Twenty-six years ago today, bc magazine debuted on the streets of Hong Kong.
What an amazing experience it has been – highs, lows, depths of despair, top of the world… A lot of people – staff, friends, advertisers and readers have been involved through the years, thank you for your support and strength.
We are HongKongers!
Hong Kong successfully defended their Asia Men’s Rugby Champions title beating South Korea 64-3 at Hong Kong Football Club.
A day of superb individual performances at the Hong Kong Football Club saw the hosts secure a bonus point, and a 26-0 lead, after just 20 minutes.
Hong Kong were on the front foot from the kick-off, exerting enough pressure on the Korean defence to put fullback Jack Neville over for the game’s first try after 10 minutes. Wing Seb Brien and centre Ben Axten-Burrett added tries in the next ten minutes before Neville bagged a first half brace to push Hong Kong’s lead to 26-0.
Starved of both space and ball, South Korea could only muster a penalty in reply deep in the half. A red card for a dangerous tackle on Harry Sayers left Korea a man down for the remainder, creating space for a Tyler Spitz try late to bring the total to 31-3 at the break.
The second half was more of the same with Hong Kong entertaining the home crowd with four more tries.
Fly half Matt Rosslee started the scoring shortly after the re-start, tiptoeing down the line before breaking in behind the centre defence to push the score to 38-3 after he converted his own effort.
The forwards muscled in on the action with tries from Callum McCullough, who scored a brace in the second half, including a 60-metre solo effort that saw the big man swerving and dummying the defence beautifully.
McCullough, one of the finds of the ARC campaign, was joined by another new cap on the score sheet in the second half when Fai Solomona crossed the whitewash, showing some superior conditioning to finish off another long-range Hong Kong try.
Ben Axten-Burrett served up that try and capped a fine individual performance with a battering try of his own moments later when the forwards demolished the understrength Korean pack on their line to produce another in a day-long series of fine attacking platforms. Axten-Burrett shoulder charged his way through two defenders for an emphatic finish.
McCullough’s loping effort, with hooker Alexander Post in eager support served as the perfect capping for a day when Hong Kong scored nine tries, running their last two match total to 20, to remain Asian champions.
Hong Kong’s bonus point win sees them finish on a perfect 20 of 20 possible points with South Korea on ten and Malaysia on one.
While it took Hong Kong a half-century to claim its first ever Asia Rugby title, a second convincing run against the region’s top contenders sets an exciting stage for the return of Japan to the competition in 2020.
1. Ben Higgins, 2. Alex Post, 3. Grant Kemp, 4. Fin Field, 5. Kyle Sullivan, 6. James Cunningham, 7. Callum Mccullough, 8. Kane Boucaut, 9. Liam Slatem (Captain), 10. Matt Rosslee, 11. Harry Sayers, 12. Ben Axten-Burrett, 13. Tyler Spitz 14. Seb Brien, 15. Jack Neville,
Reserves: 16. Callum Mcfeat Smith 17. Mitch Andrews, 18. Faizal Solomona, 19. Craig Lodge, 20. Sam Tsoi, 21. Jamie Lauder, 22. Lewis Warer, 23, Rob Keith
Additional reporting and images HKRU, Tiger Super Sports
Updated (3 March): To celebrate International Women’s Day in 2019 the Pineapple Underground Film Festival (PUFF) have put together three nights of films by female filmmakers both local and from across the globe.
The screenings on the 6 & 14 March at the Kino in Jordan are intended to raise the profile and awareness of women behind the camera. The night of funny and quirky short films planned for the 7 March has rescheduled to April, the exact date to be confirmed .
Entry to all screenings is Free by registration on the PUFF website here .
Puff Film Festival – International Women’s Day 2019
Date: 8pm, 6-7, 14 March, 2019
Venue: Kino
Tickets: Free register here
HKFC Ice 46-0 City Sparkle
@ Happy Valley, Kick-off: 15:00
CWB Phoenix 15-19 Tai Po Dragons
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 16:30
Valley Black 31-0 Kowloon
@ Happy Valley, Kick-off: 18:00
Gai Wu Falcons 12-25 USRC Tigers
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 18:00
Gai Wu Fawkes 22-7 USRC Tigers 2
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 16:30
HK Scottish Kukris 27-19 Revolution SRC
@ Shek Kip Mei, Kick-off: 18:00
Tin Shui Wai 43-0 Kowloon
@ Tin Shui Wai, Kick-off: 15:00
Gai Wu Hawks 29-5 CWB Lammergeier
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 18:00
Images: hkru
Premiere Cinema will open at Elements on 1 March. Operated by Broadway Circuit the new cinema has 12 houses containing 1,600 seats, two of which are equipped with Dolby ATMOS 3D sound – one of which is main house, and the other is a small ‘VIP’ house.
The opening film selection and the cinema amenities have yet to be announced. Check the website for details www.cinema.com.hk
French-speaking communities across the world celebrate the richness and vibrancy of their cultures on the 20 March. International Francophonie Day, as it’s known, commemorates the grouping of French-speaking states by the Niamey Convention in 1970.
In recent years the Alliance Francais de Hong Kong has organised the Festival de la Francophonie which this year runs from 12 March to 3 April and features an eclectic selection of music, film, theatre, comedy and an opening lecture from Dany Laferrière.
A mini French-speaking Film Festival at the Fringe Club’s Upstairs Studio feature four films, entry is free with registration
19 March: Toujours Aventurier (Switzerland) – Screening with the alpinist J. Troillet
22 March: Petit Paysan (France) – Screening with the director
26 March: Les Rois Mongols (Canada)
29 March: Une Part d’Ombre (Belgium).
The free Mars en Folie concert at MOM Livehouse features the rock of Cherry Chérie (Canada), the electro-pop melodies of Suzane (France) and Stevans (Switzerland) and the ethnic rap of Témé Tan (Belgium).
The fourth Hong Kong French Theatre Festival features a play a day from 26-30 March at the Sheung Wan Civic Centre. Tickets are $300.
8pm, 26 March: Est-ce que j’ai une Gueule d’Arletty? (Do I have an Arletty Face?) by Eric Bu & Elodie Menant.
8pm, 27 March: Le Porteur d’Histoir (The Story Teller) by Alexis Michalik
8pm, 28 March: Signé Dumas (Signed Dumas) by Cyril Gély & Eric Rouquette
8pm, 29 March: La Cantatrice Chauve (The Bald Soprano) by Eugene Ionesco
5pm, 30 March: Tu Seras un Homme Papa by Gael Leiblang (at Bulle d’Art)
There’s also a workshop, lecture and more amidst this celebration of the French speaking world.
NB: All events are in French, some will have subtitles in English.
