HKFC Women’s Club Coaching Officer Charli Jacoby – “Im really excited for the future”

Fresh off a Rugby World Cup 2025 at which she hung up her playing boots, USA Eagles Charli Jacoby travelled to Hong Kong to take up the role of Women’s Club Coaching Officer at Hong Kong Football Club. Before the first Nan Fung Group | AIRSIDE Hong Kong Premiership break of the season, we spoke with her about how the opportunity arose, her hopes for the women’s game and this global rugby community.

Rugby Origins Story – Charli Jacoby

When Charli retired, she did so with 37 international caps to her name and a playing career that saw her compete in the Premiership Women’s Rugby in England for Loughborough Lightning and Exeter Chiefs, and in the Super W for the Queensland Reds.

What was Charli Jacoby’s introduction to rugby, and when and why did she like rugby

“This is a funny story, and everybody gets a kick out of it. I was actually a cheerleader, and I was at Kent State University in Ohio, cheerleading. And I just saw these girls, and they saw me, doing this move where you hold up someone. They were like, ‘You are so strong. You should come play rugby.’ 

I didn’t know what it was, so I went and checked it out. Being from Illinois and needing friends, I had my cheerleading friends, but I’ve always loved to have many types of friends, so I got involved in that community and never looked back. 

I transferred schools to Illinois State, and I played club rugby there, graduated, kept playing women’s rugby, played select rugby, and then I was fortunate enough to get called into the national squad. I’m the most unathletic athlete in the world. It’s true. It’s true. I would rather lie in bed and watch TV than, like, ever do any type of exercise.”

Photo Credit – RWC 2025

The Rugby Community Looks Out For Each Other – Charli Jacoby Is Enjoying Her Role with HKFC

Charli Jacoby told us from her Hong Kong residence, “The rugby community is so big, but it’s also so small. And one of the things that I enjoy so much about rugby is that the community is so helpful, and everybody is always looking out for each other. One of my previous coaches was the one who told me that there was a job opening here at HKFC, and she was in Hong Kong in a rugby position at the time, and she had nothing but amazing things to say about it. 

I’d never even been to Hong Kong, so it was definitely a really big move. I just had people looking out for me and people advocating for me as a coach in the women’s game. So I’m really fortunate in that way.”

To have never been to the country before applying for and accepting the role would be too daunting a move for some. We asked Charli if she had enjoyed the opening period of her time with HKFC and in Hong Kong so far?

“It’s been really incredible. I’m very fortunate to have been placed with a club like Hong Kong Football Club. The girls have just been super inviting and welcoming, and they’ve really taken on a lot of the ideas and philosophies and principles that I’ve brought in, and they’re really buying into it.

We’ve talked about some changes, and we’ll see some benefits and gains from these new things that we’re implementing. It’s going to be a slow burn, so I think that hard work will come to fruition next year.”

Photo Credit – HKFC

As we have written about extensively, HKFC is one of the bigger and more established clubs in Hong Kong. They have a new Director of Rugby (Andrew Durutalo) and, in addition to Charli, have also had to recruit a new Men’s CCO. The Women’s Prem side is desperately chasing a Grand Final Championship after being pipped by rivals Valley over recent seasons.

HKFC Natixis Ice have won 2 league titles in 3 years but have fallen short in 3 consecutive Grand Championship finals to rivals SG Valley RFC.

Charli Jacoby explained her role, where she is the forwards coach for the Prem side working alongside Head Coach Hannah Edwards, in addition to her other duties, “In regards to the set piece, they’ve worked so hard, and they’ve really bought into what I’ve asked them, so I think that you can just see that. That is in addition to the amazing work that Hannah Edwards has been doing. She is a woman who wears many hats, and she really gives them everything that she has, and definitely is someone to look up to in the role that she has.”

That expression of wearing many hats suits Hong Kong to a tee, and over the years of us covering the region, it’s a consistent theme of everyone seemingly having multiple roles. 

Was Charli enjoying that blend of multi-roles in a new country and environment? 

“I love it. I’ve always been very go, go, go. I think that this is probably the best thing that could have happened to me in regard to a career, or even just for me personally.

Coming out of a professional playing career, after you had people telling you what you’re eating, what time you’re sleeping, what you gotta wear … your time is really never your own. I’ve just been so used to that, and so shifting into a program that is seeking out so many opportunities for their players, and they have so many resources and cool things that you can get involved in …It’d be silly not to be excited about getting involved in those things. “

She explained that both Hannah and Andrew have been great in getting to know her and the things that she is passionate about, outside of just coaching women. 

“The community, the people here, they just want to help. And so I’m really excited for some of the future things that they are kind of linking me up with, and other opportunities to just become a better coach, but even just a better adult now in society. 

I know that sounds so silly, but like I’m 36, and I’ve been just in this playing bubble for so long, and so now you’re just shoved into the real world. And it’s been really challenging, but they’ve made it probably as easy as it could be.”

Charli Jacoby

Coaching Was In Her Bones – Charli Jacoby

We asked Charli if coaching was something she had actively sought after she stopped playing.

“I’ve known that I’ve always wanted to be a coach. I want to share everything that I’ve learned from all the amazing people and all the amazing playing environments that I’ve been in and impart this knowledge on people who are in the same position as me. 

Last year, I knew it was always going to be my last year playing and that the World Cup was going to be my last hurrah. One of my female coaches, my forwards coach, Melodie Bosman, a three-time Rugby World Cup winner with the Black Ferns, was just a really great mentor for me throughout that time, prepping me mentally for what’s to come after rugby. 

I’m so grateful to have somebody like her, because she’s the one who jeed me up. Like, ‘yeah, you can do that. Yeah, you’re good at this. Like, you need to be there and, you know, take every opportunity you can.’ It would have been silly not to put my hand up and try, because it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. It just so happens to be like across the world, but I’m used to that. I feel more at home living out of a suitcase.”

Rugby World Cup 2025 – The Brand of Rugby Played Was Insane

Photo Credit – Rugby World Cup 2025

“Firstly, even as a spectator, there were so many opportunities to watch it, and I feel like everything nowadays is behind some type of paywall. I just think the accessibility to watch it was incredible,” said Charli of the most successful Women’s Rugby World Cup of all time.

“It was different from the New Zealand World Cup. But again, the New Zealand World Cup was just still amazing in its own right. But for the women’s game, to have 42,000 people at our opening game (against England in Sunderland), that’s insane. 40,000 people might have been cheering against the USA, but at the end of the day, people are still there just cheering for rugby, and regardless of who they’re cheering for. 

I just want people to be there watching and cheering for women playing rugby. I think that was huge for the women’s game because the brand of rugby was so good. I know that we (USA Eagles) didn’t make it to the quarter finals, and everyone’s like, ‘Oh, how disappointed are you?’

Of course, I was disappointed. But the thing is, if you just look at the brand of rugby that everybody was playing, it was insane. We still played good rugby too. Of course, I was disappointed. I’m a competitor, and I wanted to beat the best, and I want my team to be the best, but we did the best that we could on those days, and that’s fine with me.”

Charli Jacoby said that she is excited for teams like Canada, who were runners-up at the tournament.

“I’ve got a lot of close friends on that team, and look how far they went with nothing. It’s such a double-edged sword. Because you don’t want them to be winning everything, and then people will say, ‘Look, they won, and they don’t have anything. What are you complaining about?’ 

That’s just women in sport. They’re used to having nothing, and they are competitors just like anyone else, and they’re just willing to do whatever they have and whatever it takes. Now, imagine if you gave them something. Give them full-time staff. Imagine what would happen.”

Growth and Opportunities for Hong Kong’s Rugby?

Photo Credit – HKFC – Charli Jacoby and HKFC Women’s Head Coach Hannah Edwards

Charli has only been in Hong Kong a short time, but we asked her views on the state of play.

“I think that they are resourced well, but every woman’s program could be resourced more. I think that given what they do have, and you know, Hong Kong China Rugby is throwing what they can at the women’s game, and that’s really cool. I’ve never seen the investment in women’s rugby anywhere like here. So that is inspiring in itself.

I just am always going to be that person who says, ‘Give them more. Give them more. Give them more.’ Because they deserve more. If you want results and you want them to do well as an entity, and you want to be able to market this, you have to give them everything that they need. 

But in Hong Kong, even at HKFC, the resources are great. Having a couple of the Hong Kong representative players on my team here, they work hard, they want to learn, and they have drive. To me, I think that’s all it takes. You have to want to work hard. You have to be driven, and you can’t take no for an answer. I think that all of those players possess all of those characteristics. And that excites me, too.”

She has also been impressed with the number of female players from age grade, youths and seniors.

“In Hong Kong, there are so many young girls, youths, and women wanting to play rugby. They do a really good job with all of these youth programs, and there’s always something going on. It’s about how you keep developing those players, keep those pathways alive and strong to make sure that even if you’re not necessarily from Hong Kong, how can we get them to stay and want to play rugby, and retain them so they are Hong Kong eligible. I think with the way that Hong Kong China rugby is supporting the women, it is just going to grow.” 

What Has She Made of The Quality of Players and the Prem in Hong Kong

Photo Credit – HKFC

“I think that the quality of the league has some really amazing moments, and you can see just the natural, raw talent of these athletes. I think that we will need to continue to invest in the coaches and the programs, and that will allow the league to just develop even further,” said Charli.

“One of the cool things that they’re also doing is that they’re bringing in international players. Of course, you need to make sure that you’re developing homegrown talent, but sometimes the only way to do that is to bring in people who might have been playing since they were, like, three years old. We have that same problem in America. 

We love grassroots rugby, but we need players from Australia and England and Ireland. We need these international athletes to help grow the domestic game. And I love that Hong Kong also does that. 

If you look at the major women’s leagues that are out there now for women, you’ve got the PWR (England), Super W (Australia), and the USA is trying to get one going. This league here means there are playing opportunities, and the skill level required for each league is very different. 

Also, the level of players you are competing with, you’re always going to be rising to a new occasion and to a new competitive environment, and that’s what I love. I love that Hong Kong has quality athletes. 

And the coaches here, the other WCCOs, I can only speak for them, because those are the only coaches that I am in contact with as of right now, they’re amazing in their playing days, in their coaching days, they’re incredible.

They have so much knowledge and value to give to the women’s game. So the fact that you have so many walks of life coming in is what excites me about Hong Kong China rugby. They are willing to open their door to anybody who is passionate and who can help grow their rugby.”

Hong Kong Sevens Week 2026

Kai Tak Stadium South Stand- Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens

Charli started our conversation by saying she is in Hong Kong for the first time, so in 2026, she should be attending her first Hong Kong Sevens week, in what will be the 50th anniversary of the biggest 7s tournament in the world.

“I’m so excited. And as a WCCO, we get to be involved, as a union staff member, like we’re all hands on deck. I am so excited that it is my first time. You know, everybody loves to be in the stands, but I’m excited to be behind the scenes and just see how it all runs, and to see my friends who are representing their nations. 

I’m super excited, and I’ve got some friends coming to visit too, so it’s going to be a really good time.”

FYI, Charli has not heard of the famous South Stand and all the antics that happen there, so someone might need to give her a crash course.

Hong Kong Rugby News

• Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2026 Dates Announced – 50th Anniversary.
• Andrew Durutalo – “Things will not be handed to you on a silver platter”.
• The Nan Fung Group | AIRSIDE Hong Kong Premiership 2025-2026 – New Players To Watch.
• Hong Kong Football Club Confirm Retired USA Women’s Player Charli Jacoby as Women’s Club Coaching Officer.