HKCR Women’s XV – WXV Global Series Challenger 2026 – “We want something we can be proud of”

It’s been a long time coming, but the WXV Global Series Challenger 2026 gets underway in Hong Kong in September, and we spoke with HKCR Women’s XV front-row powerhouses Tammy Lau Nga Wun and Kea Herewini about their expectations and goals for playing the integral tournament in front of home fans.

Feature Photo Credit – Danny’s Sports Album

Tammy Lau Nga Wun made her debut more than a decade ago and was part of the team which debuted at the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup in Dublin. She had ‘amassed’ 34 caps by the time of the AREWC (Asia Rugby Emirates Women’s Championship) 2026 in Kazakhstan in May, which shows how few Tests the Women’s XV programme has had, as she has been a mainstay of the squad. 

“It’s been a long, long time since I made my debut. I think it was in 2013 in Hong Kong against Singapore, but I have been so very grateful for all the opportunities throughout the years. To be able to participate in the 2017 World Cup, and then in 2024 at the WXV 3 in Dubai, was also very special.

This WXV tournament will be very special too – to be able to play at home because the last time we played at home was the AREWC in 2024. It’s really the first time for Hong Kong to host an international women’s tournament like this, so the girls are really looking forward to it, and we all feel very excited to play in Hong Kong, and to represent our friends and home and family.”

Photo Credit – Danny’s Sports Album – Tammy Lau Nga Wun in Manusina training match

Kea Herewini reached double figures in caps in May and captained the team. She is part of the Société Générale Valley RFC, which beat Gai Wu (Tammy’s club) to the final but lost the Cup final. Her dad, Deano, is also a well-known figure in Hong Kong China rugby and represented the XVs team.

“I have definitely not played as long as Tammy,” Kea joked. “I first made my debut in 2023 in the Netherlands against Sweden, and we got the win in that one. I have 10 caps now for Hong Kong China, which is pretty cool.

Playing at home will be really special, having family and friends in town and in the crowd. People from work are all supporting us as well. I also coach the U16 Boys at Valley, and they’re saying, “Oh, we’re gonna come watch you.” That’s amazing.

It’s always special to represent Hong Kong China, and being able to do it at home is really cool. Hopefully we get a good crowd, and I think HKCR and World Rugby have done a good job at promoting it. Hopefully it turns into something good, and we’ll be able to do the job.”

Photo Credit – Danny’s Sports Album – Kea Heriwini before the AREWC 2026

The Women’s XV representative team is going through a transition, but it also feels like that’s been the message for some time. At the AREWC in Almaty, they introduced 9 new caps. They lost to Japan 71-12 and drew with Kazakhstan 26-26, scoring late to salvage a draw.

Their tour to Europe last year introduced a whole swathe of new players to this level, with some not yet eligible to play. The introduction of the HK Dragons programme, as well as Development team matches this year, saw Hong Kong China Dragons Women’s beat Singapore Select XV 57-0 and Hong Kong China U23 Women defeat Singapore U23 Women 72-5. In July, the HKCR U23 Women and Hong Kong China Dragons followed those games at home with a 5-5 draw.

Building On Hong Kong’s Domestic Rugby Competitiveness 

Both players say the camp for the WXV has been good and all the players from the six main Prem clubs have got on well despite club rivalries. Just a few weeks after the WXV wraps up, they will start the 2026-2027 season.

A very relaxed Tammy explained. “We are all friends – I always think that it’s just a game. When we come together, we have the same goal, and we all agree that playing for Hong Kong China is special and we want to achieve things together.”

Kea agreed. “It’s cool to be able to play with a lot of the girls that you see week in, week out, and it helps that all the WCCOs (Women’s Club Coaching Officers) are involved in our women’s programme as well at the moment. Hong Kong’s such a small place that you’re guaranteed to know a lot of people in the rugby community, especially in the women’s game. 

From a Valley RFC perspective, probably the only club that we may have a little bit of tension with is always HKFC, but it’s just like friendly fire, which is always good. That continues throughout the season because we have such a long historical rivalry between us both.”

Photo Credit – HKCR

New Campaign – New Coaching Setup – HKCR Women’s XV at WXV Global Series Challenger 2026

HKCR has been without a permanent full-time Women’s XV Head Coach for several years now. The WXV 3, and the past three AREWC, as well as the uncapped European tour, have all had different coaching groups and Lead Coaches at the helm.

Tammy is a Gai Wu Falcons player, the same club that current interim HKCR Women’s Head Coach Tumua Ioane is the Women’s Club Coaching Officer (WCCO), a role he took up in 2024, and he led them to the Premiership semifinals last season. He was the former Director of Rugby with Dunedin RFC and Coach Developer at Otago & New Zealand Rugby.

He was also the group’s Lead Senior Coach for their uncapped European tour in November 2025, on which they beat Germany and Belgium.

Photo Credit – Danny’s Sports Album – Hong Kong China Women’s Lead Coach Tumua Iaone

Kea said of Lead Coach Tumua, “I think he has been awesome. His main goal, and you can tell from the girls in camp who enjoy being there, is to enjoy rugby and value being with each other and the whole connection off the field. I think that is slowly starting to show massively on the field as well. He’s just a very open and calm guy. If there’s a problem with something, he’s very open to feedback, and you can just go and talk to him about whatever it is.

The team also had Sam Hocking in the coaching setup. He was recently appointed as the Valley Women’s Head Coach and WCCO, replacing Bella Milo, who was the interim Head Coach at the AREWC and had been in charge of the Women’s XV at Valley for several years. She is now Samoa’s Head Coach, who HKCR will play against in September.

Kea said, “Sam has come in and is leading our defence. This is his first time being back in the women’s programme since 2023. It’s also just nice having a new face and a fresh perspective. Charli (Jacoby) and Terry (Sibanda) have also added a new perspective and made it a fun environment to be in as well.”

Tammy agreed that Tumua is the same with her club as he is in the national XV setup. “He’s a very lovely guy. He’s really good at focusing on work and being professional. I’ve been playing for years, but working with him makes me feel like I’m learning again – that’s great after playing 13-14 years.”

Photo Credit – Danny’s Sports Album – HKCR Assistant Coaches

For the AREWC, they had a five-week training block at the end of the domestic season. For the WXV Global Challenger Series, they say that for the group that went to Kazakhstan in May, they had a short break but have been working hard in preparation since then.

Tammy has been through so many campaigns and said they had a lot of conditioning work and building on their basic skills from the end of May to July. The second block in August has seen a focus on game pattern drills and playing with each other a lot more.

The squad will be without the core HKCR Sevens players who are competing in the Asia Rugby Sevens Series and Asian Games. They faced the same issue at the AREWC, but they do have some overseas talent returning recently. One of those is Sabay Lynam, who has been playing Prem Grade rugby in Queensland.

“I think the preparation is on fire. We love playing and probably need more time to play with each other to get used to the patterns, but we are getting there”, added Tammy.

A Farewell to ‘the Legend’ Lee Ka Shun

Their front-row teammate Lee Ka Shun only has three more caps than Tammy and is the longest-serving player in the team and the leading-capped Women’s player for HKCR. She had already said this WXV tournament will be her last before she hangs up her international boots.

Photo Credit – HKCR – Lee Ka Shun –

Kea Herewini said, “She actually told us after our Netherlands game in Dubai in WXV 3 in 2024, in the changing room. We’d obviously lost, and we were so gutted, and so sad. And then she said, “I’m retiring”. I literally don’t think I’ve ever cried so much in my life.

Obviously, being a tight head prop as well, I’ve always looked up to her, although she is smaller and shorter than me. I have looked up to her as a role model in rugby. I don’t know if you can think of a player who represents Hong Kong China Rugby better than her. She got her first cap in 2011, I think. 

What she does off the field, what she’s done on the field, just the person she is. She’s so friendly. Everyone loves her. She just works hard for everyone, and she’s just such a little teddy bear. 

I think being without her, eventually being without her in a campaign, is just going to feel so different. Even though we’re going for the same position, she’s constantly giving me feedback. She’s open to my feedback to her. It’s more like a friendship-bonding type rather than a rivalry, if that makes sense.

WXV will be really special, having her family and her friends and everyone in the crowd for her. Like, just one last time will be awesome, but it will be a very emotional day when we play Samoa, and that’s our last game. She has represented Hong Kong China really well over 15 years.”

Tammy said, “I may cry that day. Shun is probably the cutest thing that I have ever seen in my life. She is just friendly, and everyone loves her. I think playing with her in my first year at Gai Wu, where she had already been for a few years, the coaches told me to work with and learn from her. That was in 2012, so it’s more than a decade.

Seeing her become the most capped Hong Kong China women’s player and all the tours together, and to be here seeing her right now, retiring at home. That’s a unique experience for her and for us to watch her. She deserves the spotlight. I also feel excited for her and also feel so happy for her, as she has had such an amazing playing career, and she’s just a legend.”

What Does Hosting the WXV Global Challenger Series Mean for Hong Kong China Women’s Rugby?

Photo Credit – Danny’s Sports Album

Having three consecutive weekends of international women’s rugby is massively important. Players and coaches over the years have told us that returning to a Rugby World Cup is the goal.

Kea Herewini explained, “The biggest thing for us is to be exposed to three tough games. We know that Fiji, who we played before in the WXV 3, are tough and big girls. They’re much bigger than the majority of our girls. Samoa has big girls as well, and they’re very skilful. Brazil, we have absolutely no idea what they’re going to be like because we’ve never played them before. We’re just assuming they’re going to be fast, but we might be more physical.

I think at the end of the day, we’ve always said playing more games is going to help us get to the next step of where we need to be.

Tours like the Germany tour last year, where all of our uncapped girls who are potentially going to be capped by Hong Kong China by the next World Cup, and then going to AREWC and getting nine new debutantes – it is good to see the growth in Hong Kong China women’s rugby.”

Photo Credit – Danny’s Sports Album – Kea Herewini in Manusina training match

The Hong Kong China player went on to explain the WXV, “I know it’s cliché, but putting out three good performances that we can be proud of is what I want. I’m not going to say anything about the results because we have no idea how it’s going to pan out.

I want something that we can be proud of. At home can show there is more to women’s rugby, and it’s not just about the full-time men’s XV programme.

I know that’s been a lot of the talk at the moment, and in the limelight and good for them to reach a first Men’s RWC. But now, having this tournament, just to prove that we do deserve to be here, we do deserve to go to a World Cup too.

It is almost more of a stepping stone towards next year’s AREWC, which hopefully we’ll be hosting as well, and then next year’s WXV, which is where the main qualification will be for RWC 2029.

If we get new caps, new debutants – that’s awesome. If we get a win, that’s fantastic. We’ve all appreciated that we’re still in our building phase, which has been tough, but just build and be proud of what we can produce.”

Photo Credit – Danny’s Sports Album – Tammy Lau Nga-wun in Manusina training match

Tammy thought about this too. “We haven’t played Brazil before, and it’s very good international exposure to play different kinds of rugby, because we keep playing Japan and Kazakhstan, and need to face other opponents. If you want to improve, you have to play better teams to get better. 

You can see the gap between us and a really top international rugby team. We want to see how much of a gap there is to these teams who were all at the Rugby World Cup in England last year. We have girls coming through from the age grade programmes, so it would be great to see them make their debut in WXV.”

The depth and playing pool of the Women’s game has been a challenge and something they have tried to address.

Kea explained, “Yeah, the depth of players here is quite significantly smaller than a lot of other countries. Like in my position at prop, there’s not that many props in Hong Kong. It has been good having more in the squad to compete against and being under pressure a wee bit more. 

It does make you want to train harder. It makes you want to do the extra bits. I don’t really think there is anyone who potentially takes their jersey for granted. I think we always hone in on the fact that this jersey is not yours, and that’s one thing that Charli Jacoby, our forwards coach (and former USA rep), really comes in hot on.”

Photo Credit – Danny’s Sports Album

She added, “We have a really good environment that we’ve created as well. That the coaches have created over time. You want to get that starting jersey, and I think the relationship that you build whilst pushing each other to be that better player is also really crucial and really important for on the field eventually too.”

Tammy was nodding along. “It’s good to have such positive competition among the team. Right now we have numbers, and it’s always good to see that kind of positive competition among the team and players testing each other, but also helping each other.”

What Are The Ambitions: “If We Asked You At The End Of September, What Would Make For A Successful WXV For You?”

Tammy Lau had some time to think about this. “It would be easy to say to have won all three games, but it would be very tough. I hope that our girls can be proud of themselves and that we know we gave everything we have in the WXV, 

I hope that by the end of September, more people will talk about women’s rugby in Hong Kong and that they have come to watch our games, and they will start to recognise our players. 

It is not just about winning all the games, but about how we inspire the kids and the girls in Hong Kong, to let them know that they have the opportunity to play for the team and represent us internationally to play rugby in the future. To motivate them to keep working hard and get more people to know about women’s rugby in Hong Kong.”

Photo Credit – HKCR – Hong Kong China Rugby hosted the Manusina Women’s XV at Kings Park for a Community Day on 5th September 2026

Kea agreed and said, “Hopefully progressing women’s rugby in Hong Kong and getting more girls to play. Potentially, if in a year for the next WXV, we have just come off a successful AREWC, coming in second, at least, would be ideal, and then potentially having another 10 or debutantes as well.

We are in a building phase at the moment, and just getting more girls from the age of 18 or so playing for Hong Kong China, and just even getting them in the training group, getting them more exposed to this higher level, would be ideal. Watch this space.”

Does the Smaller 4.5 Ball Make a Difference?

The smaller 4.5 ball being trialled has made the headlines, and both players pointed out that I was asking front row forwards, who might have less time handling the ball, for their views.

Kea laughed and said, “I’m not really passing the ball that much. But I quite like it. I know there have been a few different opinions on our team as well. I feel like our kickers probably might not have the same opinion as me; personally, I don’t see a difference. Some of the younger girls seem to enjoy it or prefer it. They feel like their skills are better with it.

Tammy thought the same. “I think it doesn’t make such a big difference for me, but I do believe for some of our girls who have smaller hands, that the 4.5 does help a bit, like it is easier to grip. We are adapting to it pretty well at the moment.”

Photo Credit – Danny’s Sports Album

WXV Global Series Challenger 2026 Schedule and Tickets

Tickets for the WXV Global Series Challenger are on sale through the Hong Kong China Rugby Ticketing Platform and the HKCR Ticketing App.

All of the matches are triple-headers, played at the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground.

For the HKCR Women at WXV 2026, the schedule is as follows:

• Sunday 13th September – Hong Kong China vs Brazil
• Saturday 19th September – Hong Kong China vs Fiji
• Saturday 26th September – Hong Kong China vs Samoa

WXV 2026 News

• Hong Kong China Rugby Announce WXV Global Series Challenger 2026 Squad.
• 2026 WXV Global Series – Fixtures Confirmed.
• Match Official Appointments for 2026 WXV Global Series and Challenger Confirmed.
• JRFU Appoints Toshizumi Kitagawa As the New Sakura XV Head Coach Before WXV 2026