AUSSIE TRIO FROM TOP DRAWER
Never had a greater amount of players entered the Hong Kong rugby arena in one single season than did so in the 1997/98 season. Lauded as a success of the new professional era but many incoming players would have their patience, drive and determination sorely challenged. None more so than Valleys Sydney imports, Johnny Nihill and brothers Liam and Sean O'Hara, writes special correspondent Freddy Touchline.
There were many stalwart rugby supporters in Hong Kong who doomed the influx of top level players, boasting of the good-old days when a man played rugby with a decapitated head and an impending wedding. All this professionalism was a load of malarkey pulled from the top draw of wankiness. Yet it was these same punters that were the first to queue up for tickets for the infamous Hong Kong Rugby Sevens tournament in hope that the local side could generate something better than the standard plate-final berth.
On the other side of the coin were the imported players themselves. Brought here under illusions of contracts involving accommodation, salary and a regular bit of rumpity-pumpity with an Asian princess, they were soon to find that their so-called contracts were mere cheap "copies" forged in the back streets of Mong Kok and sold in a stall next to pirated CD's. (HK$100 for three…..oh go on then……for four.) These players were definitely on the "other side of the coin".
Leading this new wave of rock stars were three lads from Sydney. Nihill and the O'Hara's were from the top drawer of a surgent rugby scene in one of the worlds toughest club competitions. Nihill had a top drawer of tricks that were not limited to the rugby field but regularly stunned his fans and adversaries in the public arena. He was an entertainer on multiple levels. His endearing Australian quips and slang could bring a smirk to your grandmother while his cheeky smile would've eased your mothers panties down and brought her to her knees. He was a true professional in every sense. He even called his bed "the work bench" which emphasises his workman like attitude. His boundless modesty at it's best on a Sunday following a carving performance against the lowly PLA when tales of his skill and unbounded vision would rush forth from his humble soul through the medium of his open mouth.
Until his abrupt, if not humorous, departure from the Territory, Nihill had lead the way in the individual points race amassing an incalculable tally that nearly matched his missed-tackle count. Controversy seemed to cloak itself around this old head on young shoulders and this was epitomised by conflicting reports about just how many age groups he had represented New South Wales in. His mysterious demeanor was further substantiated by the weekly appearance of a new nickname. These included Critter, Filthy Critter, Dirty Filthy Critter, Johnny Nail, Wheelchair, The Tea-Bag Boy etc. Unfortunately for Valley RFC and Hong Kong RFU, Nihill was unable to realise his anticipated high potential when a lapse in concentration caught him recklessly infringing with some vigorous rucking in an offside position. The offence punishable by a lifetime in the sin-bin. He was sent off.
Liam O'Hara had an arsenal of skills that could only have been from the bottom drawer of front row players but had an infinite alcohol tolerance that was uncommon outside of Greenland and one that would regularly stun the medical and scientific world. When it came to rugby, however, Liam let his mobility and strength talk for itself. As an imported player there were all kinds of expectations placed upon the young man even before he arrived and a mediocre performance during a ten aside version of the game in Beijing had Valleys coiffeurs adjudging that they had purchased a dud. But game by game they came to see that they had acquired on of the leagues most valuable players. As he went into rucks and mauls at angles that defied gravity and at speeds that created slip-streams he would make more territory beyond the advantage line than any other Valley tight five player. A pin-point line out thrower, a tradesman, a staunch defender, a punisher, a focussed team man and the eventual Valley Player of the Year but these are only part of the reason that he became the legend that was Leroy Loggins.
Older brother Sean was a man on his own crusade. Rugby was a mere diversion for this lad while he chipped away at the pompous establishment which he been grown to abhor. This would typically involve attracting the attention of pompous folk at pompous affairs and advising them of their hopelessly obnoxious and pompous manner before stripping naked and tearing around, yelling, “You can all go and fuck ya selves!”
On the field, however, the man was a verse of poetry, commanding authority as he fired out passes at speeds that Merv Hughes would’ve given a generous nod of endorsement. His arduous work at the base of the rucks and mauls was nothing less than faultless mastery and he’d be the first to take control of disordered ball and fling himself at the peril of the opposition pack.
With distinction he trained the vaunted Valley ladies team and only seldomly referred to them as the “Valley Whores” which was a tremendous effort considering the circumstances. He pained himself to explain the offside law to the female people, many hours after his teammates had left the field after training. But it was all in vain as the “useless bitches” failed to impress upon the league during the season. Sean merely took this insignificant failure in his stride and pursued the more lucrative and rewarding occupation of personally training Hong Kong’s affluent and opulent ladies.
Next week – Laim O’Hara: Tram Toppling Drunkard or Constrained Intellect?
The week after – Johnny Nihill: Guilty but unrepentant and awaiting return.
And the week after that – Catholic church burns down. Sean O’Hara crispy.