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Singapore 7-40 Hong Kong

Hong Kong scored seven tries in a 40-7 away win over Singapore at the National Stadium in a warm-up match for the final leg of the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship series with Japan on 28 May.

It was a match Hong Kong should have won comfortably and did, but the scoreboard hides another error strewn performance, riddled with handling errors and turnovers. Coach Jo Hull is effusive in her praise of the team, but must know that a better team than Singapore would have punished the away side’s generosity. The Hong Kong squad know they have a lot of work to do if they’re to ‘live up to’ their potential and pose Japan any sort of challenge in the away leg of the Asian Women’s Championship.

A hot start saw Hong Kong score in the opening minute through sevens captain Natasha Olson-Thorne, playing at outside centre. The visitors’ second try came through prop Tammy Lau Nga Wun in the ninth minute. Aggie Poon Pak Yan converted Olson-Thorne’s tally but missed on Lau’s, before adding a penalty in the 14th minute.

One of Asia’s premier finishers, Poon scored Hong Kong’s next ten points with a try in the 26th minute and a second ten minutes later for a first-half brace, giving Hong Kong a commanding 25-7 lead at the break. Poon finished with 15 points from the outing from two tries, a penalty and a conversion.

In the second half, Hong Kong exploded out of the blocks once again with a try in the 43rd minute as Lau, the HKRU Women’s Premiership player of the season, collected her brace.

Captain Chow Mei Nam added to the forwards’ contribution with her first try for Hong Kong in the 60th minute. Candy Cheng scoring Hong Kong’s seventh try of the match twelve minutes later to give Hong Kong the 40-7 win.

Hong Kong coach Jo Hull credited her forwards for a “dominant” display against an imposing Singapore pack as a key part of the victory. “Our set piece performed very well and we were able to set up a dominant platform at the scrum and line-out which led to the pack tries,” said Hull.

She also credited Lai Pou Fan, who came in at fly-half this week. “She really controlled the game and the combination with Colleen Tjosvold at scrumhalf worked really well,” said Hull, adding that, “We used our full bench today to have a look at some new combinations and the girls are creating some real selection dilemmas now. There is a lot of positive competition, not just to stay in the match-day 23 but to crack the starting XV which shows the growing confidence in the side.”

After calling for action and not words, particularly from the senior players in the squad, after last week’s 39-3 loss to Japan, Hull was pleased with the performance and her first win with Hong Kong.

“We played with a lot of confidence today, which was great to see. We generated a lot more go-forward ball and were much more accurate under pressure then last week,” Hull said. “We can take a lot of confidence and some good lessons away from this match, particularly about what kind of shape we want to be in in our attack, but we’re under no illusions about what this result means for Japan.”

“We didn’t talk about the result after the game, we were purely focused on our own performance goals which is another positive indicator of what we are building. It was my first win with the team in four outings so far, so I’m obviously happy to get that under my belt, But the win is more important as a building block now and I’m just really pleased with the way the team responded after last week.”

HK Largely Unchanged Against Singapore

Empty cliches abound as Hong Kong women’s coach Jo Hull names an almost unchanged squad for the one-off test against Singapore. Hong Kong, dire against Japan last week, should win comfortably but really need a ‘performance’ to show that the talented squad is improving not falling away as the quality of women’s rugby across the globe increases in leaps and bounds. The match will kick off at 17.30 and serves as the opener for the final Sunwolves’ Super Rugby match of the season in Singapore when they take on the Stormers.

Singapore are a relative unknown for Hull, who is in her first Asian Championship season as coach, but she expects a good challenge:“We don’t know too much about Singapore but we expect their forwards will be dominant and know that they have a good number of their sevens team in the squad. They will be massively up for this match being played in the new Stadium as well, but our focus continues to be on our own processes and correcting some of the faults we identified against Japan.”

“We know we have a job to do after last weekend. Our focus has been on defence and our set piece, as well as improving our accuracy in attack. We had a lot of opportunities against Japan but our accuracy wasn’t where we needed it to be. Singapore will provide another opportunity for us to refine that ability to play under pressure,” Hull added.

Hull has made three changes to the side that lost to Japan last week 39-3. The experienced Lai Pou Fan comes in to the squad for the first time this season at fly-half with Rose Fong Siu Lan moving to centre.

Lindsay Varty and Lau Sze Wa come on to the reserves bench, replacing Lee Tsz Ting and Nam Ka Man. Lee started at 12 against Japan with Fong taking her place against Singapore, while Nam Ka Man came off of the bench in the opening round of the women’s championship.

“We want to use this game to trial some new combinations,” noted Hull. “Lai brings a lot of experience and is a quality player, especially in attack. Rose is a natural 10 or 12 so there is no problem with her moving along the line. The addition of Dailo [Lai] should also help us improve our accuracy in the backline, which was an issue against Japan.

“Lindsay also adds another layer of experience and is very versatile and can play at scrumhalf or on the wing. She’s strong defensively, which is something we have bee focusing on this week. Sze Wa is a real attacking threat and I’m excited to see her play,” Hull said.

The tie with Singapore is a “massive” opportunity for Hong Kong’s according to Hull. “This game is massive for us in preparing for the away leg in Japan. Last week was our first match in five months so some of the issues were understandable, but I want action and not words and I am expecting our senior players to step-up tomorrow against Singapore,” Hull added.

“I was really impressed by the attitude in the squad this week. The girls were bitterly disappointed with the result against Japan but they aren’t feeling sorry for themselves and I’m pleased with the way they came into training this week.

“But now it’s time for some application. The girls are determined to address the issues from last week, but at some point we need to produce the results, and that starts tomorrow,” said Hull.

Hong Kong Women’s XV v Singapore (14 May):
1. Lau Nga Wun; 2. Winnie Siu Wing Ni; 3. Cheung Shuk Han; 4. Claire Forster; 5. Chow Mei Nam (captain); 6. Christine Gordon; 7. Melody Li Nim Yan; 8. Amelie Seure; 9. Colleen Tjosvold; 10. Lai Pou Fan; 11. Chong Ka Yan; 12. Rose Fong Siu Lan; 13. Natasha Olson-Thorne; 14. Aggie Poon Pak Yan; 15. Adrienne Garvey; 16. Karen So Hoi Ting; 17. Ku Hoi Ying; 18. Angela Chan Ka Yan; 19 Cheng Ching To; 20. Tsang Sharon Shin Yuen; 21. Lindsay Varty; 22. Cheng Tsz Ting; 23. Lau Sze Wa.

Additional reporting & image: HKrugby

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: 10-12 June 2016

A fantastic musical adventure about an out-of-this-world car that flies through the air and sails the seas. Face Productions’ summer show Chitty Chitty Bang Bang the musical, based on the 1968 film version of Ian Fleming’s children’s book, and featuring an unforgettable score by the Sherman Brothers (Mary Poppins) is one adventure that audiences will find Truly Scrumptious.

An eccentric inventor, Caractacus Potts finds an old race car on a scrap heap and sets about restoring it with the help of his children Jeremy and Jemima. They soon discover the car has magical properties including the ability to float and fly. Trouble occurs when the evil Baron Bomburst desires the magic car for himself. The family joins forces with Truly Scrumptious and Grandpa Potts to outwit the dastardly Baron and Baroness and their villainous henchman, the Child Catcher in the mysterious land of Vulgaria.

Filled with unforgettable songs, including the Academy Award nominated title song, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a high-flying fun-filled adventure that first opened in London’s West End in 2002 and was the longest-ever running show at the London Palladium. The Face Productions show is directed by Candice Caalsen, who headed last year’s award-winning Legally Blonde.

In addition to the full version, Face Academy offers an abridged interpretation to showcase younger performing arts talents in Hong Kong.

Cast
Caractacus Pott – Samuel J Craig
Jenny Potts – Charlotte Blyth
Jemima Potts – Jorja Townson
Grandpa Potts – Terry Hart
Truly Scrumptious – Michelle Edwards
Lord Scrumptious /Baron Bomburst – Angus Scott
Baroness Bomburst – Moe Moss
Toymaker /Ensemble – Kirill Voloshin
The Childcatcher /Ensemble – Barry O’Rouke
Boris – Conor O’Grady
Goran – Jade Elizabeth du Toit

Production Team
Director: Candice Caalsen
Assistant Director: Conor O’Grady
Choreographer: Claire Johnson
Musical Director: Enrico Narvaez
Vocal Director:Jessica Peralta
Producer: Kenix Ho

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Date: 10-12 June, 2016
Venue: HKAPA, Drama Theatre
Tickets: $395 from HKTicketing
More info:
10-12 June – 7:30pm
12 June – 3pm

By Face Academy
11-12 June – 11am
11 June 3pm
$275

24th Great Chefs of HK – Heep Hong Charity Dinner – 12 May, 2016

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The chefs and kitchen teams of 50 restaurants and hotels joined together at the Grand Hyatt Hotel for the 24th time under the banner of the Great Chefs of Hong Kong to raise money for the Heep Hong Society, an organisation dedicated to improving the lives of Hong Kong’s children. Over 800 guests attended and enjoyed some wonderful food and wine. Click on any photo to see the full gallery of images.

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Updated: 19 May

Craigengower CC Win Women’s Sixes 2016

Women’s Sixes: Day 3 – 8 May
After the previous day’s play was washed out, a long, hot, third day was in order at PKVR Reservoir with nine games played in the Women’s Sixes.

There was a thrilling finish to the first day’s match with HKCC beating DLSWCC by one run. HKCC batted first and found themselves two wickets down after the first two balls of the game but they recovered well to reach 4/39 from their five overs with Katy Gibbons hitting 22 not out while Maryam Bibi claimed 2/11 for DLSWCC. DLSWCC made hard work of their chase and they still needed nine runs off the last over. However, Alvina Tam grabbed two wickets and DLSWCC could only score seven, with the last wicket falling as the batsmen tried to scramble a third run to tie the game.

The second game of the day saw KCC thrash CCC by six wickets. CCC made a lacklustre effort with the bat, only scoring 1/33 in five overs with 22 of those runs coming from extras. KCC had little trouble knocking off the runs in three overs with Keenu Gill hitting 19* and Sidra Nasreen 10*.

Game three was equally one-sided as DLSWCC beat USRC by five wickets. USRC batted first and they reached 1/33 with Rajni hitting 13. Rajni grabbed a wicket in the second innings too, but DLSWCC’s batting was too strong and they knocked off the runs in 3.3 overs with Shanzeen Shahzad hitting 23 before retiring.

There was another close finish in the day’s fourth game with CCC beating HKCC by four wickets. HKCC batted first and made 0/41 from their five overs with Emma Lai finishing on 14* and Chan Sau Ha 11*. CCC looked well set in their chase after Chan Sau Ha bowled a poor second over that conceded 15 runs but they still needed 10 runs off the last over for victory. Two wides and a no-ball in the last over by Emma Lai proved costly as CCC won the game with a bye off the last ball of the game. Kary Chan top-scored with 17* for CCC.

The last round-robin game saw KCC cruise to an easy victory over USRC. USRC batted first but could only manage 3/28 with Sweta hitting 10. KCC got to their winning target in three overs with Amanda Kwok hitting 12 not out.

On to the play-offs and a count-back of runs scored saw CCC the top ranked team on the same points as HKCC with three wins apiece while DLSWCC and KCC finished third and fourth respectively having won two and lost two matches each.

In the first semi-final, DLSWCC scored an impressive victory over HKCC. Good bowling by the DLSWCC team restricted HKCC to 1/42 with Katy Gibbons hitting 12*. Shanzeen hit the day’s first six in her innings of 21 retired and Mehreen hit two boundaries in her 10* as DLWCC scored the winning runs in 3.5 overs.

The second semi-final saw CCC over-turn their earlier loss to KCC to win easily by six wickets. KCC batted first but they could only make 0/36 from their five overs with Keenu Gill hitting 21*. Kary Chan hit 17* and Pull To scored 18* as CCC eased to victory in 3.4 overs without loss.

In the third/four place play-off, HKCC made the day’s highest score of 4/54 with Natural Yip hitting 20. In reply, Keenu Gill hit two big sixes in her innings of 22 retired but she failed to cross with the incoming batsman on the field of play and KCC conceded a four-run penalty. In the end, KCC’s chase finished 12 runs short and HKCC completed the tournament in third place.

On to the grand final where DLSWCC won the toss and elected to bowl first against CCC. They had immediate success with CCC’s skipper Pull To bowled by Maryam Bibi off the first ball of the game. However, CCC recovered well and they finished on 4/47 off their five overs with Kary Chan hitting 14*. DLSWCC’s Shanzeen Shahzad hit the first ball of the chase for four but she fell to a good catch in the deep off the last ball of the first over. Jaswinder hit 14* for DLSWCC but a brilliant last over by Kary Chan in which three wickets fell for just three runs saw CCC crowned winners by seven runs.

Women’s Sixes Results:
Match 6: HKCC 5/39 from 5 overs beat DLSWCC 5/38 from 5 overs by one run.
Match 7: CCC 1/33 from 5 overs lost to KCC 0/35 from 3.0 overs by six wickets.
Match 8: USRC 1/33 from 5 overs lost to DLSWCC 1/35 from 3.3 overs by five wickets.
Match 9: HKCC 0/41 from 5 overs lost to CCC 2/43 from 5 overs by four wickets.
Match 10: USRC 3/28 from 5 overs lost to KCC 0/29 from 3 overs by six wickets.

1^st Semi-final: HKCC 1/42 from 5 overs lost to DLSWCC 0/43 from 3.5 overs by six wickets.
2^nd Semi-final: KCC 0/36 from 5 overs lost to CCC 0/37 from 3.4 overs by six wickets.

3^rd/4^th Play-off: HKCC 3/54 from 5 overs beat KCC 1/42 from 5 overs by 12 runs.

Grand Final: CCC 4/47 from 5 overs beat DLSWCC 5/40 from 5 overs by 7 runs.

Hong Kong 3-39 Japan

The Hong Kong Women’s XV lost to Japan 39-3 at Hong Kong Football Club in the first of a home and away series to decide the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship 2016.

A chronic lack of playing time, this was Hong Kong’s first XV’s game in over six months, was ruthlessly exposed in a four-try first half, as the Sakura easily and repeatedly created space on the edges of Hong Kong’s defensive line. Japan’s opening try came in the first minute with winger Honoka Tsutsumi finding ample space off a simple overlap to cross over untouched in the corner. Captain Ai Tasaka’s conversion from the touchline was unsuccessful, setting a disappointing pattern for the kicker who would miss six of eight conversion and penalty attempts on the day.

Hong Kong then enjoyed its best patch of the game with a sustained effort of possession and territory, keeping Japan penned in behind their 22-metre line for a ten-minute stretch. Hong Kong’s pressure earned a kickable penalty attempt but the hosts opted instead for the quick tap and run turning over possession deep in Japan’s half.

Hong Kong wouldn’t get its hands on the ball for significant periods for the rest of the match as the forwards struggled to set a positive platform. The host team’s ball-carriers were frequently met by a determined Japan defence that snuffed out any attacking opportunities before they could start.

While holding their own in the scrum, Hong Kong lost five line-outs in the first half, further damaging their ability to build successful phases in attack. The remainder of the opening half saw Hong Kong on the back foot defensively.

In the 22nd minute, Japan captain Tasaka picked an excellent running line from fullback to enter the backline at pace and against the direction of Hong Kong’s drift defence, creating space for a 30 metre try. Tasaka converted her solo effort to give Japan a 14-0 lead. Two further first half tries from winger Eriko Hirano in the 22nd minute and No.8 Misaki Suzuki gave the visitors a commanding 22-0 lead and secured the bonus point for Japan in the first half.

Hong Kong’s only reply came from a penalty in the 30th minute by winger Aggie Poon Pak Yan, who came off injured in the second half, bringing the score to Japan 22-3 at halftime.

With Hong Kong unable to establish an attacking platform and the margin of defeat continuing to mount, the hosts turned to dogged defence in the second half. Hong Kong made 80 tackles in the match, with centre Natasha Olson-Thorne leading by example with some emphatic hits that provided one of the few bright spots in Hong Kong’s defensive effort.

Japan started the second half strongly, putting the hosts under pressure from the outset as Hong Kong threw everything into maintaining their defensive line and keeping the scoring down. Hong Kong’s hopes of keeping a clean sheet after the break held until the final ten minutes when a raft of substitutions saw errors creep in on both sides. Angela Chan Ka Yan and Sharon Tsang Shin Yuen both marked first caps for Hong Kong this afternoon.

Japan took advantage of the disarray, exploding for three late tries in quick succession with centre Miki Terauchi scoring in the 72nd minute after another long break down the outside saw the Hong Kong defence conceding numbers out wide. Captain Tasaka collected her brace in the 72nd minute, converting her own try from in front of the posts, before lock Ai Hyugaji closed the scoring with a try at the hooter to give Japan the 39-3 victory after the missed conversion.

“It was a tough day at the office,” commented Hong Kong coach Jo Hull after her first test match against Japan, adding that, “Japan came out really strong and fast and with their fitness and skills they executed better than us under pressure. In the second half we held them at nil-nil for a good thirty minutes but at the end of the day we didn’t execute under pressure and we’re disappointed with that. The breakdown area really hurt us today and we didn’t keep our defensive structures in the first half. We just put ourselves under too much pressure.

Hull noted that despite the score line there was some positives to build on for the away leg: “There were some things in the second half we can build on and I’m really proud of the girls. Nothing changes there. This is the first game in what will be a very long international season for us so we just have to continue working hard.”

The comprehensive defeat owes more to poor planning and management at the HKRU than lack of talent on the pitch. The standard of women’s rugby is rapidly improving across the globe and long gone are the days where a team can get together once every six months and be competitive. There’s a strong nucleus of talented and committed players in the women’s squad, but to improve they need to play regularly against teams overseas. Why wasn’t there at least one if not two warm-up internationals for both the women and the men (who were also thrashed by Japan 38-3) before the Asia Championships started?

Hong Kong will travel to Singapore for a test match next Saturday with the away leg against Japan on 28 May in Tokyo.

Hong Kong: Chow Mei-nam (c), Adrienne Garvey (vc), Natasha Olson-Thorne, Rose Fong Siu-lan, Colleen Tjosvold, Lindsay Varty, Lai Pou-fan, Melody Li Nim-yan, Karen So Hoi-ting, Amelie Seure, Chan Ka-yan, Cheng Ching-to, Christine Gordon, Claire Forster, Ku Hoi-ying
Substitutes: Tammy Lau Nga-wun, Lee Ka-shun, Winnie Siu Wing-ni, Ku Hoi-ying, Ho Wing-lam, Cheng Tsz-ting, Chong Ka-yan, Lau Sze-wa, Mak Ho-yee, Aggie Poon Pak-yan, Sharon Tsang Shin-yuen, Lee Tsz-ting, Nam Ka-man

Japan: Mina Saito, Chihiro Kobayashi, Saki Minami, Hyugatera Ayo, Mimura Assay, Ayumi Inui, Yui Nozomi, Suzuki JitsuSaki, Noda Yume, Minoru Yamamoto, Eriko Hirano, Miki Terauchi, Zhongshan Shione, Tsutsumi Honohana, Ai Tasaka
Substitutes: Sayaka Yamamoto, Kataoka Mizuho, Shin Ito Aoi, Ayano Sakurai, Yuki Ito, Manami Inoue, Mana Furuta, Ayu Shimizu

Scores: 1m Japan – Tsutsumi T (5-0); 12m Japan – Tasaka T (10-0); 13m Japan – Tasaka C (12-0); 22m Japan – Plain T (17-0); 26m Japan – Suzuki T (22-0); 30m Hong Kong – Aggie Poon PG (22-3); 71m Japan – Terauchi T (27-3); 77m Japan – Tasaka T (32-3); 77m Japan – Tasaka C (34-3); 80m Japan – Hyugatera T (39-3)

Additional reporting and image: HKRU

Mercedes-AMG SLC 43 Roadster @ Mercedes Me – 6 May, 2016

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On it’s 20th Anniversary the Mercedes-AMG SLC 43 roadster was renamed, the SLK replaced with SLC and given a facelift for an even more sportier look with a new front section that elongates the look of the arrow-shaped bonnet. The new V6 turbo powered car can reach 100km/h in 4.7 seconds and features advanced suspension and electronics to make the driving experience exhilarating yet comfortable. Find out more at www.mercedes-benz.com.hk.
The new SLC 43 was unveiled in Hong Kong at Mercedes me on the 6 May. Click on any photo to see the full gallery

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Lee Ryan Impromptu Concert

Lee Ryan, of British boy band Blue, has extended his visit to Hong Kong to play an intimate gig for 100 of his fans at pentahotel Kowloon. Lee, who has sold more than 15 million records worldwide with hits such as, “Sorry seems to be the hardest word” is looking forward to playing the cosy lounge-like set – entry is on a first come first serve basis.

Lee Ryan
Date: 7pm, 7 May 2016
Venue: pentahotel Kowloon, 19 Luk Hop Street, Hong Kong
Tickets: Free