Unbeaten Valley Black will look to shake off the rust after the bye week when they take on City Sparkle in the finale of the first Women’s Premiership Super Saturday of the season.
The Valley – City clash will be preceded by Kowloon versus HKFC Ice (13:30), Tai Po Dragons versus USRC Tigers (15:00) and CWB Phoenix versus Gai Wu Falcons (16:30) in a showcase of women’s rugby at Sheki Kip Mei.
Despite the top versus bottom of the table match-up, Valley coach Bella Milo is taking nothing for granted as she puts her charges back to work in the women’s premiership.
“Coming back after the break we need to get a few things right,” said Milo. “Against Causeway Bay we struggled with some of our plays. Our handling and our combinations were not going right, so we’ll be using this game to get those set as we’ve got a big game next week [against HKFC].”
Milo’s estimation of struggling in last round’s 58-0 win over Causeway Bay demonstrates the relentless attitude that has seen Valley run the table for three seasons running – and that fiercely competitive approach will be on display against City.
“We’ll put out our strongest squad, based on their performance in training,” Milo confirmed. “There will be places for one or two newer players to replace a couple of injuries and we are pleased to have “Frenchie” [Amelie Seure] back from sevens duty. I want to use this game to get a better gauge of the players.”
Valley currently top the table on 15 points while fellow undefeated side Gai Wu Falcons are a point off the pace in second, and four points ahead of Tigers. The Falcons will play fourth-ranked Causeway Bay, whose scoring has been prolific this season but who have let themselves down in defence, scoring 79 points but conceding 76.
The Tigers can leap up the table if they can dispatch sixth-ranked Tai Po Dragons but with Valley and Falcons playing in what are potentially mismatches they may find themselves treading water in third place come Sunday.
Kowloon will be hoping that their offense can fire after a series of close-run affairs, as they hunt for their first win of the season against Football Club after scoring just 10 points across the opening three matches.
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Additional reporting: hkru
Images: Takumi Photography