HSBC Penguins spread the word of rugby
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Dean Herewini and John Kirwan. |
Dean Herewini's role as a coach with the HSBC Penguin International Coaching Academy has led the former Hong Kong national team prop to run clinics in Hong Kong this week with the likes of All Blacks legends Jonah Lomu and John Kirwan and former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio.
However, as excited as he gets to rub shoulders with legends of the game, the current Malaysia coach – who will also play a big role in this year's HSBC ARFU Rugby Coaching Tour – saves most of his enthusiasm for his students.
Since last Sunday, Herewini and the HSBC Penguins have completed a whirlwind tour of clinics for groups from Rwanda, South Africa, New Zealand, China and Hong Kong, with venues ranging from Sandy Bay and Sai Kung to Happy Valley and Hong Kong Football Club.
"It's a big week of classes here, most of which are conducted by the academy coaches, but we get the players and sometimes the ex-international players involved for the bigger sessions," says Herewini, a self-described ‘rugby nomad' whose 15-year stint in Asia has seen him play for Hong Kong and also work in Indonesia and Malaysia, where he's in his third year as national 15-a-side coach.
"Our players will come to play in the Hong Kong Tens and watch the Sevens, but when they leave, they often say their best memory is ‘I coached 120 kids' or ‘I coached 60 kids', all of diverse ages and abilities. To watch a kid running and chasing a ball is almost more exciting than watching a tournament," adds the New Zealander, who helped Malaysia win promotion to Division I of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations in 2009.
This year, the HSBC Penguins contingent who travelled to Hong Kong numbered about 90, including a first team – under the guidance of former Scotland coach Frank Hadden – who reached the semi-finals of the GFI Hong Kong Tens and a more social King Penguins selection who competed in the Kowloon RugbyFest.
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