New club resuscitates ailing Korean rugby

Hyundai Glovis rugby team general manager Han Yong-bin, left, and team captain Lee Byoung-joon, center, hold the team uniform during the club’s foundation ceremony at the company’s headquarters in southern Seoul, Tuesday. To Lee’s right is coach Jung Sam-yong. / Yonhap

By Nam Hyun-woo

Automobile giant Hyundai Motor’s newest sporting move in rugby is drawing expectations as to whether it can breathe new life into Korea’s ailing rugby.

The conglomerate’s logistics affiliate, Hyundai Glovis, announced Tuesday the establishment of a rugby team, which will be the third semi-professional team to play in the country’s rugby league.

The team will be based at the Namdong Asiad Rugby Field in Incheon and join the four-team league starting in the upcoming spring season. The club has already signed nine players and three coaching staff and plans to expand its squad up to 30 under the leadership of former national team coach Jung Sam-young.

The new team brings a huge impact to the rugby community in Korea.

Unlike Japan where the sport enjoys significant popularity, Korean rugby has been in the shadows and was stigmatized as having a “minor” presence. While the Japanese impressed the rugby world by beating titans South Africa 34-32 this September, the Koreans had to stand by and envy the success of the neighboring country, which they once called rivals.

Korean rugby once enjoyed its heyday in the late 1980s, ruling over Asia by winning three consecutive Asian Rugby Championships. However, they never accomplished a feat higher than that and saw their performance continue to drop in more recent regional competitions. Korean rugby won gold medals at the 1998 and 2002 Asian Games and clinched a silver at the 2006 event, but the country could only hold on to bronze at the 2010 and 2014 Asiads.

It faced its worst-ever crisis earlier this year when the Samsung Heavy Industries Rugby Club was disbanded. Founded in 1995, the club had served a pivotal role in operating the domestic rugby league. As well as providing athletes a robust team to play for, the club sent many players to represent the country.

The Korea Rugby Union, the country’s governing body for the sport, officially asked Samsung Heavy not to break up the club, saying “disbanding Samsung Heavy Industries Rugby Club is a prelude to the collapse of Korean rugby,” but in vain.

After the club was disbanded, some of its athletes played in the league as members of a Korea Rugby Union team this year, but the league merely eked out a season, with concerns soaring as Korea recorded another disappointing third-place finish at the 2015 Asian Rugby Championship.

Amid the so-called “rugby meltdown,” the founding of the Hyundai Glovis rugby team raises expectations among insiders.

Rugby will come back to the Olympics next summer after a 92-year hiatus, as Sevens is set to become an official event. World no. 25 Korea virtually has no chance to play in Rio ― as 16 teams are vying for the only remaining opening for the 12-team event. But insiders say the creation of a new team will motivate athletes to seek better performances at the 2019 Rugby World Cup or the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Along with the team’s glamorous founding ceremony at the company’s headquarters in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, the club’s general manager Han Yong-bin’s promise of “full support for athletes within the company’s allowable range” came as confidence in the team’s athletes and rugby officials who have long been suffering in a harsh environment.

“The creation itself is a huge momentum to Korean rugby by giving athletes the chance to continue their athletic career,” said Jung.

Hyundai’s bold moves

The Hyundai Glovis rugby team is the newest among an array of sports clubs owned by Hyundai Motor Group. Including the KIA Tigers in the Korea Baseball Organization and football titans Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the K-League, the group owns a total of 10 sports clubs including the rugby team.

The group’s fresh move comes as a stark contrast to the country’s other conglomerates that cut expenses on some “less profitable” sports in recent years. Starting from Samsung’s move in rugby and tennis ― Samsung Securities tennis club was disbanded in March ― Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the K-League is also expected to “streamline” its squad during winter, failing to renew contracts with some of its free agents. Other K-League clubs Pohang Steelers and Jeonnam Dragons have already spent several seasons tightening their budgets as their mother company POSCO struggles.

Meanwhile, Hyundai’s sports clubs are thriving under robust investments. K-League champions Jeonbuk Hyundai is already making an impact in the winter market, signing a number of talented players within Korea and abroad.

“As the company grows, it spares no effort for corporate social responsibility,” said Hyundai Glovis CEO Kim Kyung-bae.