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.
Entry is Free! There are also Women’s National League 1 and 1 games taking place. Support women’s rugby!
The Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 starts on Sunday, when seven of the best sailing teams in the world cross the start line in Alicante, Spain to commence the 45,000 nautical mile race. The course traverses some of the most challenging waters in the world, including long miles in the extremes of the Southern Ocean.
Ahead of the start the seven skippers faced the international media at the opening press conference. Here’s what they said, in their own words:
Charles Caudrelier, skipper, Dongfeng Race Team, comparing his preparation for this race, to last time: “Last time, when we started the project, we were in China meeting Chinese sailors who had never spent a night offshore, and teaching them how to sail. This time we started in Lisbon, with a team I already know. Since the beginning we are 100-percent focused on the performance. That makes a big change.”
What’s the difference between doing the race as crew and skipper? “The salary (laughing). There’s also the responsibility, of course. When I did the Volvo Ocean Race with Groupama, when I arrived at every stopover my mind was able to switch off. This time, throughout 9 months you never stop. The big pressure never stops. But I have a strong team around me so I’m a lucky skipper I think.”
Dee Caffari, skipper, Turn the Tide on Plastic, comparing sailing single-handed to fully-crewed: “In terms of sailing around the world solo or with a team, it makes a big difference when you have people to share it with and you have more pairs of hands when things happen. The intensity is the thing that gave me the buzz in a team environment, and knowing that you’re pushing 100-percent all the time. Your peers around you punish any mistake you make. It’s that intensity that attracts me.”
“Everyone talks about Turn the Tide on Plastic as inexperienced. A lot of my sailors are first timers but they are very skilled sailors and they can make a boat go fast. We just need to make sure we don’t make any mistakes, and that we sail to the right place.”
“To create an opportunity for young sailors to sail in the Volvo Ocean Race and see them grow and blossom is a great privilege – as well as getting to spread a great sustainability message.”
David Witt, skipper, Team Scallywag, on his motivation for doing the race and his teammates: “It’s the best team sport in the world, I think. I got a good commercial offer – and I couldn’t find a better way to lose weight!!”
“As has been recorded, I’m a lunatic but I think we’re all lunatics together. The young kid (Ben Piggott) started sailing dinghies with me three years ago and ended up here. He’s still dreaming.”
“Right now, I’m finding it harder to stay on shore and stay out of trouble. As long as you have good people around you, it’s fine, and it’s safer on the boat then any other race I’ve been in.”
Alicante stopover. Skippers Press Conference. Photo by Pedro Martinez/Volvo Ocean Race. 20 October, 2017.
Brad Jackson, skipper, team AkzoNobel, on taking over as skipper in the week before the start: “Team-wise, we’re just focusing on the race. Basically, we have the same team as we had before except (without) Simeon. It’s thanks to him that we have the team we have. Not too much has changed in terms of how we’re going to work on board or the crew morale. The last few days we’ve been able to focus on what we’re going to do.”
“We were lucky that Rome Kirby was available and qualified and ready to go. He’s another Under-30 so that brings us up to 5 Under-30s in the team. It’s a young team but Rome has done the race before with me on PUMA and he has a lot of experience for a young guy. He’s a young, fast guy.”
“I’m in this role because it’s necessary, for sure. It hasn’t been a dream of mine to be a skipper. It’s not something I’ve felt the need to do, but the situation has arisen and I’m happy to take it on. I wouldn’t t do it if I didn’t think I had the full support of my team. I hope I enjoy it, I hope it goes well, but it’s not something I’ve been pushing for, or jumping around, saying, ‘Pick me! Pick me!’”
Xabi Fernández, skipper Mapfre, on being tabbed the favourite based on pre-race results: “For us it’s not about being the favourites. That’s not something we talk about, but we do realise that people think that way. It just makes me think we are ready. We have to sail as fast as we can. I think we are ready but I know these guys around us, on the other teams, are going to be ready as well.”
“Hopefully, we can win. I don’t know. We’ve been close before and it didn’t happen. We know how difficult and long it is to win the race.”
Bouwe Bekking, skipper, Team Brunel, on why he keeps coming back and how he recruited his team: “It’s the best thing you can do… Everyone sitting here is a competitor and a sportsman. We all want to win. We have a very good chance of winning this competition.
“We were late at the table but that actually gave us an opportunity. The America’s Cup had just finished. I was racing on the J class and bumped into Carlo Huisman, who had been sailing on Team New Zealand. Through him I got in contact with Pete Burling and the next thing I knew we had the golden boy on the team. He’s won the Olympics, won the America’s Cup, and we also have Kyle Langford, who won the Cup twice.
“The America’s Cup sailors approach the race differently from us, the old school guys. They have a great intensity, and they look hard at everything to do with performance.”
Charlie Enright, skipper, Vestas 11th Hour Racing, comparing his youthful team in the last race, to the experienced crew he has now: “We’re still a young and fresh team. The last time, youth was our thing. Having been around the planet now we’ve logged a lot of miles and we’ve added some crew with a lot of experience. We showed a lot of improvement in the last race from the start in Alicante to the finish in Gothenburg and we want to maintain that trajectory. We won the last leg of the last race and we want to do the same here.”
Leg Zero,SHK Onboard,. Video by Konrad Frost/Volvo Ocean Race. 21July,2017..Onboard sailing action
Speaking about the rule change for 2017-18 incentivising the inclusion of female sailors:
Bouwe Bekking: “It’s great for sailing in general. It would have been very nice to choose our own team but as soon as the rules came out, I said we have to have 2 girls on board. We’ve got the best two girls we can. Abby Ehler is our boat captain and Annie Lush running the sail department. They’re great sailors with serious roles.”
Xabi Fernández: “I guess like Bouwe, new rules are always scary but we trialled some people. We have Sophie Ciszek, who sailed on Team SCA. She knows the boat, is very strong, does the bow and is very complete. And we trialled Támara very hard. She’s very talented and comes from the Olympics, having won gold in London. It was harder for her but I’m very pleased that she improved a lot and was able to win her place.”
Charlie Enright: “I was excited to see the rule change. I think the Volvo Ocean Race was right to incentivise rather than mandate the change. We did two trans-atlantics immediately after getting the boat and it was quickly apparent that it was going to be a competitive advantage.”
David Witt: “We’ve always had girls on our team for the past 15 years so I think we have an advantage here. Steve (Hayles) and I did some math. We think the boats are slow and underpowered at times and we think the lighter you are the better. Overall, we think we’ll have an advantage being lighter. We’ve decided to go with eight sailors on board so I can give Steve more support downstairs. Sailing the boat (with 7) isn’t hard but it is tough performing more than one role (and supporting the navigator). Annemieke Bes is another lunatic.”
Dee Caffari: “I would hazard a guess that those who were reluctant to sail under the new rule can now say it’s not that bad.”
Leg One is a 1,450 nautical mile sprint to Lisbon, taking the fleet through the Strait of Gibraltar, past the island of Porto Santo, and then to the finishing line off Lisbon.
Hong Kong will take on South Africa in the opening match of the Hong Kong World Sixes as the playing pools and schedule were announced for the tournament which takes place on 28-29 October, 2017.
South Africa, who won the event when it was last held in 2012, the Marylebone Cricket Club and five-time champions Pakistan join Hong Kong in Group A.
Group B kicks off with Sri Lanka up against Bangladesh, with New Zealand Kiwis and Australia the other two teams who will vie for top seeding on finals day.
The fastest paced cricket tournament in the world will see all 12 group matches played on Saturday, with all finals of both the Cup and Plate championships played out on Sunday.
Sunday’s fixture list also includes an exhibition match to kick off day two, with the Hong Kong Women’s Team facing off against the Hong Kong Dragons
“Seeding teams for this event has been particularly difficult with many unknown factors. As expected most teams are stacked with young talented guys sent to hone their skills. The MCC and NZ Kiwis add a balance to that equation so the draw has allowed for five-time champions Pakistan to play MCC and for Australia to play New Zealand Kiwis as the last 2 matches in an intriguing finale to the packed 12 match schedule on the first day,” said Tournament Director Glyn Davies.
“Anything can happen in Sixes cricket and Sri Lanka, a traditional crowd favourite, along with Hong Kong have always had an influence in every event to date so anyone can win.”
Play commences at 8am each day with the final on Sunday scheduled to start at 4.15pm local time and will be an eight over a side match. All other games outside the Plate final (6 overs) will be five overs each team.
Tottenham Hotspurs played Real Madrid in the Champions League and despite the early morning 2:45am kick-off Spurs fans were out in force at Churchills in Wanchai to cheer their team on.
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Lawry’s The Prime Rib is California’s interpretation of an olde English restaurant. With starched waiters uniforms, deep plush red velvet chairs, restrained elegance and quality US roast beef rib carved from a service cart at the table… It’s survived and thrived over the last 80 years because it offers a refined dining experience, so much so that such vapid ‘celebrities’ as the Kardashian’s have dined there.
Locally Lawry’s The Prime Rib is celebrating 11 years in the SAR with a “Round the World Savoury Journey” menu ($688) which offers six different sauces from various Lawry’s around the world – Beef au Jus (US); black pepper sauce (Hong Kong): wasabi soy sauce (Japan); Korean red chilli sauce; Singapore curry sauce: Taiwanese sesame soy sauce – to enjoy with your delicious slab of 10oz roasted prime rib.
The savoury (because Lawry’s is American they spell it savory on the menu) starts with a trifecta of seafood: oyster with salmon roe and lemon vodka foam; scallop with black truffle salt and a shrimp with a tasty mango salsa. The 10oz wet aged roasted prime beef rib is served with mashed potatoes and gravy and a massive Yorkshire pudding.
Available side dishes include creamed spinach or corn ($55 each) and a sizzling skillet of mixed mushrooms ($85). If you have room for dessert there blueberry hotcake with maple syrup. To enhance your world journey experience there are six cocktails paired to the sauces.
The Round the World Anniversary menu, $688 for two courses, $738 for three courses, is available in addition to the regular and weekend brunch menus until the end of November, there’s 10% service charge.
The enjoyable and action packed show lasts about an hour and features four bouts with fighters from across the globe including Resplandor, Dylan James, Iron Kid and Rocky Lobo. Tickets cost $380 and can be booked via Macau Ticket or whatsapp/wechat +853 6244 4888
