Valley Black host HKFC Ice (Happy Valley, 6pm) and Gai Wu Falcons take on USRC Tigers at KGV (4.30pm), in this weekend’s Women’s Premiership Grand Championship semi finals.
The Falcons and Tigers will meet in their winner-take-all match to see who advances to the grand final. Confidence levels at both clubs are high ahead of the match with Falcons spirits lifted by a strong performance in an 8-7 loss against Valley on the final league weekend. While Tigers dispatched Football Club, 52-12, on their last outing. Both teams enter the penultimate round well rested after walkovers in the quarter-final stages.
“Our confidence is high after the game against Valley. We enter this weekend with a lot of self-belief,” said Falcons coach Lai Yiu-pang.
“Defensively we improved a lot. Our structures were working, our skills, our tackle rate, everything – we performed really well. We put them under pressure and were able to keep the ball for long periods. We knew what we had to do and went about it in the right way.
“That is the style we have been after all season. We have to keep our phase play going, whether in the forwards or backs, and above all we have to keep hold of the ball,” said Lai.
That performance against Valley has Tigers on notice. “Gai Wu have improved a lot recently,” said Tigers coach Liu Kwok-leung. “I watched them play Valley. They’re strong mentally, and strong in contact. It will be a tough game.
“We need to work hard to build our phases and once we get the ball, it’s crucial that that we keep it in hand and make the most of it,” added Leung.
Gai Wu have beaten the Tigers twice in the league this season but Lai knows that league performances no longer matter. “It’s knockout rugby now, and we can’t underestimate anyone. Last year we lost out to Tigers for second place in the league so we know how strong they are.
“You can’t underestimate any opponent, especially Tigers. They’ve got the ability and they’ve got the players like Natasha Olson-Thorne and Nam Ka-man. Even though they finished third in the league, we know that anything can happen,” added Lai.
“We have to make sure our structure holds like it did against Valley. We have to play the territory game. We want to create momentum, but if we can’t, we need to be accurate in our kicking game to secure good field position.
“We have to enforce that understanding across the whole squad, to make sure everyone understands how to respond in different situations, in defence and attack,” Lai added.
Tigers are also entering the weekend ready for a full-throated roar. “We’ve played good rugby recently, and improved throughout the season. In our last game, we performed well. So the team is confident and our defence is going to be key,” Liu noted.
“We need to be strong at the back, and build from there. The entire Gai Wu forward pack are Hong Kong players; their conditioning is superb and they are very experienced.
“But we’ve got younger players who are coming up and learning fast. In the Grand Championships you don’t know what to expect. People can perform beyond even their own expectations. If we keep mentally strong, anything can happen,” Liu added.
Both teams will be impacted by injury or unavailability this weekend, for the Falcons, Melody Li Nim-yan is out of action due to an injury picked up on the recent sevens team training tour in New Zealand while another of Gai Wu’s trio of sevens stars, Candy Cheng, is also unavailable this weekend. Tigers’ injury concerns include stalwart Lindsay Varty, who is also out with an injury picked up in New Zealand,while emerging star Jessica Ho is still recovering from a shoulder injury and will have to pass a late fitness test to play.
The good news for Falcons fans is that Hong Kong international Aggie Poon Pak-yan is set to return from an ankle injury this weekend. “I’m looking forward to seeing how she contributes. She hasn’t played XVs for nearly a month,” said Lai.
Additional reporting and image: HK Rugby