Women’s Rugby Fixtures – 4 February, 2017

Women’s Rugby Results – 21 January, 2017

Premiership

Gai Wu Falcons 73-3 HKFC Ice
@ HK Football Club, Kick-off: 18:00

USRC Tigers 3-43 Valley Black
@ Happy Valley, Kick-off: 18:00

Kowloon 12-14 CWB Phoenix
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 19:30

National League 1

USRC Tigers 12-17 Valley Red
@ Happy Valley, Kick-off: 16:30

HK Scottish v HKCC
@ Shek Kip Mei, Kick-off: 18:00

Gai Wu Fawkes 5-15 Tai Po Dragons
@ KG V, Kick-off: 18:00

National League 2

Gai Wu Hawks 10-5 Tai Po Dragons
@ KG V, Kick-off: 16:30

CWB Lammergeier 17-14 Police Sirens
@ Police Boundary Street, Kick-off: 18:00

Photo: Gozar Images

Premiership Preview – 21 January, 2017

Valley Black take on the USRC Tigers as first plays third in the Women’s Premiership Game of the Week at Happy Valley, kick-off is at 6pm. The Tigers have made big strides this season as they look to close the gap on the league’s front-runners but will have to be at the top of their game having lost the reverse fixture 32-3 earlier in the season.

Tigers Coach Liu Kwok-leung noted that his side could still be a bit rusty as their 61-10 win over Kowloon last weekend was their first competitive match since November – and despite the lengthy lay-off, the Tigers are struggling with injuries.

“We’ll probably bring some players up for the game against Valley, which will make getting the result that much harder, but it will give a chance for the younger players to get more experience,” said Liu.

“Valley is a tough game, but we’ll do our best. We’ve been preparing hard, and we know them much better now than when we met earlier this season. We’ve been working a lot on our defence, as if you can’t defend against Valley, you have no chance to attack,” added Liu.

Liu is also encouraged by the rapid development of some young players in the Tigers set-up: “We’ve got a few U18 girls coming through, which is really exciting. Hebe Talas will start this week on the wing. She’s a quality athlete and will be a major player for us in the future.”

Talas, and forward Maelle Picut who will start on the bench, were part of the U18s girls sevens side that won Hong Kong’s first Asian U18s Girls Sevens Championship last December, scoring a try in the final, a 12-5 win over Kazakhstan. “I’m really looking forward to see how these girls go,” said Liu

The Tigers’ U18s could find themselves facing their Hong Kong team-mates Kelsie Bouttle and Clare Coey who have both been getting Premiership match time with Valley this season.

“We can’t lose focus as we can’t afford any mistakes against Valley. They have a lot of national team players. We can learn a lot from playing them, but we don’t have any pressure. We can just tell the players to go out and enjoy it and that’s when we perform best,” said Liu who is satisfied with the Tigers’ position in the table: “We don’t feel any pressure to move up the table. We can continue to focus on our performance, as we’re confident we can keep ahead of the clubs below us. Our game isn’t yet at the level to consistently match Valley and Gai Wu so we need more experience, which is why this weekend is important.”

“Our target is the Grand Championships. We have set a goal to reach the final and beat whoever we face there,” Liu added.

With an undefeated run that is now in it’s third straight season, Liu can expect that opponent to be Valley, who also have their eyes on the same prize.

“We’re keeping an eye on the Grand Championships now and working on the expectation that we’ll play Gai Wu again, but this is rugby and anything could happen,” Valley Black coach Elliot said.

“Tigers are a good side. They know what they’re doing so it’s always a tough game. Our girls really want this win, but we’re also mindful that the schedule is going to get a lot tougher in the coming weeks. Our challenge now is to play some of our make-up games while managing player availability and fitness and, of course, not picking up too many injuries.”

“We need to get through this tough game on Saturday, and then we play Football Club next Thursday, which will be the first time we’ve met this season. We play them again the following week, giving us two matches against them in nine days, which can be tricky.”

Elliot has reshuffled his forward pack in the hunt for some new combinations for the remainder of the season and that could offer an opportunity for Tigers.

“It will be a baptism of fire for our forwards against the strong Tigers pack,” Elliot concluded.

In the other matches this weekend Gai Wu Falcons will face fourth-ranked HKFC Ice, while sixth-ranked Kowloon looks for its second win of the season against fifth-placed Causeway Bay Phoenix.

Additional reporting and photos: HK Rugby, Panadaman

Women’s Rugby Fixtures – 21 January, 2017

Match Report: CWB Phoenix 12-5 HKFC Ice @ So Kon Po – 14 January, 2017

Saturday saw a tough, hard fought Women’s Premiership match between HK Football Club Ice and SCAA Causeway Bay Phoenix at So Kon Po, Sarah Shuttleworth reports.

An early injury to Ice’s second row, Angelina Cheung, saw Zuzanna Osinska replace her and she proceeded to make her presence felt in the forward exchanges.

HKFC controlled the early possession in Causeway Bay’s half, causing pressure and displaying impressive scrum and line-out technique. Bobby Wilson made a clean break, after 15 minutes, but a resilient Phoenix defence refused to let Ice score.

Another drive from the HKFC forwards saw full back Jane Cheung sprint clear and run deep into Causeway Bay’s half. A strong try-saving tackle though saw her brought to ground within touching distance of the line.

Causeway Bay Phoenix made their first real scoring opportunity count, as a clean break by their wing Hau Sin Man secured the first try of the match. Hooker Chin Po Po made the conversion, 7-0 at the break.

Causeway Bay started off the second half confidently, looking threatening every time they had the ball. And the pressure paid off, as Hau Sin Man scored her second try extending Phoenix’s lead to 12-0.

Sophie Short came on at number 9 for HKFC, with Royce Chan moved into the front row to replace Denise Chan, and demonstrate some fast game play and exceptional tackles.

The new stringent interpretation of the tackle rules saw both sides have players yellow carded for high tackles.

Persistent foul play close to the line saw Ice awarded a penalty try early in the fourth quarter, a missed conversion left the score at 12-5 and all to play for.

With ten minutes to go, Ice looked dangerous in attack. A great piece of forward play saw Royce Chan drive for the line. Only for the Phoenix defence to hold her up, preventing her from touching down for the equalising score.

The last play of the game saw Ice with one final chance, a scrum 10m from the CWB line, However they couldn’t capitalise on the possession. Final score between two evenly matched teams, 12-5 to CWB Phoenix.

HKFC Ice:
Cheryl Gourley, Shonagh Ryan, Denise Chan, Claire Forster, Angelina Cheung, Claire Hunter, Nina Pirie, Bobby Wilson, Royce Chan, Helen Lee, Emma Shields, Jaime Ho, Jamie Bourk, Maggie Wong, Jane Cheung, Cynthia Luk, Zuzanna Osinska, Sophie Short, Paula Murcia, Rabbit Leung

Causeway Bay Pheonix:
Ho Pui Ki, Tsang Siu Ching, Chin Po Po, Chan Yan Yo, Hau Yan Tina Ho, Kong Yin Ting, Li Man Yi, Tsang Ching Man, Ka Lok Ng, Wong Sze Man, Lam Ka Wai, Kwok Yuk Lin, See Wai June Au, Sin Man Hau, Tsang Yuen Ying, Tze Yan Lam, Ka Ling Martini Ip, Tin Yan Dora Chim, Lau Sin Tung, Siu Man Nga

Women’s Rugby Results – 14 January, 2017

Premiership

City Sparkle 0-94 Gai Wu Falcons
@ Happy Valley, Kick-off: 16:30

USRC Tigers 61-10 Kowloon
@ Shek Kip Mei, Kick-off: 16:30

CWB Phoenix 12-5 HKFC Ice
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 18:00

National League 1

HKCC 5-10 Tai Po Dragons
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 16:30

Revolution SRC 19-12 Gai Wu Fawkes
@ Happy Valley, Kick-off: 18:00

USRC Tigers 48-0 HK Scottish
@ Shek Kip Mei, Kick-off: 18:00

National League 2

Gai Wu Hawks 24-10 HKFC Fire
@ Happy Valley, Kick-off: 15:00

Tai Po Dragons 0-10 Police Sirens
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 18:00

Tin Shui Wai 36-0 Uni-Pirates
@ Tin Shui Wai, Kick-off: 18:00

City 25-5 Kowloon
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 19:30

Photo: HKRugby

Women’s Premiership Round-up: Gai Wu Thrash City, CWB Beat HKFC and USRC Pound Kowloon

Living up to their promise to avenge last week’s pasting from Gai Wu, SCAA Causeway Bay Phoenix earned a hard fought 12-5 win over fourth-placed HKFC Ice.

The game mattered for both sides and the commitment showed. Through much of the first half, Football Club – missing a number of key players through injury and travel – struggled to gain and keep possession. Good movement from an energised Causeway Bay backline paid off midway through when quick hands out of the ruck fed the ball through to right wing Hau Sin Man who showed sustained speed to score. A solid conversion from hooker Chin Po Po put the home team in control.

Late in the half, Football Club rallied somewhat but couldn’t convert the possession to points, and the 7-0 scoreline stood at the break.

Both sides restarted well but the energy and accuracy of the CWB kept the pressure on Football Club. With around three-quarters of the game played, another win from the ruck brought the result within reach. The ball was quickly distributed through the backs via a deft switch back to the blindside. Another strong run from Hau Sin Man finished the move and saw Phoenix’s into a 12-0 lead.

HKFC looked to respond and the final 15 minutes was easily their strongest period of the game. On the 70 minute mark Ice’s no.8 Mei Nam Chow broke through the line and looked set to score, but an infraction earned her side a penalty try instead, which wasn’t converted, 12-5.

Football Club continued to press, but Phoenix’s defence held firm and the hard-fought game ended with smiles on Causeway Bay faces.

Coach Ocean Chow had no doubt the victory was well earned. “We executed our plan on defence, and built on that. Our scrum was strong today, earning us several turnovers. We have been working on our tackling, and today made a lot of good tackles, keeping low. We played our own style: quick ball and quick out of the ruck without overcommitting.”

Chow credited the win to his players attitude, saying, “they are fit and believe in themselves. They really wanted to win this one, after our record of going close against Football Club.”

HKFC’s long-serving national team forward Royce Chan Leong Sze said, “Causeway Bay were catching us with fast breaks, putting on pressure [that led to points]. We simply didn’t have enough possession to win the game.”

The loss changes the complexion of the rest of the season for Football Club, as their third-place/fourth-place tussle with USRC Tigers, against the two strongest sides in the Premiership, runs the risk of being replaced by a battle to hold on to fourth against a resurgent CWB.

Chan observed, “It’s going to be challenging going into the last four games, up against the top teams, and with us having to cope with a number of injuries. This game gave us notice that we must toughen up and move on.”

The USRC Tigers solidified their hold on third place in the table, ahead of HKFC, pounding Kowloon 61-10.

Kowloon coach Jonathan Ho was nevertheless pleased with his side’s defensive line speed, which he said caused Tigers problems, and led to their two second-half tries.

In the other Women’s Premiership game, Gai Wu Falcons topped last week’s high-scoring win with a rampaging 94-0 victory over bottom club City Sparkle, scoring eight tries in the first half alone and fulfilling coach Lai Yiu Pang’s directive to his players to keep focused on making the most of every opportunity.

Full women’s rugby results here

Additional reporting and photo: HKRugby

Women’s Rugby Fixtures – 14 January, 2017