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Undefeated Valley Black Thrash HKFC Ice, While Gai Wu Beat USRC Tigers

valley black march 2016

Undefeated league champions Valley Black Ladies proved too strong for HKFC Ice, easily advancing to the Grand Championship final. HKFC Ice bowed out after a strong debut in the Premiership. Coach David Wigley commented on their season saying: “Valley are a level above everyone, but we’re really pleased with our first season in the Premiership.

“We had quite a few injuries early on, but we’ve come on and got stronger. This is a tight-knit group that play for each other. We came in fourth this season and we would have been happy to finish 5th or 6th at the beginning of the year, but now we feel like we can contend against the likes of Tigers and Gai Wu. We’re still at a learning and building stage, but we’re very happy with our performance.”

In the other semi-final, Gai Wu Falcons came up with an emphatic 24-5 win over USRC Tigers to set up a rematch of last year’s Grand Championship final with Valley. Speedster Aggie Poon Pak Yan collected a brace for the Falcons, with Hong Kong fifteens captain and No.8 Chow Mei Nam, and up and coming sevens star Chong Ka Yan, adding tries in the statement win over Tigers. Falcons coach Lai Yiu Pang was proud of the performance saying:

“We went out and executed our game plan, particularly with our defence and our play at the breakdown. It was a really tough game and the team deserves a lot of credit. It was a big win for us and will give us a some momentum. It was also good to get a bit of revenge after Tigers edged us out of second place in the league.”

It will be a rematch of last year’s Grand Championship when Valley beat Falcons 20-10. “It is going to be tough against Valley, said Pang, “They have a lot more size then we do so we’re going to need to be clinical in our defence and tackling. But we have built some strong momentum today. The win over Tigers was really good for our confidence and we deserve our place in the final,” Pang added.

photo: Valley RFC
source: HKRU

Hong Kong Ready to Shine at ICC World Twenty20

Hong Kong will face off against Zimbabwe in the opening match of the ICC World Twenty20 on 8 March at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. The Hong Kong Dragons are currently ranked 12th in the game’s shortest format and captain Tanwir Afzal has declared his team’s intention to show the world that the Dragons are not there just to make up the numbers.

The 27-year-old all-rounder spoke to media on the eve of the tournament’s opening match, and said that his young side was both well prepared and excited about facing the Test nation. “We have worked really hard in our preparation for this tournament, and we arrived early in India for some warm-up matches. The team is really excited about playing on the international stage, especially here in India where the people love cricket so much. We have a young side and believe in our ability. We know that Zimbabwe is an experienced side, and they have a few good players. So we know the statistics of the players, and we have a plan; we will work on their weaknesses.”

In the ICC World Twenty20 fist round, Hong Kong have been drawn in Group B with Zimbabwe, Scotland and Afghanistan for a place in the Super 10 stage. One team from the group will advance. If Hong Kong tops the table it will advance to Group 1 where it will join 2010 winner England, South Africa, 2014 champion Sri Lanka and 2012 winner West Indies. Hong Kong’s first Group 1 match would be against the reigning champion, Sri Lanka, at Eden Gardens.

Hong Kong and Zimbabwe have only met once before, in a last-ball thriller won by Hong Kong in a warm up match ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 2014. Hong Kong went on to record one of the biggest upsets of the tournament when it defeated host Bangladesh by two wickets, it’s first-ever win against a Test-playing nation in an official international match.

Hong Kong is appearing in its second consecutive ICC World Twenty20 event after gaining T20I status in 2014, and the skipper said that playing in the tournament is important for the growth of the game in Hong Kong. “If you see the last few years, we have come through the international process. A few years ago, we were in Division 3. We then got T20I and one-day status two years ago. Any success we get helps to grow cricket back home, and impact on our new generation.”

ICC World Twenty20 2016 Schedule

8 March: Hong Kong v Zimbabwe, VCA Stadium, Nagpur, at 5:30pm (15:00 IST)

10 March: Hong Kong v Afghanistan, VCA Stadium, Nagpur, at Midnight (19:30 IST)

12 March: Hong Kong v Scotland, VCA Stadium, Nagpur, at Midnight (19:30 IST)

Hong Kong Squad
Tanwir Afzal (Captain), Mark Chapman (Vice Captain), Haseeb Amjad, Nadeem Ahmed, Adil Mehmood, James Atkinson, Waqas Barkat, Ryan Campbell, Christopher Carter, Babar Hayat, Nizakat Khan, Aizaz Khan, Waqas Khan, Kinchit Shah, Anshuman RathI

Women’s Rugby Results – 5 March, 2016

Grand Championship

Valley Black 74-0 HKFC Ice
@ Happy Valley, Kick-off: 15:00

USRC Tigers 5-24 Gai Wu Falcons
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 18:00

National 15s

CWB Pheasants 10-16 City
@ KGV, Kick-off: 18:00

Valley Red 13-12 Revolution SRC
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 18:00

HKCC 48-7 Tai Po Dragons
@ Aberdeen, Kick-off: 18:00

HK Scottish 17-7 Police
@ Shek Kip Mei, Kick-off: 18:00

National 10s

Tin Shui Wai 26-5 City
@ Tin Shui Wai, Kick-off: 14:00

Revolution SRC 12-10 CWB Pink
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 15:00

Women’s Rugby Fixtures – 5 March, 2016

Hong Kong Sevens – Who’s Coming?

The teams for this year’s Hong Kong Sevens (8-10 April) have been announced with 16 teams contesting the core competition and 12 teams competing in the qualifier tournament for a chance at promotion to the Sevens World Series next season.

The 15 teams participating in all ten tournaments of Sevens World Series: Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, Fiji, France, Kenya, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa, United States of America and Wales are joined by South Korea for the HK Sevens.

Rugby Sevens’ debut at the Olympics looms ever larger on the horizon and all eleven of the qualified teams for the Rio Games will be present in Hong Kong. The 12th men’s team to compete in Rio will be determined in the final Olympic qualifier tournament in June.

Fiji, the defending Hong Kong Sevens champions after their 33-19 win over New Zealand in 2015, will be looking to add to their 15 tournament victories in Hong Kong, including both Rugby World Cup Sevens played here in 1997 and 2005. Fiji’s 15 wins are the most in Hong Kong history, ahead of New Zealand with 11.

Hong Kong is again host for the the battle for promotion to the Sevens World Series. The qualification tournament features 12 teams, two from each of World Rugby’s six regions. The winner will be promoted to the SWS in the 2016/17 season, replacing the bottom-placed core team on the Series after the completion of the final event at Twickenham in May. Russia were promoted from last year’s qualifier, replacing Japan who return to the qualifier in 2016.

The twelve confirmed teams for the qualifier are Morocco and Zimbabwe (Africa), Hong Kong and Japan (Asia), Germany and Spain (Europe), Cayman Islands and Mexico (North America), Brazil and Chile (South America) and Papua New Guinea and Tonga (Oceania).

The Cayman Islands appearance at the Hong Kong Sevens makes them the the 58th nation to have participated since the tournament’s inception in 1976. While Germany return to Hong Kong for the first time since 1992.

HK Sevens
Fiji, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, England, USA, Kenya, Francem Samoa, Scotland, Canada, Wales, Portugal, Russia, South Korea

Sevens World Series Qualification Tournament
Hong Kong, Japan, Morocco, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Chile, Cayman Islands, Mexico, Germany, Spain, Papua New Guinea, Tonga

Hong Kong Sevens 2016
Date: 8-10 April 2016
Venue: HK Stadium
Tickets: $1,800 (sold-out)

Source and photo: HKRU

TedX Bold @ Lingnan University – 5 March, 2016

To be bold is to show a willingness to take risks. A dictionary search of the word bold will yield synonyms such as dauntless, adventurous, and unafraid. BOLD, this year’s Lingnan University TEDx event will showcase how we as individuals can seek our own path, develop a unique vision, and alter the course of society if we make that first leap.

TEDx BOLD will be setting the stage for individuals who embody what it means to be bold. Speakers from different walks of life will demonstrate how boldness transcends the individual and enters daily life.

TedX Bold
Date: 1pm, 5 March, 2016
Venue: Lingnan University
Tickets: $40

Saturday at the Sevens – The Proclaimers

Saturday’s Sevens musical entertainment this year is eighties band The Proclaimers. Over an almost twenty year career twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid have carved a niche for themselves where pop, folk, new wave and punk collide with the emotional honesty, political fire, wit and sing-along raucousness of their songs to entertain fans around the globe. As big fan David Tennant puts it “They write the most spectacular songs, big hearted, uncynical passionate songs.” Their songs were turned into a stage play and then a movie based on the stage play based on the songs… Expect to be singing along to the likes of (I’m Gonna Be) 500 Miles, Sunshine on Leith, Letter From America, I’m on My Way, Life With You, Lets Get Married…

HK Cricket Match Report: Women’s Twenty20 Cup – 28 February 2016

Women’s Twenty20 Cup – 28th February 2016

Only two of the three Women’s T20 Cup games were played this weekend with PACC unable to field a team against USRC while HKCC Willow Wielders enjoyed a bye.

KCC Maidens v CCC Fung Wong
In the early game, played in sunny conditions, KCC Maidens beat CCC Fung Wong by 40 runs.

The CCC women elected to field first but they spent the next twenty overs chasing leather as KCC notched up a score of 7/146 from their 20 overs. Keenu Gill top scored with 74.

In reply, Kary Chan and Pull To both hit 31 but their efforts weren’t enough to overcome the KCC team’s score. In the end, CCC Fung Wong reached 6/106 off their twenty overs.
At PKVR Reservoir: KCC Maidens 7/146 from 20 overs beat CCC Fung Wong 6/106 from 20 overs by 40 runs.

DLSWCC Wasps v HKCC Cavaliers
In the second match, between DLSWCC Wasps and HKCC Cavaliers, the Wasps took first use of the crease after winning the toss. They managed to score 4/118 from their 20 overs with Wasps’ skipper Shanzeen Shahzad hitting an unbeaten on 68 while Jaswinder Kaur also scored 21.

In reply, Natural Yip hit 57 and Mary Henderson scored 34 in an opening partnership of 92 that effectively won the game for HKCC Cavaliers. However, the HKCC team still managed to lose four wickets in knocking off the remaining runs in 15 overs.
At PKVR Reservoir: DLSWCC Wasps 4/118 from 20 overs lost to HKCC Cavaliers 4/119 from 15 overs by six wickets.

photo: Takumi Photography
source: HK Cricket Association