Oxford v Cambridge: winning Blue in Varsity Match a ‘dream come true’ for Hong Kong’s Alex Post
- The 26-year-old hooker gets ‘the shivers just thinking about’ upcoming duel at Twickenham
- ‘If Hong Kong calls, I’ll be running’, says Post of potential call-up for 2023 Rugby World Cup qualifiers
Hong Kong international Alexander Post will tick off a lifelong dream when he lines up for Oxford in the Varsity Match against Cambridge at Twickenham on Saturday.
“I had three aspirations when I was growing up,” Post said. “One was to be a full-time athlete; the second was to play in a World Cup – that’s not gone yet, so fingers crossed; and the third was to play in Varsity.
“Luckily, I can tick one of those boxes off at the moment. It’s really humbling. I watched it for years with my old man. It’s a dream come true.”
Since arriving in the UK last year, Post has trained with Ampthill, who play in the second-tier Championship, the England Under-20s and Gallagher Premiership club Gloucester.
The training before arriving at Oxford in October allowed him to “hit the ground running” and he has been in scintillating form, going into the Varsity tie as his team’s top-scorer for the season.
“But that’s purely from the back of mauls. I can’t take any credit for that,” Post said. “I haven’t really been keeping count, but last week I got told I was in double figures. For a hooker, that’s an unbelievable amount.”
But none of will matter when Post dons the famous Oxford Blue at the home of English rugby. It is a game he said the team’s “whole year is geared towards”.
“I was born and raised in Hong Kong but my parents are British and I’ve always followed English rugby closely,” Post said, adding he would have plenty of family watching from the stands.
“The chance to play at Twickenham is very special – I’m very privileged. You kind of get the shivers just thinking about it.
“More people have played for [the England national team] than have played for the Oxford Blues. That’s a scary statistic. You can really see what it means to the alumni when they tell you about it.”
Post is studying a one-year intensive MBA programme at the institute’s prestigious Said Business School.
“I’ll start off by saying I’m not smart – I just work hard,” he said. “I really suffered from impostor syndrome when I first got here, meeting some incredibly smart people. I’m just grateful to get to learn off my peers.
“It was tough getting here, and it was particularly tough because there was a lot of uncertainty with Covid-19 around Hong Kong when I was in my process of applying.
“Getting in was the easy part – the hard part is just staying afloat while you’re here!”
“If Hong Kong calls, I’ll come running,” the former HKU Sandy Bay and South China Tigers player said.
“It’s not been ideal with Covid-19, but I know there are some [2023 World Cup] qualifiers later this year. I spoke to my course – they know if there are international games, I’d want to be available, and they were very considerate.
Post follows in the Varsity Match footsteps of former Hong Kong representatives Jamie Hood, who scored the winner for Cambridge in 2009, and Laurel Chor Lik-fung, who played for Oxford last year.
The event dates back to 1872 and celebrates its 150th game this year. Oxford men’s and Cambridge women’s won their respective matches in 2021. Cambridge men’s hold the overall lead with 64 wins to Oxford’s 61, while Oxford women’s lead 20-13 against their counterparts in previous meetings.
“It should be a very interesting game. We’re definitely the underdogs even though we won last year,” Post said. “They have got some very big names – the likes of decorated England international Toby Flood and England U-20s player Jamie Benson who starts at full-back. We’re much more of a squad.”
The men’s match starts at 10.30pm Hong Kong time, with the women’s kicking-off three hours earlier. Both will be live-streamed by the Rugby Football Union and universities on Facebook.
