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Hong Kong Rugby Union and Pieter Schats Plead Not Guilty

The trial of the Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU) and it’s Chairman Pieter Schats on Criminal Defamation reached the plea stage at Eastern Magistrates Court on 22 April, 2016 with the charges in the private prosecution read out to the defendants:

The charges read out were:

Information has been laid THAT YOU, Hong Kong Rugby Union a limited company registered in Hong Kong did on the 25 September, 2015 in Hong Kong deliberately and maliciously published, in the form of the article annexed here, defamatory libel knowing it to be false and factually inaccurate in breach of Section 5 of the Defamation Ordinance, Cap 21 of the Laws of Hong Kong.

The article in the form of a letter written by the Chairman of the Hong Kong Rugby Union on the letterhead of the HK Rugby Union (HKRU) was published to “All of our friends at World and Asia Rugby, Hong Kong Rugby Union Past Chairmen and Vice Presidents, Board of Directors, Hong Kong Rugby Club Chairmen and the Hong Kong Rugby and Sporting Community. It was also published on the HKRU’s website www.hkrugby.com under the title “Note from HKRU Chairman Pieter Schats.”

On or before the 23 September, 2015 the Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU) – the organisation responsible for the running and management of the sport of Rugby Union in Hong Kong – did approve and implement a new rule imposing ethnic Chinese player quotas on teams playing rugby in Hong Kong.

The HKRU on the 23 September, 2015 published on it’s website and caused to be published in the SCMP a news release entitled “Significant changes made to Hong Kong Rugby Union Domestic League structure”. Part of the text of that news release was: The modified Championship Club structure sees that league now highly focused on serving as an entry point and breeding ground for Chinese players, with all teams required to include a minimum of 14 ethnic Chinese players in each match day squad.”

Simon Durrant, the editor and publisher of bc magazine for 21 years wrote an article about the introduction of active racial discrimination, via ethnic quotas, into HK Rugby. According to Chapter 602 The Racial Discrimination Ordinance this is illegal in Hong Kong. The article entitled Active Racial Discrimination in HK Men’s Rugby was published on www.bcmagazine.net on the 24 September, 2015.

The HKRU letter dated 25 September, 2015 in full and specifically but not limited to paragraphs 3,4,5 is defamatory, disparaging and factually untrue. It besmirches and stains the integrity and reputation of Simon Durrant as a journalist and the factual accuracy of his article and in doing so the reputation and integrity of bc magazine – where Simon Durrant often recognised in public as ‘Mr bc’ has been the Owner, Publisher and Editor of bc magazine for over 21 years. Contrary to Section 5 of the Defamation Ordinance, Chapter 21

The HKRU representative Mr Schats pleaded not guilty

Information has been laid THAT YOU, Pieter Lodewijk Schats as Chairman of the Hong Kong Rugby Union on the 25 September, 2015 in Hong Kong deliberately and maliciously published, in the form of the article annexed here, defamatory libel knowing it to be false and factually inaccurate in breach of Section 5 of the Defamation Ordinance, Cap 21 of the Laws of Hong Kong.

The article is in the form of a letter written by Pieter Schats, Chairman of the Hong Kong Rugby Union on the letterhead of the HK Rugby Union was published to “All of our friends at World and Asia Rugby, Hong Kong Rugby Union Past Chairmen and Vice Presidents, Board of Directors, Hong Kong Rugby Club Chairmen and the Hong Kong Rugby and Sporting Community. It was also published on the HKRU’s website www.hkrugby.com under the title “Note from HKRU Chairman Pieter Schats.”

Pieter Schats letter dated 25 September, 2015 in full and specifically but not limited to paragraphs 3,4,5 is defamatory, disparaging and factually untrue. It besmirches and stains the integrity and reputation of Simon Durrant as a journalist and the factual accuracy of his article and in doing so the reputation and integrity of bc magazine – where Simon Durrant often recognised in public as ‘Mr bc’ has been the Owner, Publisher and Editor of bc magazine for over 21 years. Contrary to Section 5 of the Defamation Ordinance, Chapter 21

Mr Pieter Lodewijk Schats pleaded not guilty.

SCMP article Hong Kong rugby to revamp domestic leagues in effort to strengthen national team - with ethnic quota rule intordution highlighted — SCMP article “Hong Kong rugby to revamp domestic leagues in effort to strengthen national team” with ethnic quota rule introduction highlighted.

The cases centre around the Hong Kong Rugby Union’s introduction of Ethnic Quotas to local rugby in September 2015 – as announced by the HKRU in a 23 September news release on their website and also published in the SCMP (linked here) on the 22 and 23 September.

The HKRU website version (linked here) was quickly amended after Simon Durrant’s article (linked here) that ethnic quotas and racial discrimination are illegal in Hong Kong was published on the 24 September.

A day later on the 25 September Mr Schats published a note to the global rugby community (linked here) which according to Mr Durrant is defamatory and factually inaccurate.

Both cases were adjourned for three weeks.

Google Looking to Censor Coverage of Charlie Hebdo Terror Attack

Today, over a year after the article was published google sent bc magazine a warning over bc’s coverage of the Charlie Hebdo terror attacks and our publishing of a series of iconic Charlie Hebdo covers.

In essence the warning was delete/censor the Charlie Hebdo covers article or we (google) will deactivate your adsense account and stop serving adverts to bcmagazine.net.

Here’s a link to the article www.bcmagazine.net/tag/satire/

bc magazine may not agree with every viewpoint expressed in Charlie Hebdo. But free speech and freedom of the press are two of the cornerstones of a modern society so we are 100% behind their right to use satire and humour to expose the absurd and ask questions of hypocrites – without getting shot.

Fuck off google!

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Seru Rabeni (1978-2016) Memorial Game

Seru played rugby union from his early school days at Ratu Kadavulevu School in Fiji, and first played provincial rugby for Lautoka in 1998-99 while studying at the then Lautoka Teachers College before moving on to Suva in 2000.

He made his Sevens debut for Fiji in Dubai in 1998. He played at both U21 and U23 level for Fiji before making his test debut in May 2000 against Japan in Tokyo during the Epson Cup tournament. He played for Fiji in Hong Kong at the turn of the millennium, often referring back to the Hong Kong Sevens as one of his favourite rugby memories.

In 2001, Seru took up a three-year degree course at the University of Otago New Zealand and the following year played seven games for Otago in the National Provincial Championship before gaining a Super 12 contract with Highlanders for whom he played a dozen games over the 2003 and 2004 season.

He toured New Zealand with Fiji in 2002, and the same year played Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. He featured for the Fiji Sevens side at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Also in 2004 he played in all three games for the Pacific Islanders, scoring a try against New Zealand in Albany.

Shortly after this Seru signed for Leicester Tigers in England and subsequently Leeds Carnegie and Top 14 Stade Rochelais in France.

Seru started all four of Fiji’s pool games in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and played in all of Fiji’s 2007 World Cup matches.

In 2013, Seru spent time coaching college rugby at Lindenwood University in Missouri, prior to moving to Hong Kong, joining Discovery Bay Pirates as head coach and player in 2014, and continuing to study for his MSc in Sports Marketing and Business Management through the University of Central Lancashire.

The Seru Rabeni Fund has been setup to continue Rabeni’s community work in Fiji and will initially be managed by the DB Pirates aims to continue his good work. Monies raised in the funds name will go to building on what Seru started, including the construction of a school, the development of a scholarship programme for young players in bid to have change their lives forever.

Seru Rabeni Playing Career
Fiji: 2000-2011 – 30 caps
Fiji Sevens: 1998-2002 – 13 competitions
Highlanders: 2003-2004 – 11 appearances
Leicester: 2004-2009 – 63 appearances
La Rochelle: 2010-2012 41 appearances
DB Pirates: 2014-2015 – 41 appearances

Seru Rabeni Memorial Game
Date: 16 April, 2016
Venue: HK Football Club
Tickets: Free
Schedule:
14.00 Gates Open
15.00-15.15 Opening and Tribute to Seru Rabeni (including Minute’s Silence and Video Tribute)
15.20-16.25 DB Pirates vs HK Barbarians (social men’s game)
16.35-17.20 DB Pirates vs HK Barbarians (ladies 10s’ game)
17.30-18.55 Pirate Islanders vs HK Barbarians (men’s “performance” game)
19.00-19.10 Closing

Volvo Ocean Race Comes to Hong Kong

Hong Kong is set to host its first ever stopover in the Volvo Ocean Race as the race organisers announced today that Hong Kong will be part of the 2017-18 race, which will start from Alicante, Spain in the autumn of 2017, with the fleet scheduled to arrive in Victoria Harbour in February 2018.

Widely acclaimed as the toughest round the world sailing challenge on the planet, the Volvo Ocean Race, originally The Whitbread Round the World Race, was first held in 1973. At a press conference today, Volvo Ocean Race organisers announced to bring the race to Hong Kong for the first time. The world’s premier ocean yacht race will transform the old airport in Kak Tai, with the Race Village offering features to attract sailing fans and those new to the sport.

As the 2014-15 race showed modern one-design ocean racing is hard fought, close and exciting sailing with boats finishing minutes apart after days and thousands of miles of racing. The 2018 Hong Kong stopover will also feature in-port racing, giving spectators the opportunity for a closer look and to experience the thrilling atmosphere of competitive sailing.

Antonio Bolanos Lopez, acting CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, said “I am thrilled that the race is visiting one of the most iconic and beautiful ports in the world for the first time. We are delighted to welcome Hong Kong to the Volvo Ocean Race family and know that we will have a stopover here, which will be one of the highlights of the 2017-18 edition.”

Hong Kong brings the confirmed list of stopovers so far for the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 edition to nine, which already includes Alicante, Auckland, Cape Town, Cardiff, Newport (USA), Lisbon, Gothenburg and The Hague.

HK Soccer Sevens Draw

Premier League pacesetters Leicester City will face last year’s runners-up West Ham United at the HKFC Soccer Sevens in May after the English clubs were paired together in Group D alongside HKFA U-21 and Singapore Cricket Club following Tuesday’s draw.

Leicester won the HKFC Soccer Sevens at the second time of asking when they defeated defending champions Newcastle United 2-0 in the 2013 final after winning the Shield competition on their inaugural appearance a year earlier. The current Premier League leaders were also Plate champions in 2014 before suffering a penalty shootout defeat in the Plate final to hosts Hong Kong Football Club last year.

West Ham, meanwhile, are also HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens regulars, and enjoyed their best-ever performance at the tournament in 2015 when they finished as runners-up to Spain’s Atletico Madrid.

“It’s a fantastic draw to see HKFA U-21 pitted against the possible champions of the Premier League and a team that may well end up in the Champions League, so that’s a highlight,” said the Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Football Association Mark Sutcliffe. “It’s also a wonderful opportunity for players from Hong Kong to test themselves; we’re trying to develop football here and the only way to do that is to play against better players. I’m really looking forward to the weekend; it’s always an excellent tournament with some fantastic players of the past, present and future.”

A trio of former champions, meanwhile, will compete in Group A, where five-time winners Aston Villa will take on 2012 champions Newcastle United and local side Kitchee, who won the 2011 title.

Aston Villa are the tournament’s most decorated team having claimed the title in 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2010, and have also been represented over the years by players including forward Gabby Agbonlahor, England and Chelsea centre-back Gary Cahill, Leicester midfielder Marc Albrighton and Jack Grealish, who was the competition’s top scorer in 2013 and 2014.

The group is completed by hosts Hong Kong Football Club, who enjoyed their best-ever performance at the HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens last year when they won the Plate for the first time after edging out Leicester on penalties following a goalless draw.

An intriguing Group C sees Japan’s Kashima Antlers as well as debutants FC Seoul of South Korea, who replace Atlético de Madrid after the Spaniards late withdrawal, and Thai Youth Football Home face HKFC Captain’s Select

Kashima, who have won the Japanese title a record seven times, are participating in the HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens for the first time since 2004 and will also be the first Japanese side to compete at the event since 2008.

FC Seoul will be Korea’s first ever representative at the tournament, while Thai Youth Football Home are to make a special appearance as they mark 10 years since the passing of their founder and former member of Hong Kong Football Club Henrik Lorenz.

Finally in Group B, Stoke City and New Zealand’s Wellington Phoenix will face a yet to be named side from the Hong Kong Premier League as well as Yau Yee League Select.

Wellington enjoyed an impressive first appearance at the HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens in 2015 after losing 1-0 after extra-time to Atletico in the semi-finals, while Stoke lost 2-0 to HKFC Captain’s Select in the Plate quarter-finals last year.

“We’re delighted with the line-up we’ve put together and we’re looking forward to another all-action, exciting tournament,” said HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens Tournament Director Chris Plowman.

“We’ve got clubs from as far apart as Newcastle in the north of England to Wellington in New Zealand taking part. I’m also particularly pleased to have two major soccer leagues in Asia represented in the J.League and the K-League Classic, with FC Seoul doing particularly well at the moment. And what a success story with Leicester; we’re all wondering if we’ll be welcoming the Premier League champions.”

The draw for the Masters Tournament also took place on Tuesday, with two-time champions Ajax All Stars returning to join 2015 winners USRC, HKFC Chairman’s Select, KCC Veterans and Discovery Bay in Group A.

And Group B sees 2015 finalists Wallsend Boys Club face Citi All Stars, HKFC Veterans, SCC Tigers and Yau Yee League Veterans.

“I’m really excited to come back again,” said Wallsend Boys Club’s former Sunderland, Leeds United and Newcastle United striker Michael Bridges, who scored in last year’s 2-1 final defeat by USRC. “Our team is made up of some ex-professionals and amateurs, so it’s really good that we’re flying the flag for the club. After getting to the semis two years ago and the final last year, obviously the next step is to go on and win the trophy. The tournament is a great place to see some of the up-and-coming talent and meet ex-pros. It’s so well organised and such a good event.”

Soccer Sevens
Date: 20-22 May, 2016
Venue: HK Football Club
Tickets: $300 (Weekend pass), $160 (Day ticket), Free (Friday night) from Cityline
More info:
29 May (Fri): 6 – 9pm; exhibition youth matches start at 4.45pm
30 May (Sat): 9am – 7.40pm
31 May (Sun): 9am – 6pm

South Africa Win HK Women’s Sevens

South Africa held off a fast-finishing France 14-7 to win the Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens Final held at Hong Kong Stadium. Hong Kong lost in the semi-final.

In the process the southern hemisphere women became the first South African team to reign victorious in Hong Kong, with the men yet to lift the crown here despite their perennial strength in the men’s competition.

South Africa looked the best team throughout day two and delivered when it mattered in the final, with Zenay Jordaan and Marithy Pienaar scoring the tries. With a number of senior players out, South Africa coach Renfred Dazel praised the work of his up-and-comers.

“The youngsters pulled something out of hat,” Dazel said. “The girls deserve it.” Dazel acknowledged the efforts of his entire defence and singled out Nadine Roos for her brilliant work after a day of cut-throat matches. “This morning we started in a must-win situation against France and we beat them. The outstanding players were the youngster Nadine Roos and Marithy Pienaar.”

South Africa had earlier defeated Japan 19-10 in an entertaining semi-final after grinding out a 7-5 win over the previously undefeated France to lock in their semi-final berth.

Hong Kong came agonisingly close to making it to the final, pushing France all the way and creating a number of opportunities in a 5-0 semi-final loss. Stalwarts Aggie Poon Pak-yan and Natasha Olson-Thorne led the way, with a particularly gutsy effort from Olson-Thorne in the final minutes nearly leading to a try.

“I’m disappointed we lost but I’m happy the girls gave everything,” coach Anna Richards said. “We needed to be a bit more patient in that first half, but I’d rather have an endeavour than them not trying.” Richards was proud of the way her charges handled themselves, but rued an early mistake that cost a try. “It’s a two-day tournament and if you’re slightly off, it’s a cruel game,” Richards said. “14 minutes. You make one mistake and it’s very hard to get back from that.”

Hong Kong went on to finish the tournament in fourth place, losing the third versus fourth play-off 10-5 against Japan. Earlier in the day, Hong Kong staved off a physical Japan side to book their semi-final berth, fighting back from 7-0 down to snare a gutsy 14-7 win in their final pool match. Poon continued her brilliant tournament with the opening try, before Nam Ka-man put the home side in the lead in the second half. “We didn’t start very well but I suppose that shows we are actually improving because we kept our composure,” Richards said. “We went down early and our defence kept us in it. We didn’t touch the ball for long periods but we maintained our composure.”

China won the Plate final 7-5 over Kazakhstan to cap a much improved second day, while Kenya ran out easy winners in the Bowl, defeating Sri Lanka 29-0.

Penguins Win HK Tens in Sudden-Death Overtime

In a rematch of the 2013 final, the Penguins again prevailed beating Samurai 5-0 to win the Hong Kong Tens with the first score of the match after a brutally draining Cup Final moved into a second period of sudden-death extra-time.

After over 30 minutes of scoreless 10-a-side action, Waikato flanker Josh Tyrell picked up a loose ball following a lineout near the Samurai line and powered over in the second five-minute period of extra-time, following two 12-minute halves where both teams cancelled each other out.

In the 2013 final Penguins won with a late end-to-end try, the historic UK-based touring club prevailed again and prolonged the heartbreak for Samurai, who have now lost in three finals in 10 appearances at the HKFC 10s.

Scott Waldrom, who was capped by the All Blacks, co-coached the third seeds with long-time Penguin playmaker Willie Walker, who moved into a coaching role after competing in last year’s HKFC 10s.

“I’m just really proud of the boys,” Waldrom said. “We went from one metre from our own goal line to come all the way down the other end to score in some pretty tough conditions. There will be some pretty tired boys out there.

“It was such a stalemate because you had two very similar teams. We both had some good front-rowers, some solid locks and some good bench, so it was much of a much and that’s probably why the game went on so long.”

Walker added: “Antonio [Kiri Kiri], our captain, came off and said that was the hardest game he had ever played, with two extra-times, and he’s probably right. We had 14 players after we lost a couple. They also lost a couple. Both teams were battling out there and it was a good, tough final.”

Antonio Kiri Kiri, a contracted New Zealand Sevens player, co-captained the Penguins with former All Blacks Sevens player Kylem O’Donnell and admitted he was physically and emotionally drained after a final that left most players on their knees.

“I’m pretty blown away. I’m a bit lost for words. It was one of those games where it was down to who would be the first to make a mistake and they lost their own line-out. I’m just happy it wasn’t us,” said Kiri Kiri, who made his Sevens World Series debut in South Africa last December.

“I’ve never played a game like that before, a double extra-time. I’m not used to that. I’m buggered. It has been a tough two days, but I’m sure I’ll find some energy later on. The co-captains and co-coaches seemed to work. Kylem’s an outstanding player and was a real leader on the pitch.”

Kiri Kiri agreed with Waldrom that the two teams were evenly matched in many ways. “The Samurai boys matched us physically and we felt it out there. We’ve sort of had our way with other teams, but with them, they gave it back. Hats off to those guys. They were pretty outstanding athletes.”

With 2015 Super Bowl champion Nate Ebner in their ranks, the fourth-seeded Samurai upset top seeds Dragons 12-0 in the semi-final, while Penguins beat YCAC 29-14, the quartet underlining their reputation as the tournament’s current ‘big four’.

Former New Zealand Sevens player Zar Lawrence led 12th seeds A-Trade Overseas Old Boys to victory in the second-tier Plate final, beating Scottish Exiles 17-10.

Fifth seeds Club Pyrenees won the Bowl in their ninth straight year at the HKFC 10s, beating Gavekal 22-5, while hosts HKFC won the Shield by beating debutants Gladiators from China 28-19.

HK Women’s Rugby 7s, Day 1 at King’s Park

Hong Kong’s lack of a competitive match since November showed as the hosts stumbled on an action-packed first day of the HK Women’s Rugby Sevens losing against an ecstatic Argentinean side. Hong Kong must now beat Japan to move above Argentina and make it through to the Cup semi-finals.

France looked a class apart as their development team (the national side is playing on the Women’s World Series in Atlanta this weekend) notched three wins from three starts in pool A to lock in a semi-final berth, while Kazakhstan and South Africa will fight it out for the other spot. Japan, Hong Kong and Argentina can all still make the Cup semi-finals in pool B.

The home team got their tournament underway with a thumping 45-0 win over Sri Lanka, with Aggie Poon Pak-yan running in three tries and Natasha Olson-Thorne crossing in her first game as captain. Sri Lanka had no answers for a rampaging Hong Kong, who completely dominated with slick passing and fierce tackling.

Lee Tsz-ting, who was a ball girl at HK Women’s 7s 6 years ago, scored on debut when she came on in the second half against Sri Lanka.

Hong Kong’s second match was a low-scoring affair, as the hosts self-inflicted error strewn performance allowed a hard working Argentina side to dominate territory and run large chunks of time off the clock. Argentina received two yellow cards, and embarrassingly for Hong Kong scored the decisive try in their 12-5 win with only six players on the pitch.

“Unfortunately in that game we just lacked a bit of patience,” hiding her disappointment Hong Kong coach Anna Richards said. “We just let mistakes creep into our game under pressure and that does happen. We let Argentina rattle us a bit at the breakdown and there was a bit of a free fall there, but we just didn’t take our opportunities.”

Hong Kong’s last match against Thailand was a must win and it was all one-way traffic, with the local team streaking away to a 24-0 win that saw Richards comment “We tried to force the issue a little bit against Argentina and we made some good opportunities and we killed it,” Richards said.”This time we were very patient, which I thought was great.”

Debutant Lee Tsz-ting and Colleen Tjosvold were shining lights for Hong Kong – while Christine Gordon and Chong Ka-yan were amongst the try scorers.

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France took a while to get going in their opening match before eventually overcoming Kenya 22-5, before flexing their legs and overpowering China in a 39-7 thumping. They finished the day with a narrow 12-10 win over Kazakhstan, with Montserrat Amédée and Noémie Sanch amongst the tries with three each for the day.

With his side semi-final bound, coach Paul Albaladéjo praised the evenness of effort from his charges, but refused to look past their final pool match. “I’m very happy after day one,” Albaladéjo said. “Very happy for my team, everyone was very good and it was a good job. We are now focusing on game number four tomorrow against South Africa. After that, I don’t yet know the way.”

Japan looked composed and confident as comfortably won three match: belting Sri Lanka 41-0, knocking off Thailand 22-7 and finishing the day with a 50-0 drubbing of Argentina. Hong Kong will face Japan in the last pool match tomorrow at 10.00am. Japan shared the scoring load across a wide range of players, with Yukari Tateyama and Ayumi Yabuuchi just two of the players to get in on the act.

Argentina were impressive prior to their match against Japan, shrugging off Thailand (19-12), Hong Kong and Sri Lanka (30-5).Gonzalez Sofia was one of her side’s best, crossing four times throughout the day and constantly creating opportunities for her teammates.

Nadine Roos impressed in a South Africa side that won two and lost one, scoring four tries for the day. For Kazakhstan, Lyudmila Korotkikh also got amongst the points, registering four tries as her side won two of their four matches. There were mixed results for China, with a first up 10-5 win over Kazakhstan followed by losses to France (39-7) and South Africa (7-0). It was a tough day at the King’s Park for Kenya, Thailand and Sri Lanka, with each side going winless.