'I will hang up my boots': Lee Ka Shun looking forward to Hong Kong China goodbye on home soil

2026 will mark the first time Hong Kong China hosts the WXV Global Series Challenger. A special occasion for the region, who have been working expeditiously to become a top level team in women’s rugby.

However, the tournament will not be the only major development, as Lee Ka Shun — Hong Kong China’s most capped female player — has decided to take the next step in her life following a home WXV Global Series Challenger campaign.

“Actually, I have a big piece of news to reveal: the WXV Global Series Challenger will be my last set of games as a Hong Kong China international. After September 2026, I will hang up my international boots. The club ones will, for now, stay out of the retirement box!”

After 16 uninterrupted years as a Hong Kong China international, the tighthead prop is closing a special chapter of her life, as she thinks it is time for the next generation to take her place.

With her time as a player drawing to a close to the end, Lee jumps back to the beginning, more precisely to the year 2008, when rugby entered her life.

“I had just started university, and some of my classmates asked if I was keen to join their rugby team. Well, if I’m still here after almost 20 years, you know what I said!”

Having been a discus and shot put athlete in her teens, she had never come across rugby, as it wasn’t a mainstream sport in Hong Kong China in the early 2000s.

“Rugby wasn’t that popular back then, especially for women, so we played sevens mostly. In my club, Gai Wu, we were just 15 girls throwing the oval ball around and tackling each other. Now, we are 150! 18 years ago, we would have had to combine the four clubs to field two full XVs. How things have changed since then.”

And although rugby came late in her life, it was immediately a driving force for Lee, who found it not only a sport but also a place to commune with others.

“In rugby, we quickly build new friendships and create a strong sense of a second family. There were lots of good people around me, with great energy and enthusiasm, who cared about me, and I cared about them. That sisterhood had a big pull on me.”

From the university team to becoming a member of Gai Wu, one of Hong Kong China’s rugby clubs, it was just a matter of months, with Lee dove headfirst into the sport. With no experience whatsoever, she was placed at the front of the forward pack due to her physical profile.

“Yeah, I had no chance whatsoever of not being a prop. I am considered quite big for Asian standards, so I was placed as a prop from the very beginning. However, I made a point of devoting myself to being a tighthead prop, as I wanted to become the best I could be to help my team and teammates.”

In 2008, she tasted rugby for the first time; in 2009, she played her first 15s club game; and in 2010, she was selected to represent Hong Kong China, marking a rapid rise she wouldn’t change a single detail of.

“It took only one and a half years to get my first cap for Hong Kong China. In 2010, I was lucky enough to be added to the squad and earn that first cap. Again, back then, we only played one, max two games per season, so I was definitely lucky to be honoured with that chance.”

For her, the 81-0 victory over Malaysia isn’t what she remembers most fondly; rather, it’s the fact that she got to play alongside some of the greatest rugby legends from Hong Kong China.

“Sharing the field with players who had fought for women’s rugby in Hong Kong China, for many years was the most important thing to me. They had been there from the very beginning, working hard for us all. I learned a lot from them.”

With 2010 now a distant memory, Lee recalled how women’s rugby was completely different from what it is today, highlighting some of the differences in both resources and mentality.

“The current times have nothing to do with what women’s rugby used to be 15 years ago. For teams like Hong Kong China we barely played any games at all – no technology, little to no exposure, etc. We now live in a highly professionalised environment, whereas in the past it was all more chill. Thankfully, our game has made huge progress.”

For Lee, who has competed for Hong Kong China in Asia Nation Cups, in WXV and a Women’s Rugby World Cup. Rugby is today a completely different beast than it used to be, especially in terms of competition.

“The game is far more competitive now than it was back then. It’s faster, more exciting and physical. The technology has helped us progress and evolve as individuals, which pushed the overall level of the international game to reach another stage of excellence.”

Having featured in more than 80 per cent of Hong Kong China’s games over the past 16 years, Lee has faced the Black Ferns, Japan, Wales, Spain, Fiji and others, and finds it easy to choose her favourite game of all time.

“It is easy for me to pick my favourite game: Wales at the 2017 Rugby World Cup. Our first World Cup was the game in which we scored our first try. We actually managed to score two tries and push Wales hard with the game wrapping up 39-15! We performed so well in that game, giving everything we got.”

The Women’s Rugby World Cup hosted by Ireland in 2017 was a monumental occasion for a side that had never competed at that level before, with Lee and her teammates struggling to find the words to describe the experience.

“Unbelievable? Unreal? Any of those two words perfectly illustrates what that World Cup meant to my teammates and me. We bonded over that experience and still talk about it when we get together. Ireland were marvellous hosts, and we got to enjoy so many different cultures, which is one of the points of a World Cup.”

While they conceded losses against New Zealand, Canada, Wales, Spain and Japan, Lee felt that the entire experience was outwardly. Between those games, fan parades, and strolls through the Irish streets, Shun reveals what the campaign’s defining moment was for her, a revelation she couldn’t make in 2017.

“I can share it now, as I won’t get into trouble almost 10 years after it. We stayed in dorms, and on each floor, there were like six single rooms and one common area. After the games, we would get ice cream and celebrate our game. The coach didn’t know about this, so, hush, hush!”

Unfortunately, Hong Kong China have yet to secure qualification for another Women’s Rugby World Cup, although they came close in 2024, competing for two available spots at WXV.

However, for her, Hong Kong China does indeed have the player pool talent to earn their Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029 tickets, reflecting her views on the future.

“I see a lot of potential in our teams, with our development team being an example of that. We need to provide more opportunities to young talent who want to become senior players. I want to share my knowledge and expertise with them and help the new generations become our driving force.”

Nonetheless, before they can dream of qualifying for the Women’s Rugby World Cup, the 2026 WXV Global Series Challenger will take place, with that tournament – as well as fixtures against  – as their main priority.

“It is a tournament that we are looking forward to. ” It can put us on the World Cup path, while showcasing the Hong Kong China women’s game to a wider audience. The WXV Global Series Challenger is a great platform to challenge ourselves against top-level competition.”

Even though the 2026 WXV will mark her departure from the Test match scene, Lee is not second-guessing her journey or the timing of her decision, knowing she has given everything to her team and teammates.

“For me, representing Hong Kong China meant representing my family, friends and teammates, but most importantly, the future of the sport, who are the little girls who will be scrummaging in my stead in a few years. I represented everyone, independently of where they came from, who they were, the colour of their skin.”

Having done all she could as a scrummager, ball carrier, leader and example, Lee recalls that rugby is much more than just a game of 15 against 15 or seven against seven; it is a means of connecting with people and creating great things together.

“As I said, rugby isn’t just a sport. I work with children and young people with special needs, and I use rugby to engage them. Rugby isn’t a chore or a hobby for me; it is my lifestyle. It helped me understand who I am and how I can be a better person. It can change lives and help others grow.”

Having made the massive revelation of her international retirement at the age of 37, Lee also opens the book by discussing what comes next, as the social worker looks for a chance to get involved in the coaching setup.

“It is an opportunity that I would love to embrace if it happens to fall in my lap. I will be in Singapore with our development side as an assistant coach and set-piece specialist coach. The union has been thoughtful about my transition to a different kind of role, be it as a coach or a rugby educator.”

With September fast approaching, Lee’s era of dominating opposing scrummagers may be coming to an end, but her legacy and spirit will carry on.

“I am an easy-going, happy and caring person who has never given up, even if it was a bronco. Yeah, I could finish last, but I kept going. That’s who Lee-Ka Shun was and will continue to be after September.”