so I was hesitant trying to speak to everyone. But everyone’s been so nice and lovely, and the effort they make to try to make you feel welcome – I just knew I made the right decision going to them.”

Photo Credit – Chloe Chan

Chloe was with the club for a couple of weeks and played a trial match before she headed back to Hong Kong to await her visa for the duration of the 7s Series. She has been impressed by the setup the Phoenix have and the environment.

“They’ve got their own gym, and it’s got so much culture and identity around it. They’ve got pictures on the walls of girls that have played before, and international players that have come before and their jerseys framed. So immediately going in, you’re feeling a sense of community and history there. But the transition was, and the girls have been amazing.”

Taiyo Seimei Women’s Sevens Series 2025

The Taiyo Seimei Women’s Sevens Series sees one event played per month from June-August, with a Grand Finale event following the third leg – it’s far more spaced out than the gruelling and demanding Challenger or HSBC SVNS Series.

• Tournament One – Kumagaya – June 21 & 22, 2025 – Venue: Kumagaya Rugby Stadium
• Tournament Two – Kitakyushu July 20 & 21, 2025 – Venue: Mikuni World Stadium
• Tournament Three – Higashi-Osaka – August 2 & 3, 2025 – Venue: Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Higashi-Osaka
• Grand Final Tournament – Sapporo – August 17, 2025 -Venue: Daiwa House Premist Dome

Chloe explained the workload and structure. “There are going to be a few practice tournaments before the first leg. And I was only there for two weeks, but I’ve already played one warm-up tournament, getting to play against university teams. 

I was just learning their system, which was quite interesting. It’s a bit different to what we do with Hong Kong China. We were training twice and then playing in a tournament. I was super confused at first, but the girls have been really helpful. From what I’ve observed in the tournament, their skill levels are insane.

Even the university teams have got really good systems, and their basic skills are done really well, so I think that compared to Hong Kong, the Japanese university level is already a big difference.”

Photo Credit – Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix

In terms of the language barriers, which all inbound foreign players will have to adapt to in Japan, Chloe explained, “Im learning the basic language; left and right is a must, and it forced me to scan a lot more, and look at what my teammates are doing as well, so I’m getting there with the basic language, but yeah, hopefully after these three months, I’ll be more fluent.”

In terms of what she would like to learn and experience from the next few months, Chloe thought about it and told us. “I am looking forward to the interactions with the team and building a culture. As a co-captain with Hong Kong China, I want to bring back some leadership skills that I’ve learned in Japan, and seeing how the girls lead in Japan is really impressive. 

I want to bring back those learnings and hopefully share them with the girls back in Hong Kong. and see how the team buys into themes and team cultures and bring those lessons back to Hong Kong as well.”

We were kind of surprised that she represents the first player from Hong Kong China to experience the Sevens season in Japan, and feel like it’s something that should be pursued by others.

“100%, I’ve been in the Hong Kong China setup for four or five years now, and it’s so nice to go into a different environment. Even if I was hesitant to go in and I’m nervous about meeting new people, it’s such a good experience. Learning about how the team culture works and all the lessons off the pitch, so I hope more of our Hong Kong girls will start doing it if they can.”

Chloe Chan – Take Risks And a Leap of Faith

Chloe Chan has been an advocate for encouraging young players to give rugby a go, so we asked her what the most valuable life lessons she would pass on to any potential players.

“Take that leap of faith and take risks. Because even with this Japan season, I don’t know where it’s going to take me, I didn’t know if they were going to accept me. I just took a risk and reached out to people with whom I might not be close. You never know what’s going to come and, yeah, it might not work, but it could work as well. So take risks”.

And off the field, what is she most excited about for the months ahead in Japan?

Photo Credit – Chloe Chan

“I am looking forward to travelling around Japan. I’ve been to Japan a few times, but only to the touristy bits. So hopefully we get to travel around with the Series as well. We are actually having a team bonding camp and we’re going up to Mount Fuji. I’m super looking forward to that. 

I love Japanese food, so I am trying to get the girls to take me to all sorts of places. I’ve already had like five bowls of ramen since I’ve been there. I want to really immerse myself in the culture and do what I wouldn’t really be doing in Hong Kong.”

Rugby Asia 247 has entered a content agreement with the Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix club and will be bringing you player, coach, and staff interviews until 2026.

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• Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix Preparing For Taiyo Seimei Women’s Sevens Series 2025 – Savannah Bodman & Misaki Matsumura.
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• Taiyo Seimei Women’s Sevens Series 2025 – Expansion And Exciting Signings.