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Women’s 15s Match Report: HKCC 5-48 USRC Tigers – 21 November, 2015

The weekend’s fixture saw the HKCC Ladies squad travel to King’s Park to play a USRC Tigers side sitting one place above them in the league.

HKCC had learned some valuable lessons from the previous weekend and had put that into practice in the training sessions leading up to the game. It showed from the off with HKCC putting pressure on the Tigers keeping them at bay, however fortune was not on HKCC’s side and a momentarily lapse in concentration led to Tigers taking a 5-0 lead with a break down the blindside wing.

The opening 25 minutes saw a tense battle between the two squads with HKCC playing some of the best rugby of their season so far, putting together phase after phase, gaining yard after yard ending in a superb team try finished off by Scrum Half Ashley Brooks.

The hard working start took it’s toll and as HKCC began to tire the Tigers were all too happy to take advantage, adding 2 unanswered tries and going in at half time 15-5 up.

HKCC tried to regroup at the break as injuries and players looked burnt out after the explosive beginning to the first half.

The second half continued in the same vain as the latter minutes of the first half with the Tigers showing no signs of slowing down adding three more early tries to take the lead to 34-5.

HKCC showed a lot of spirit, courage and determination trying not to be disheartened as they attempted to penetrate the Tigers defence but the fierce opposition had other ideas. The Tigers showed more clinical finishing to end the game 48-5.

Again this week saw some great phases of play for HKCC to take heart from particularly in the opening 25 minutes. What is needed is to play at that level for the full game. The Tigers showed they will compete with most teams will surely be amongst it at the end of the season.

Women of the match for HKCC:
Back – Angie Ng
Forward – Carolyn Champion

HKCC Ladies: Joan Yip, Wawa Li, Jo Harvey, Izzy Rivers, Nobuko Oda, Carolyn Champion, Zoe Wong, Lynda Nazer, Ashley Brooks, Tinley Wong, Brenda Chan, Emma Chung, Tissia Polycarpe, Serene Yee, Diana Li
Substitutes: Mhairi McLaughlin, Charlotte Berry, Hoi Yi Li, Elane Lau, Angie Ng, Kassie Chapel, Margaret Chan.
Try: Ashley Brooks

Women’s 15s Match Report: HKCC 5-18 CWB Pheasants – 14 November, 2015

A week’s break allowed the cuts, bruises and bumps of the previous matches to heal and made the HKCC Ladies even keener to play at their home ground Aberdeen against the Causeway Bay Pheasants in the 6th Round of the League.

The whistle blew and HKCC kicked off giving possession to the waiting Pheasants who immediately began to pound their way up the pitch. HKCC scrapped for the ball but the Pheasants furiously rucked maintaining possession and skillfully controlling the course of play. During the first ten minutes HKCC only handled the ball once and this was to kick off again after the Pheasants broke round the side of the defence and scored the first try of the match, 5-0.

Determined to take ownership of the game HKCC kicked off and instantly pressured the Pheasant’s defence. The two teams collided up and down the pitch but neither side looked set to score a try until a close opportunity came for HKCC’s number 8, Lynda Nazer. Awarded a scrum in the Pheasants’ 22 Nazer picked the ball up and pummeled her way up the pitch. But much to HKCC’s frustrations, Nazer, a footstep from the try line was barged into touch. Gaining the ball back the Pheasants kicked to clear their lines, putting HKCC’s fullback and winger under pressure, who only just managed to keep the Pheasant’s attack at bay.

The match continued with the two teams fighting for possession and precious ground. Foul play from HKCC led to a penalty that helped the Pheasants creep further up the pitch. Within minutes HKCC gave away another penalty this time in a threatening position, 5m from the try line. The Pheasants opted for a kick at goal, the ball sailed through the posts, padding CWB’s lead; 8-0.

The first half was drawing to a close but not before HKCC had one more stab at the Pheasant’s defence. Dominated by the HKCC forwards a maul formed and with gaining momentum they thundered towards the try line. With a few metres to go, quick as a flash HKCC’s Carolyn Champion broke from the maul with ball in hand. Once again HKCC were a footstep from the try line, but this time it was Champion who was mercilessly tackled into touch by a strong Pheasant defence. The score remained 8-0 to Pheasants and the whistle blew for half time.

After some rallying words from coach Alex Tarleton the whistle blew for the start of the second half. The Pheasants booted the ball straight into the arms of HKCC scrumhalf Emma Chung, who charged up the pitch. After some clashes in the center of the field a quick Pheasant turn over saw their attack bursting through HKCC defence. Weaving around the HKCC fullback the Pheasants looked close to scoring until Chung made a last ditch tackle, halting the attack. The Pheasants reset to strike again and this time succeeded, as their winger zipped round the side of the HKCC defence, 13-0.

HKCC kicked off and again the two sides fought to control the game. A great breakthrough came from HKCC’s centre Lucy Thomson, who hurtled through the Pheasant defence. But foul play by HKCC at the ruck gave the Pheasants a penalty and they wasted no time in using it to their advantage. HKCC were pushed back to their own try line fighting off another Pheasant attack. Nothing could stop the two Pheasant forwards who crashed over the try line for their third try of the match.

HKCC knew time was running out and they were determined to get some well-deserved points on the board. The HKCC forwards moved up together recycling the ball well until they were only meters from the try line. The Pheasants absorbed the hits well but they were unable to stop outside centre Tissia Polycarpe thundering over the try line, scoring the first and last HKCC points of the match.

After what seemed like a long and tiresome second half the whistle blew to end the match. Although a loss for the HKCC Ladies they are improving every week and look forward to their next match against Tigers this Saturday.

HKCC Woman of the Match: Emma Chung

HKCC 5-18 CWB Pheasants
HKCC Ladies: Joan Yip, Wawa Li, Jo Harvey, Lauren Petersen, Nobuko Oda, Brenda Chan, Cheryl Gourley, Lynda Nazer, Emma Chung, Tinley Wong, Serene Yee, Carolyn Champion, Tissia Polycarpe, Angie Ng, Steph Zhang
Substitutes: Lucy Thomson, Kassie Chapel, Charlotte Berry, Hoi Yi Li, Elane Lau, Mhairi McLoughlin.
Try: Tissia Polycarpe

Photo: Phoebe Leung

Women’s 15s Match Report: Valley Reds 14-5 Gai Wu Fawkes – 31 October, 2015

Valley Reds played a tight game last Saturday at Happy Valley against Gai Wu Fawkes earning a hard fought 14-5 victory. The ladies have shown immense development over the first few games of the season and looked to continue to improve with lots of hard work on the training field. The Reds played with great confidence, exerting constant pressure and spending a large part of the first period camped in Gai Wu’s half. The team as a whole was more structured than last week as Carman Law (scrum half) and K Wong (centre) carried out set plays. With such a strong level of confidence and aggression, KK Wong (Captain) and Suzzane Stikko scored a try each – both successfully converted by Choi Ying Wong.

Gai Wu fought back playing more experienced players in the second half and thus putting more pressure in the scrums. The Fawkes also returned after the break with more structured play, which was fatal to Valley’s unorganized defense line, and scored its first try but with no conversion. Gai Wu was close to scoring a second try when Carman Law made a try-saving tackle. Valley were able to maintain the lead as the team reacted and improved it’s defensive line after a water break. The final whistle blew on a competitive game with the score 14-5 to the Reds.

Suzzane Stikko was voted as “Backs’ MVP” with her hard “go-forward” runs while Rigel Mo Ching Lam was voted as “Forwards’ MVP” as she displayed strong tackles and defence.

Valley Reds are looking forward to play against HK Scottish two weeks later, 4:30pm at Shek Kip Mei Park Sport Centre.

Valley Red 14-5 Gai Wu Fawkes
@ Happy Valley, Kick-off: 18:00
Valley Reds: 1. Phoebe Fok, 2. Pui Man Choi, 3. Rebecca G, 4. Deena Thinakaran, 5. Aggie Au-Yeung, 6. Rigel Mo Ching Lam, 7. Jess knight, 8. KK Wong (C), 9. Carman Law, 10. Choi Ying Wong, 11. Lemon Mung, 12. Lewis Wong, 13. Suzzane Stikko, 14. Zoe Smith, 15. Taryn Lo
Substitutes: 16. Teagan Lo, 17. Morgane Lebrun, 18. Natalie Chan, 19. Sophie Lai, 20. Candy Tsang, 21. Avis Ma, 22. Anna Hryske
Try: KK Wong, Suzzane Stikko. Conversion: Choi Ying Wong (2)

Women’s 15s Match Report HKCC 15-0 Tai Po Dragons – 31 October, 2015

Week 5 of the Season saw a HKCC team eager to get back to winning ways against a Tai Po team who had been through similar struggles in recent weeks.

The match began with a constant barrage of attacking pressure from HKCC, with the forward pack having some excellent phases moving up the pitch. The Tai Po midfield was able to hold off the HKCC attack on a number of occasions frustrating the team in white.

After dominating the possession in the opening 20 minutes HKCC finally broke the solid Tai Po defence with Ashely Brooks scoring on her return to the starting line up. HKCC continued to put pressure up the field but Tai Po finally broke into the opposition half to ease some pressure in the closing minutes of a tight first half.

HKCC gathered their thoughts at the break looking to add more points to the possession and trying to find answers for a stubborn Tai Po defence.

It was an excellent opening five minutes for the Tai Po team who worked their up the pitch with some dynamic running and crash balls. However, HKCC managed to absorb the pressure and turned the ball over feeding Tissia Polycarpe, who danced her way through the middle of the Tai Po Defence to make the game 10-0.

Fresh legs began to enter the field and change the balance of the game with Tai Po beginning to get more confidence and putting more pressure on HKCC. Both teams locked horns with neither side giving in. HKCC had throughout the game seen great success from the scrum and after sustaining another 15 minutes of pressure a scrum turnover saw HKCC back on the front foot. A penalty occurred, quickly taken it enabled HKCC to march up the field looking to add another try to seal the match.

It came on the final play of the game with Tissia adding a second try for herself in the corner sealing a 15-0 victory and the second win of the season for the HKCC Ladies.

HKCC enjoyed getting back to winning ways but knew they had been in a tough encounter against a very resilient Tai Po side.

HKCC Women of the Match
Forward: Wawa Li
Back: Diana Li

HKCC 15-0 Tai Po Dragons
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 16:30
HKCC: Joan Yip, Wawa Li, Nobuko Oda, Lauren Petersen, Lainie Man, Wendy Sham, Cheryl Gourley, Lynda Nazer, Ashley Brooks, Tinley Wong, Steph Zhang, Lucy Thomson, Brenda Chan, Zoe Wong, Diana Li, Charlotte Berry, Katie Rowbottom, Margaret Chan, Elane Lau, Christy Ma, Rhonda Wildeman, Jo Harvey, Tissia Polycarpe, Serene Yee
Try: Tissia Polycarpe (2), Ashely Brooks
Head Coach: Alex Tarleton

Premiership Match Report: HKFC Ice 0-51 Valley Black – 24 October, 2015

It was a highly anticipated game on Saturday for HKFC Ice, as they took on defending champions Valley Black. Near perfect weather conditions and a home advantage were unable to settle those nerves, and Valley showed they meant business with a try in the second minute of the game. A great run by Valley resulted in another try and HKFC Ice knew they were going to have to put up a big fight. Strong scrummaging and some formidable tackles by Grace Hood and Jamie Bourk were not enough to hold off their dynamic opponents, resulting in two further tries. With minutes to go until half time, Aileen Ryan was yellow carded for a deliberate offside after a 22 drop out and it wasn’t looking good for the home team.

As the second half kicked off, it was still a battle between the pros and the newly promoted Ice. Despite several dropped passes, Valley scored once again leaving HKFC Ice well behind. With Aileen Ryan back on, HKFC Ice displayed some strong defensive moves, and tackles by Nicole Pang and Aysha Fiaz managed to slow down the rampant Valley Black attack. There were three more tries from Valley and then it was all over. HKFC Ice put up a valiant fight against the seasoned Valley Black and will surely use this experience to come back stronger than ever. Coach David Wigley said that he was proud of the performance that HKFC Ice put in against the defending Premiership champions Valley Black.

HKFC Ice 0-51 Valley Black
@ HK Football Club, Kick-off: 18:00
HKFC Ice: Denise Chan, Shonagh Ryan, Kim Kan, Zuzanna Osinska, Martina Colombo, Jamie Bourk, Iris Chan, Daisy Miers, Sophie Short, Aileen Ryan, Casey Gallagher, Nicole Pang, Grace Hood, Natalia Lech, Emma Shields
Substitutes: Carol Hung, Amy Kong, Aysha Fiaz, Madeline Adcock, Kim Lam, Stephanie Siu, Caroline Lau

Match Report: Valley Red 17-10 HKCC – 17 October, 2015

Week 3 saw HKCC travel to Happy Valley to play the undefeated Valley Red Ladies. HKCC were eager to get back on the pitch and brush off the frustrations of the previous week’s last second defeat to HK Scottish.

Straight from the kick off HKCC pushed up into the Valley twenty-two putting the Red’s defence under heavy pressure. Valley managed to keep calm and were able to clear their lines well. The first half saw both sides creating good opportunities in the backs and strong rucking and scrummaging from both forward packs.

In a closely contested first half HKCC seemed to be on the front foot with their line-out improving vastly from previous weeks and their scrum looking increasingly confident. Hard work from the forwards led to good clean ball for the backs and Izzy Rivers, (switching from second row to centre this week) took advantage, crashing through the Reds defence and scoring the first try of the match. Unable to convert HKCC went into the closing minutes of the half 5-0 up. Yet shortly after Valley retaliated, with their excellent centre breaking through HKCC defence, leveling the game, 5-5 at the halftime break.

The second half saw a fantastic battle between both sides, with each attack being held at bay by the opposition’s solid defence. HKCC showed some great structure, whilst Valley showed a wide range of skills, particularly from the centre, whose huge boot eased the pressure off Valley on a number of occasions.

hkcc2 HKCC’s scrum continued to dominate in the second half and the cracks in the Valley’s defence started to show. HKCC pieced at least 10 phases together and with superb work, particularly from the back-row, Lynda Nazer crashed over the line, to score a well-deserved second try.

Leading in to the final 15, after putting in a great shift on attack HKCC began to tire and Valley took the opportunity to creep up the field. After a clever chip and chase from the ever-present Valley centre, try scorer Nazer held the player back leading to a Red’s penalty and a yellow card shown. Valley used the extra woman to their advantage, charging through the HKCC line to level the score at 10 all.

Similar to last week’s match, HKCC were able to come out with points against one of the favourites for the league but for a second time in a row were unable to secure a victory. In the closing seconds of the game, having used the forwards to work their way up the pitch, Valley quickly spread it out to the backs who confidently scored a try under the posts. The conversion flew over and the referee blew the whistle for full time.

Both teams came off the pitch knowing they had been in a battle, Valley went and celebrated a well earned win while HKCC sat somber and reflected once again on what could of been.

But after the tears had stopped and some wise words from the coach (if I do say so myself) the HKCC Ladies picked themselves up and realised again what an achievement it was. Even missing out in the closing stages it showed again that HKCC are no pushovers and will be fighting to secure better results in the upcoming weeks.

Only 3 games in and so far it has been a roller coaster. Bring on next week!

Women of the Match:
HKCC: Lauren Petersen
Valley: Kicking Centre (Unsure of her name)

Valley Red 17-10 HKCC
@ Happy Valley, Kick-off: 18:00
HKCC Ladies: Jo Harvey, Wawa Li, Joan Yip, Lauren Petersen, Nobuko Oda, Lainie Man, Cheryl Gourley, Lynda Nazer, Emma Chung, Lucy Thomson, Christy Ma, Izzy Rivers, Tissia Polycarpe, Steph Zhang, Diana Li
Substitutes: Katie Rowbottom, Angie Ng, Mhairi McLoughlin, Charlotte Berry, Kassie Chapel, Elane Lau
Try: Izzy Rivers, Lynda Nazer

Photo: Panda Man

Match Report: Valley Black 54-5 Kowloon – 17 October, 2015

After a bye last week, the Valley Black Ladies were eager to get back on the pitch at KGV and were looking for their second win of the season against Kowloon.

It was a strong game for Valley right from the start, with ten tries coming in from all over the park. Bella (4), Karen (2), Jen, Deena, Jess, Jaz and Frenchie all got over the line for Valley. Kowloon struggled to compete with our forwards in scrums and lineouts, which gave Valley playmakers Bella and Colleen plenty of opportunity to create some plays.

Deserved MVPs Becky and Jess displayed strong athleticism, challenging the Kowloon ladies in both attack and defence throughout the entire 80-minutes. It was a solid win from the ladies, and a great platform to build from for the rest of the season.

Valley Black Ladies are looking forward to the challenge of playing against a strong HKFC side this coming Saturday, 6pm at the Football Club.

Match Report: DB Pirates 0-20 Revolution

The second round of the Ladies 10s league kicked off under vastly different weather conditions to the first and for the Pirates a squad of 11 took the pitch featuring four rugby debutants: Jackie Philbrick Douglas, Catherine Osburn, Gloria Lau and Louise Shepherd. A nervous start, thus was to be expected as many of the ladies tried to find their way around the rules and the game, and figuring out that ‘match day fitness’ is a very real thing.

The first half saw the Revolution cross the line three times with no conversions putting them up 15-0. The Pirates spirit was not to be deterred though!

Half time came with some words of encouragement, the nerves were gone and it was now time to prove what we were made of. A wonderful kick and chase from Shannon Tjon ignited the fire and got the Pirates very close to the line, however they were unable to convert good field position in points. More was to follow, an amazing line break from debutant Jackie Douglas had all of the sideline spectators up and cheering. The Revolution crossed the line only once in the second half, although a lung busting 70 meter chase down and fantastic tackle by Sienna Stubbs almost prevented that.

An inspiring game by our debutants, all coming off the field with massive smiles. An overwhelming sense of achievement and Pirate Spirit…. Take what you can…. Leave nothing behind!

Discovery Bay Pirates Ladies team are still looking for any players from around Discovery Bay and Lantau interested in joining the team. Any ladies 17and up looking to join the sisterhood please contact [email protected], no experience required – just passion to learn and play!

DB Ladies 0 – Revolution 20
Tai Hung Tang, kick-off 16:30

DB Pirates: Meg McGrath, Jackie Philbrick Douglas (debut), Catherine Osburn (debut), Sienna Stubbs, Rebecca Tomasis, Gloria Lau (debut), Oorja Goel, Louise Shepherd (debut), Paula Andrea (Captain), Shannon Tjon, Substitute: Kon Chan