Sion Bennett was a professional rugby player who has played under-20 and Sevens for Wales, and for clubs including Scarlets, Cardiff Blues, Northampton Saints, and now Valley RFC, in Hong Kong. He’s now a director for property advisory experts Centrick.
(credit: Patrick Leung / Valley RFC)
What do you do now?
Around five years ago, I made the decision to move to Hong Kong to originally play rugby. After 6 months in the country I decided I wanted to stick around and so began my career in property
We all know the stereotype, that rugby players go into sales or wealth management or very people-facing roles – and it’s assumed it’s because we like to drink a lot! But in reality it’s because we work well in worlds that rely on personal rapport and connections. I could probably talk about this for ages, but I think coming into the corporate environment I’ve realised that in a sport environment, being a people person is just what you do.
I’ve since realised, especially in Asia, that there’s a lot of people who are very smart and very strong, but they don’t necessarily have those kind of people-building or soft skills, they can’t always build relationships or be able to master the small talk in the 10 minutes before the meeting.
Since starting in property four and a half years ago I’ve moved between a few companies and built experience and up in to senior roles. After a few great years I ended up having quite a tough time at the end of last year. I became an associate director at my previous company and things were going great, but then at the end of last year the company had some financial issues and went into administration. It was a very stressful and tough period for me personally. During that period I really had to draw on the resilience I had built during my sporting career. It’s now worked out for the best, my old colleague and I set up a company in Hong Kong at the start of this year, which we’re shareholders in in partnership with Centrick, but I don’t think it would have had it not been for the mental toughness I had built during those formative years in professional sport.
Our business sells UK property to investors in Asia. We advise them on the UK as a country, which towns have the most opportunities in the property markets, as well as helping with things like mortgages, solicitors, renting the property out. We typically connect UK expats in Asia to investment properties in the UK.
What do rugby players bring to this business?
Something I’ve noticed in the workplace as compared to professional sports is the ability to take feedback and criticism. There’s not many corporate job situations like in rugby. Statistics are put up on a board and videos are shown to the whole team of you missing a tackle or making a mistake, there’s no hiding. In that moment you have to accept the feedback and say you’re going to improve. You move on pretty quickly as an athlete and as a team, to the next week and to the next job in hand.
In a job sense, being able to accept and even invite criticism is invaluable. Being able to tell someone directly, this what you’ve done wrong – obviously in a constructive way – and this is how you improve and move on quickly is important for any company but doesn’t always sit well with everyone.
Are you still playing rugby?
I now play semi-professional rugby and Captain Valley RFC. How it usually works is they offer you free accommodation for a year and possibly some money, as well as helping you find a job. The rent is by far the most expensive thing in Hong Kong, so a free flat makes a massive difference! I am a back row, playing 6, 7 or 8.
Traditionally we’ve always been one of the top teams. There’s only six teams in the top league, but I really like it. It’s nicer on the body because the season runs October to around March, so it’s shorter, and you get a few weeks off for Christmas.
What’s the rugby culture out there?
(credit: Patrick Leung / Valley RFC)
It’s eclectic! You have South Africans, Kiwis, Aussies, Welsh, English. I was the only Welsh guy at first but there are seven or eight now. You have lots of different cultures, but also different styles of play, which I find quite interesting. The British players kick it a bit more whereas the New Zealanders like to run it more. It’s interesting trying to balance all of that. Last year, I injured my MCL quite badly, and it was the same period when I lost my job, so it was quite tough. After a few weeks away I realised I missed rugby, but I also really enjoyed the captaincy side of it as well. I thrive on trying to pull people together and connect with different groups.
What’s life like in Hong Kong like?
How I describe it to people is, it’s very intense. People work hard, exercise intensely and party lots: everything’s just 100 miles an hour. It’s very fast paced and that’s what I love about it. Because of this I also think you need to leave every now and again to decompress, but then you’re straight back into the fast lane. I always pre-warn people so they know what they’re coming in for!