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Women’s 15s Match Report: HKCC 5-48 USRC Tigers – 21 November, 2015

The weekend’s fixture saw the HKCC Ladies squad travel to King’s Park to play a USRC Tigers side sitting one place above them in the league.

HKCC had learned some valuable lessons from the previous weekend and had put that into practice in the training sessions leading up to the game. It showed from the off with HKCC putting pressure on the Tigers keeping them at bay, however fortune was not on HKCC’s side and a momentarily lapse in concentration led to Tigers taking a 5-0 lead with a break down the blindside wing.

The opening 25 minutes saw a tense battle between the two squads with HKCC playing some of the best rugby of their season so far, putting together phase after phase, gaining yard after yard ending in a superb team try finished off by Scrum Half Ashley Brooks.

The hard working start took it’s toll and as HKCC began to tire the Tigers were all too happy to take advantage, adding 2 unanswered tries and going in at half time 15-5 up.

HKCC tried to regroup at the break as injuries and players looked burnt out after the explosive beginning to the first half.

The second half continued in the same vain as the latter minutes of the first half with the Tigers showing no signs of slowing down adding three more early tries to take the lead to 34-5.

HKCC showed a lot of spirit, courage and determination trying not to be disheartened as they attempted to penetrate the Tigers defence but the fierce opposition had other ideas. The Tigers showed more clinical finishing to end the game 48-5.

Again this week saw some great phases of play for HKCC to take heart from particularly in the opening 25 minutes. What is needed is to play at that level for the full game. The Tigers showed they will compete with most teams will surely be amongst it at the end of the season.

Women of the match for HKCC:
Back – Angie Ng
Forward – Carolyn Champion

HKCC Ladies: Joan Yip, Wawa Li, Jo Harvey, Izzy Rivers, Nobuko Oda, Carolyn Champion, Zoe Wong, Lynda Nazer, Ashley Brooks, Tinley Wong, Brenda Chan, Emma Chung, Tissia Polycarpe, Serene Yee, Diana Li
Substitutes: Mhairi McLaughlin, Charlotte Berry, Hoi Yi Li, Elane Lau, Angie Ng, Kassie Chapel, Margaret Chan.
Try: Ashley Brooks

Hong Kong Succumb to Pakistan’s Pace in 64 Run Loss

Pakistan defeated Hong Kong by 64 runs in a thrilling twenty20 clash in Dubai on Monday.

Chasing 168 for victory, Mark Chapman scored a 39-ball half century and Anshuman Rath contributed 18 to anchor the Hong Kong innings, but the side lost wickets regularly to be dismissed for 103 runs in 17.1 overs.

Pakistan may have momentarily regretted electing to bat, with opener Ahmed Shehzad dismissed with the first ball of the match. However, Rafatullah Mohmand (25) and number three Sohaib Maqsood (25) steadied the ship, before Mohammad Rizwan starred with an unbeaten 38-ball 55.

Aamer Yamin added 27 more, while number eight Anwar Ali struck 16 from only eight deliveries to help boost Pakistan’s run rate in the final overs. Babar Hayat took a screaming catch to dismiss Anwir on the last ball of the innings, a catch that was also Haseeb Amjad’s third wicket for the day. Haseeb finished the pick of the Hong Kong bowlers with three for 38, which Anshuman Rath claimed two for 30, and Tanwir Afzal and Aizaz Khan took one apiece.

In reply, Hong Kong lost two early wickets and only had 11 runs on the board when vice captain Mark Chapman came to the crease. Opener Anshuman Rath added a vital 18 runs from 19 deliveries, but it was Chapman’s knock, which included five fours and two sixes, that got the Hong Kong innings back on track.

It was with a four that Chapman brought up his half century, but he was caught next ball to leave Hong Kong precariously balanced at 82 for six after 12.2 overs. Hong Kong’s tail failed to wag in the last few overs. Finally, Hong Kong closed on 103 all out after 17.1 overs.

Hong Kong has three T20Is remaining in its tour of the UAE.

Result
Pakistan won by 64 runs
Toss – Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first

Pakistan 167/7, 20 overs
Mohammad Rizwan 55*, Aamer Yamin 27, Rafatullah Mohmand 25, Sohaib Maqsood 25
Haseeb Amjad 3/38, Anshuman Rath 2/30, Tanwir Afzal 1/25, Aizaz Khan 1/32

Hong Kong 103 all out, 17.1 overs
Mark Chapman 50, Anshuman Rath 18, Waqas Khan 10
Bilal Asif 2/13, Shahid Afridi 2/21, Sohail Tanvir 1/8, Aamer Yamin 1/29

Fish, Chips and Minis @ Chater Garden – 22 November, 2015

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Sunday afternoon in Central, instead of just the normal Sunday crowds of Filipinas enjoying their day off, the area around Chater Garden and Square is packed with families. The road is closed for a Mini display and there’s fish and chips from The Chippy and bottled beers and ciders to enjoy. A wonderful example of how vibrant the area could be…
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T20: Hong Kong lose to Oman by 6 Wickets

Oman’s Sultan Ahmed won the toss against Hong Kong’s Tanwir Afzal, and his bowlers did the rest as Hong Kong were soundly beaten in the first of three Twenty20 Internationals losing by 6 wickets in a match played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

After losing the toss Hong Kong were asked to bat. Openers Anshuman Rath and Waqas Barkat could not set the same platform as they had in the second ODI against United Arab Emirates, Rath could only score 5 before being dismissed by Bilal Khan in the 1st over.

Babar Hayat joined Barkat at the crease and quickly raced to 16 with a run of boundaries before being caught in the third over. Hayat was the first of three wickets to fall for just 4 runs as Hong Kong were reduced to 31 for 4 as Barkat and Nizakat Khan quickly followed. Skipper Tanwir Afzal and Mark Chapman then put on 21 before Afzal perished caught at extra cover as he drove on the up. Chris Carter and Waqas Khan then began to rebuild the innings in a 36-run partnership, that lifted Hong Kong’s total to 92. But disaster struck in the 17th over as first Waqas Khan (19) was ran out and Chris Carter (15) was caught at long on by Adnan Ilyas. Hong Kong finally closed on 106 for 9 from their 20 overs probably 20 short of par for a wicket that was playing low and slow.

For Oman Bilal Khan (3 for 29) and Mehran Khan (2 for 20) were the pick of the bowlers

Hong Kong set about defending of the total as Haseeb Amjad and Tanwir Afzal kept things tight early which brought about the dismissal of opener Khawar Ali trapped lbw by Afzal as he looked to hit across a full ball.

Jatinder Singh (16) joined opener Aaqib Sulehri (12) at the crease and the pair took the total to 25 from 5 overs, before Sulehri was caught behind by Chris Carter to a superb diving catch to his right. Adnan Ilyas was removed by Skipper Afzal and Singh was bowled in the 10th over by Anshuman Rath after a period of pressure. This brought Zeeshan Siddiqui (33*) and Sultan Ahmed (37*) together and the pair set about building the match winning partnership of 30 for Oman, who eventually reached their target of 107 with 9 balls to spare.

Skipper Tanwir Afzal claimed two wickets while Aizaz Khan and Anshuman Rath chipped in with one wicket each for Hong Kong as Oman won the match by 6 wickets in Abu Dhabi.

Women’s Rugby Fixtures – 21 November, 2015

Megabites: Food News 21 November, 2015

Paradise Inn
Singapore-based Paradise Group has announced the opening of its second outlet in Hong Kong, Paradise Inn. Located at Olympian City the new outlet features Nanyang Chinese cuisine with a modern twist. Nanyang Chinese cuisine can be traced back to the 18th century, when large numbers of Chinese ventured across the seas to Nanyang regions of Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand for trade. When the traders returned to China with ingredients and cooking styles techniques the Nanyang style of Chinese cuisine emerged.
Paradise Inn: Shop UG09, UG/F, Olympian City 2, 18 Hoi Ting Road, Tai Kok Tsui, Kowloon. Tel: 2177 0760 www.paradisegp.com

Howard’s Gourmet
Howard Cai, first established his “Howard’s Gourmet Workshop” in Guangzhou in 2005. Now Howard’s Gourmet is expanding to Hong Kong, the restaurant is now soft open in the CCB Tower Central, and it is slated to official open its door in early December. Mr Cai embraces two culinary philosophies: “Ingredients always come first”, “Tasty is the absolute principal”.
Howard’s Gourmet: 5/F, CCB Tower, 3 Connaught Road Central, Central. Tel: 2115 3388. www.howardsgourmet.com

Lan Kwai Fong Carnival
The korean themed Lan Kwai Fong Carnival 2015 will take place on the 21-22 November. This year’s carnival will feature the usual variety food and beverage treats, games booths, live music all with a Korean theme. Wo On Lane will be ‘transformed’ into “Myeong-dong”, the No.1 tourist destination in South Korea… with taekwondo demonstrations, Korean drum performances, K-pop dance groups and of course K-pop.

High Tide
After 6 years on Cheung Sha beach, Hong Kong’s landlords strike again as High Tide is closing on the 28 November, to re-open in Silvermine Bay in early 2016. www.hightidehk.com

Women’s 15s Match Report: HKCC 5-18 CWB Pheasants – 14 November, 2015

A week’s break allowed the cuts, bruises and bumps of the previous matches to heal and made the HKCC Ladies even keener to play at their home ground Aberdeen against the Causeway Bay Pheasants in the 6th Round of the League.

The whistle blew and HKCC kicked off giving possession to the waiting Pheasants who immediately began to pound their way up the pitch. HKCC scrapped for the ball but the Pheasants furiously rucked maintaining possession and skillfully controlling the course of play. During the first ten minutes HKCC only handled the ball once and this was to kick off again after the Pheasants broke round the side of the defence and scored the first try of the match, 5-0.

Determined to take ownership of the game HKCC kicked off and instantly pressured the Pheasant’s defence. The two teams collided up and down the pitch but neither side looked set to score a try until a close opportunity came for HKCC’s number 8, Lynda Nazer. Awarded a scrum in the Pheasants’ 22 Nazer picked the ball up and pummeled her way up the pitch. But much to HKCC’s frustrations, Nazer, a footstep from the try line was barged into touch. Gaining the ball back the Pheasants kicked to clear their lines, putting HKCC’s fullback and winger under pressure, who only just managed to keep the Pheasant’s attack at bay.

The match continued with the two teams fighting for possession and precious ground. Foul play from HKCC led to a penalty that helped the Pheasants creep further up the pitch. Within minutes HKCC gave away another penalty this time in a threatening position, 5m from the try line. The Pheasants opted for a kick at goal, the ball sailed through the posts, padding CWB’s lead; 8-0.

The first half was drawing to a close but not before HKCC had one more stab at the Pheasant’s defence. Dominated by the HKCC forwards a maul formed and with gaining momentum they thundered towards the try line. With a few metres to go, quick as a flash HKCC’s Carolyn Champion broke from the maul with ball in hand. Once again HKCC were a footstep from the try line, but this time it was Champion who was mercilessly tackled into touch by a strong Pheasant defence. The score remained 8-0 to Pheasants and the whistle blew for half time.

After some rallying words from coach Alex Tarleton the whistle blew for the start of the second half. The Pheasants booted the ball straight into the arms of HKCC scrumhalf Emma Chung, who charged up the pitch. After some clashes in the center of the field a quick Pheasant turn over saw their attack bursting through HKCC defence. Weaving around the HKCC fullback the Pheasants looked close to scoring until Chung made a last ditch tackle, halting the attack. The Pheasants reset to strike again and this time succeeded, as their winger zipped round the side of the HKCC defence, 13-0.

HKCC kicked off and again the two sides fought to control the game. A great breakthrough came from HKCC’s centre Lucy Thomson, who hurtled through the Pheasant defence. But foul play by HKCC at the ruck gave the Pheasants a penalty and they wasted no time in using it to their advantage. HKCC were pushed back to their own try line fighting off another Pheasant attack. Nothing could stop the two Pheasant forwards who crashed over the try line for their third try of the match.

HKCC knew time was running out and they were determined to get some well-deserved points on the board. The HKCC forwards moved up together recycling the ball well until they were only meters from the try line. The Pheasants absorbed the hits well but they were unable to stop outside centre Tissia Polycarpe thundering over the try line, scoring the first and last HKCC points of the match.

After what seemed like a long and tiresome second half the whistle blew to end the match. Although a loss for the HKCC Ladies they are improving every week and look forward to their next match against Tigers this Saturday.

HKCC Woman of the Match: Emma Chung

HKCC 5-18 CWB Pheasants
HKCC Ladies: Joan Yip, Wawa Li, Jo Harvey, Lauren Petersen, Nobuko Oda, Brenda Chan, Cheryl Gourley, Lynda Nazer, Emma Chung, Tinley Wong, Serene Yee, Carolyn Champion, Tissia Polycarpe, Angie Ng, Steph Zhang
Substitutes: Lucy Thomson, Kassie Chapel, Charlotte Berry, Hoi Yi Li, Elane Lau, Mhairi McLoughlin.
Try: Tissia Polycarpe

Photo: Phoebe Leung

Hong Kong v China – Chinese Fans @ Mongkok Stadium, 17 November, 2015

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For reasons known only to the police and Hong Kong Football Association the media were banned from taking photos of the Chinese fan’s section at Hong Kong v China World Cup qualifier. After multiple complaints a brief period of photography was allowed – before the area in-front of the Chinese fans was again at no-go zone from 7pm.
Here are some of the 500 Chinese fans who made the trip.
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