Melrose Claymores 2026 Teams for Cathay / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens Confirmed

The Hong Kong China Rugby men’s and women’s sevens squads will defend their Melrose Claymores titles at the 2026 Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens from 17-19 April 2026 at the Kai Tak Stadium against the returning Japanese and Chinese Men’s squads, as well as the SEA Games and SEA 7s 2026 Champions Thailand Women and a debut for the Denmark Women’s 7s.

Updated 12 April – Squad news / Feature Photo – HKCR Squad announcement

The Hong Kong China men’s team have won the Melrose Claymore both times it has been played since 2024, beating China and Japan both times. The HKCR women won their inaugural Claymore title last year against Kazakhstan and Thailand. The Chinese women had won it the first time it was played.

To be honest, the inclusion of Denmark at the expense of the Kazakhstan women is surprising, as the Nomads have featured in both editions thus far, and HKCR, Kazakhstan, and the Japanese women’s XV teams will soon be meeting in the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship 2026 in Almaty (the championship is due to be played in May).

Teams Tee up Asian Games 7s 2026 –  Melrose Claymores

The Asian teams will also have a chance to square up before the 20th Asian Games is played in September 2026, with the two legs of the Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series taking place either side of the Asian Games.

The Hong Kong China Rugby Men’s 7s are twice defending gold medallists at the Asian Games, winning for the first time in Indonesia and defending in Hangzhou in 2022.

Photo Credit – HKCR / Cathay / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens

Men’s squad co-captain James Christie said, “This is going to be a huge preparation for us for the Asian Games.” Christie took over the captain’s armband in 2025 and co-leads the side with Seb Brien. Christie watched the Hong Kong Seven and played in the youth showcase and made his senior squad Hong Kong Sevens debut in 2023.

He added, “China, Japan and South Korea are all capable of winning Asian Games gold, so every match and tournament we play against them this year will help us prepare.

Our results there show how the team feels about playing at Kai Tak in front of our home crowd. When we are at Kai Tak, it is like the crowd is on the pitch with us; they are so loud it makes us play better, and we want to make them proud,” said Christie.

HKCR Men’s Sevens Coach Jevon Groves commented; “It’s always important to put some good performances in against those teams over the next few months. We are disappointed after the Challenger result, so it’s really good to have something like the Melrose Claymore and two good competitors to help focus.”

The men suffered a heartbreaking extra-time loss against Canada to be eliminated from advancing to SVNS Division 2, which takes place in Kenya this weekend.

Groves said, “Our build-up is now a bit different to what was originally planned with the Challenger. The guys are now in club rugby with a few rounds remaining, and once that is finished, we can fully concentrate on preparing for the Hong Kong Sevens.

We have a few training days planned with opposition to help us prepare, and with four to five weeks solely to focus on seven leading up to the Melrose, we should be in good shape.”

The JRFU have already announced their Men’s training squad for the tournament.

The HKCR Women were bronze medalists at the most recent Asian Games in 2022, beating Thailand to the podium, and just lost out to Thailand to qualify for SVNS Division 3, which was played earlier this year.

For the first time in the three editions of the Melrose Claymore, a non-Asian side will be involved, with Denmark set to take on the hosts and Thailand.

HKCR Women’s squad co-captain Natasha Olson Thorne, who made her Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens debut in 2011 and has been a mainstay in women’s representative rugby ever since, said; “We are working hard on defending our Melrose Claymore title and looking forward to the competition. It’s always great to play at home in front of our friends and family, and the atmosphere at Kai Tak is just amazing.”

She added of the European side, “We don’t know much about Denmark, but it’s always exciting to play someone new. We are very familiar with Thailand, having played them many times, but we just have to keep the focus on ourselves and play our game.”

Natasha Olson Thorne said, “The squad has already had quite a long build-up. We have been focusing on our strength and conditioning. We want to make sure that we are stronger and fitter than ever when we get to the tournament.”

The Danes don’t usually compete in the top-tier European Women’s 7s Championship Series, but they won silver in the Trophy Series last year to earn promotion to the Sevens Championship Series in 2026. They also played their first international XVs match for the Danish women in 20 years last year.

Danish women’s sevens team just made history – silver at the European Trophy Series and promotion to the Championship Series 2026

Danish XV captain Malou Krøll Sebens said after the 15-15 draw with Latvia, ‘We almost exclusively play 7s in Denmark, so the XVs game is new—or at least less familiar—to almost everyone on the team.” Rugby Europe currently rank the Denmark Women’s 7s as 15th in the region.

The trophies for the men’s and women’s teams in Hong Kong are named the Melrose Claymores, while the Hong Kong Shield is presented to the shield winner of the competition at Melrose.

Confirmed Squads – Melrose Claymores 2026

Hong Kong China Women & Men

On April 12, HKCR announced the final squads for the Melrose Claymores 2026 in front of 1,200 spectators at the Parade Ring of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Sha Tin Racecourse.

An experienced HKCR Women’s sevens team sees six players from last year’s Claymore winning group selected. The side is captained by Chloe Chan, who will earn her 26th cap representing Hong Kong China Rugby. Nam Ka Man (48 caps), Chong Ka Yan (40), Melody Li Nim Yan (38), Maggie Au Yeung Sin Yi (34), Stephanie Chan Chor-ki (31) and Vivian Poon Hoi Yan (25) complete the team’s senior leadership group with Shanna Forrest (17), Julia Mibuy Mba Oyana (11) and Micayla Baltazar (8) amongst the programme’s emerging stars said HKCR.

Au King To (2 caps) and Haruka Uematsu will make their Hong Kong Sevens debuts for the women’s squad.

Hong Kong China Women’s Head Coach Andy Vilk said, “We are hugely excited. It’s such a unique and just a brilliant time of year. To be able to play in your home tournament and then it happens to be the Hong Kong Sevens, that is pretty unique for the players, and everyone involved. And then to go and represent Hong Kong China in the stadium under the lights is just a fantastic opportunity.

We’re really excited to see how some of those girls go. We’ve got Haruka on debut and then at the other end we’ve got girls towards the 40-50 cap mark, so we’ve got that blend, and we want to just see everyone go out there and enjoy it and embrace the pressure,” added Vilk.

HKCR Men’s coach Jevon Groves has selected several emerging athletes in the elite rugby sevens programme at the Hong Kong Sports Institute.

Groves said, “They create an injection of energy and want to prove themselves. We’ve also got a wealth of experience in our forwards, so balancing our youth with that experience and that calmness will be important in getting the performance we want in Hong Kong.”

There are four players set to make their Hong Kong Sevens debuts: Julien Bourron (5 caps), Mathew Rickard (4), Blake Elliott (4), and Johnny Esono Mba Oyana (3).

The selection of 23-year-old Johnny Esono Mba Oyana means he and his 21-year old sibling and women’s sevens team mainstay, Julia, will be the first sibling pairing selected for a Hong Kong Sevens since Rowan and Lindsay Varty.

The men’s team will be led by co-captains Seb Brien (38 caps) and James Christie (25 caps), and in total six players from last year’s victorious team return;  Christie, Mike Coverdale (who will win his 54th cap next weekend, extending his run as Hong Kong’s most capped current men’s sevens athlete), Liam Herbert (38 caps), Bryn Phillips (18) and Fong Kit Fung (18). Matteo Avitabile and Rory Stewart Cox make their second Hong Kong Sevens appearances and earn their 6th and 3rd cap respectively.

Thailand Women

Denmark Women 7s

Final Squad TBC

• The team has set up a GoFundMe to help with the personal expenses of the squad while in Hong Kong (Food + Transport).
• There is also a Meet and Greet event hosted by the Danish Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, 15th April.

Japan Men’s 7s

Final Squad TBC. The squad selected was announced by the JRFU here.

China Men’s 7s

Final Squad TBC

Asian Rugby 7s News 2026

• Ruby Tui – ‘I See Things As A Sign That It’s Only Going To Get Better’.
• 100,000+ Tickets Sold for 50th Anniversary Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens.
• The Vengaboys Confirmed To Perform at 50th Anniversary Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2026.
• Hong Kong China Rugby & Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens Announce Partnership With The Hong Kong Jockey Club & The Hong Kong Football Club.