Valley Black had to work hard to overcome a resilient USRC Tigers side in their 17-10 Women’s Premiership Grand Championships Semi-final victory. While Gai Wu Falcons posted a comfortable 11-try, 63-0 win over Tai Po Dragons. The results set up an intriguing, if familiar, final next weekend as Gai Wu look for a league and cup double.
The Tigers began the match making good use of their possession and Charlotte Myrans stroked them to early three-point lead with a well-taken penalty from the right wing.
USRC kept the pressure on and were rewarded with another penalty which fed into a series of ruck phases followed by some fast hands out to the right wing where Natasha Olson-Thorne scored in the corner. Another lengthy kick from Myrans added the extras for an early 10-0 Tigers lead.
Valley picked up some momentum in the second quarter with three points from the boot of Zoe Smith. Valley continued to attack and forced a lineout on the Tigers 22. Flanker Aroha Savage gathered the ball and powered her way over the line, Smith’s conversion tied the score 10-10 at the break.
In the second half, Valley held the lion’s share of possession, but were kept out by a solid Tigers defensive line. On 50 minutes, Savage picked the ball from the base of a scrum on the Tigers’ five-metre line and went over for her second try. Smith converted to give Valley a 7 point lead, which they defended until the final whistle.
Valley’s player-coach Bella Milo was pleased to get through a tricky match “It was a tough game,” she said. “Tigers defended well and made us work all the way. The first half showed we hadn’t had game time for the last few weeks. Then we found our groove and made the points to get us back in it before the break.”
“In the second half we built on the momentum we made. Our forwards played really well. They were dominant in our scrum, and in our lineout. We’ll take the win but it was hard one,” she added.
Milo continued “We’ve got a short turnaround. Now it’s back to the drawing board to get ready for next week’s match. I’m only hoping that we can go through and keep up what we were doing right today.”
Tigers’ coach Fan Shun Kei saw the match as one that got away, but nonetheless declared himself pleased with his side’s accomplishments this season. “We made a very positive start and controlled the first part of the first half. We were getting the ball out wide quickly and that’s why they struggled. Natasha played a very important role, maintaining the momentum. Later our forwards were playing more kick and go, taking easy options instead of going wide.” sais Fan.
“In the second half, when we had the ball, we were too rushed. Every time we got the ball, we’d make a mistake and gift it back to Valley. Under their pressure we didn’t use the ball efficiently.” Philosophical but quietly determined, Fan believes his side have a lot more to give.
“We defended very well all through – it was such a big difference to previous games and exactly the foundation I wanted. I was very pleased, especially with Maelle [Picut] and Lara [Schats],” Fan said. “The game could have been ours if we’d stuck to the plan. Valley kept it alive on our mistakes.”
“So in the end it was another learning experience. We lifted our game, and we made them fight for 80 minutes. It was one of our best games this season, and you could say we were unlucky, but our players can take a lot of positives from this game,” he smiled. “Hopefully next year we can come back faster and stronger.”
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Additional reporting and image: hkru