Gai Wu Falcons added the Grand Championship to their league title beating Valley Black 31-10 in the Premiership Grand Final. The victory gave the Falcons their first Premiership league and championship double since the 2012/13 season.
Gai Wu scored five tries and defended resolutely to nullify Valley’s potent attack. The Falcons led 12-0 at the break with fly half BB Lee Tsz-ting scoring 16 points with a try in each half and three conversions.
The final – featuring 11 of the Hong Kong national team that played at the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup – was a fairly evenly contested early on with both sides having chances on, but the defences held strong.
The first score came for the Falcons after Valley centre Tanya Young was sin-binned in the 26th minute. The one woman advantage was the little difference that Gai Wu’s forwards needed as they took full advantage of the extra space to drive deep into Valley’s half.
Valley’s first up defence held strong, forcing a ruck in the far corner, but a clever shift of play by Gai Wu scrumhalf Sham Wai-sum put fly-half Lee into a seam behind the Valley defence. The Hong Kong no.10 showed a clean pair of heels to sprint the last few metres and dive over the line for the game’s first try. Lee converted her own score to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead.
The three-time defending league and grand champions Valley conceded a crucial penalty shortly shortly after returning to full strength as they were pinged for going straight to ground at the ruck. Lee’s penalty attempt fell short, but the Valley defence bobbled the take, knocking the ball on beneath their posts to give Gai Wu an attacking scrum five metres from the Valley line.
No.8 Angela Chan Ka-yan did well to corral the ball at the back of the scrum and the Falcons carried the ball for three phases before scoring in the corner, with Sham scoring the try to extend Gai Wu’s lead to 12-0 after Lee missed the conversion.
Valley found themselves in the unfamiliar position of trailing at the start the second half and their discombobulation continued when play resumed as Falcons wing Aggie Poon Pak-yan ventured off her line to devastating effect on several occasions, while the direct running lines of centre Greer Muir kept the Valley defence off balance.
In the 43rd minute Poon timed her run off the opposite wing perfectly to enter the line between Sham and Lee and used her pace to turn a half-gap in the defence into a long meandering run that brought the Falcons close to Valley’s line.
Poon offloaded the ball in contact to her supporting forwards, who executed some probing attacks around the fringes of the ruck before Hong Kong prop Tammy Lau crashed over the line, extending Gai Wu’s advantage to 19 points after Lee’s conversion.
Lee collected her brace in the 58th minute after the Falcons backed themselves twice in opting for scrums rather than two kickable penalties. The Falcons pack was up to the challenge at scrum-time and Gai Wu found space along the left-hand side again, with Lee popping up deep with the ball to score her second try in the corner. Lee’s conversion was unsuccessful, but Gai Wu held a commanding 24-0 lead with twenty minutes remaining.
Valley wing Nadia Cuvelier scored the first of her two second half tries in the 62nd minute when she finished off a 70-metre break started by centre Zoe Smith to put Valley on the board at 24-5.
But before Valley could build any momentum, winger Chong Ka-yan flashed some individual brilliance and pace for the Falcons, selling a beautiful dummy deep in her own half to create space for an 80 metre solo try as Gai Wu extended their lead to 31-5.
Cuvelier replied with her second of the game in the 78th minute, but it would prove nothing more than consolation for Valley who saw their Grand Championship and league winning streak ended by Falcons this season.
Falcons coach “Sailo” Lai Yiu-pang hailed his side’s collective effort, saying, “What made me most proud today was the effort we put in as a team. We put our bodies on the line and you can see from the scoreline how effective we were.”
“I was surprised by the margin at the end. Like everyone, I expected a closer game, but I think our determination made the difference. We played better as a team,” said Lai.
Women’s Premiership Grand Championship Final:
Gai Wu Falcons 31-10 Valley Black
Gai Wu Falcons
Hoi Lam Ho, Nga Wun Lau, Ka Wai Lam, Debby, Ka Yin Wong, Yee Ching Chan, Wai Yan Pun, Christy Cheng Ka Chi, Ka Yan Chan, Wai Sum Sham, Tsz Ting Lee, Pak Yan Poon, Aggie, Greer Muir, Tsz Ting Cheng, Ka Yan Chong, Abigail Chan
Reserves: Ka Shun Lee, Chin Yee Wu, Hiu Ki Yip, Sharon Shin Yuen Tsang, Tsz Yung Ching, Suet Ying Wong, Wing See Chiu, Melody Blessing Li Nim Yan
Tries: Lee Tsz-ting (2), Chong Ka-yan, Nga Wun Lau, Sham Wai-sum
Conversions: Lee Tsz-ting (3)
Valley Black
KK Wong, Karen So, Jasmine Cheung, Ching To Cheng, Deena Ravi Thinakaran, Suzanne Sittko, Caitlin Spencer, Aroha Savage, Colleen Tjosvold, Bella Milo, Jessica Eden, Tanya Young, Zoë Smith, Nadia Cuvilier, Jade Birkby
Reserves: Akanisi Au Yeung, Li Lai Mang, Becky, Sonia Vashi, Wing Yan Leung, Kelsie Bouttle, Kim Senogles, Laurel Chor, Yuen Yin Lo
Tries: Nadia Cuvilier (2)
Additional reporting and images: hkru