bc magazine

Soccer Sevens @ HK Football Club – 21 May, 2016

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2016/Soccer-Sevens-HK-Football-Club/i-56kSnr8

An appreciative and noisy crowd enjoyed some fine goals at the Soccer Sevens held at the HK Football Club.
Click on any photo for the full gallery

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2016/Soccer-Sevens-HK-Football-Club/i-W2Vs4Dh

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2016/Soccer-Sevens-HK-Football-Club/i-Nwds8rQ

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2016/Soccer-Sevens-HK-Football-Club/i-JZ6qS4q

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2016/Soccer-Sevens-HK-Football-Club/i-vdRHv8K

HK Cricket Match Report: Women’s Premier League – 15 May, 2016

Women’s Premier League – 15 May, 2016

The first of three Women’s Premier League 40-over fixtures was played at the Mission Road ground on Sunday, 15th May 2016. Teams were boosted by the addition of star players Sarah Coyte and Kristen Beams from Australia and Shizuka Miyaji and Mai Yanagida from Japan. Both teams also featured an under-13 player with Aarush Bhagwat playing for Sail and Sachit Anand playing for Bauhinia.

Conditions were sunny and hot as HKCA Sail (wearing blue) won the toss and elected to bat first. They got away to a good start with Kary Chan and Chan Sau Ha putting on 43 for the first wicket before Kary was bowled by Marina Lamplough for 12. Chan Sau Ha fell shortly afterwards for 25 – the first of seven run-outs in the match – and when Shanzeen Shahzad was trapped LBW for 1 by Shizuka Miyaji, Sail had slipped to 3/58.

Emma Lai and Sarah Coyte then combined in a 76-run partnership for the fourth wicket that laid the foundation for a big Sail total. Lai was eventually bowled by Kristen Beams for 24 and Coyte was stumped off the bowling of Alvina Tam for 54. Aarush Bhagwat hit 29 and Mai Yanagida scored 11 in the late charge for runs as Sail finished on 8/191 from their 40 overs.

For the Bauhinia team, Kristen Beams was the pick of the bowlers with 2/29 from her eight overs while Marina Lamplough, Shizuka Miyaji, Alvina Tam and Keenu Gill claimed one wicket each.

The Bauhinia innings followed a very similar pattern to that of Sail’s. An enterprising opening stand of 46 between Shizuka Miyaji (12) and Keenu Gill (28) was followed by three quick wickets that saw Bauhinia slip to 3/59. Jasmine Titmuss claimed both openers, with Mehreen Yousaf taking a brilliant catch to dismiss Keenu Gill, while Pull To was the third to fall after being sent back by her partner and run-out for 5. Another run-out saw the demise of Bauhinia’s skipper Mariko Hill (5) thanks to an excellent piece of fielding by Chan Sau Ha, to leave the Bauhinia innings teetering at 4/76.

A 62-run fifth wicket partnership between Sachit Anand and Kristen Beams got the Bauhinia innings back on track. Sachit batted very well to reach 41 but he fell to an excellent caught and bowled by Amanda Kwok. Marina Lamplough the fell for 5 off the bowling Coyte but Bauhinia still looked well on target to overhaul the Sail total at 6/160. But when Bauhinia’s momentum stalled, their batting and running between the wickets got more desperate as the overs ebbed away. Beams was bowled for 47 by Mehreen Yousaf after which Jenefer Davies, Annie Ho and Lemon Cheung were all run-out chasing non-existent singles.

Jasmine Titmuss was the pick of the bowlers for Sail, claiming 2/27 from her eight overs with two maidens while Mehreen Yousaf, Sarah Coyte and Amanda Kwok were the other wicket-takers for Sail.

Sail’s victory by six runs was their first in the series after Bauhinia had won the first two T20 matches in the series.

Despite being on the losing side, Sarah Coyte earned the Player of the Match award for her 54 runs and 1/28.

Score Summary: HKCA Sail 9/181 from 40 overs beat HKCA Bauhinia 185 from 39.1 overs by 6 runs

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

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

National Cricket Squads Announced

With an extensive series of matches scheduled for later in the year the Hong Kong Cricket Association (HKCA) have announced the men’s National Squad and National ‘A’ Squad for 2016-17.

The Hong Kong team will tour Ireland and Scotland in late August and September. They will play Ireland in a First Class, Intercontinental Cup match and two Twenty20 Internationals. Scotland will then host two One Day Internationals in Edinburgh where Hong Kong will attempt to retain the Braidwood Cup. Hong Kong will also face Kenya in a World Cricket League Championship clash in November.

HKCA Director of Cricket Charlie Burke is very optimistic about the squads: “It is a very clear sign by the selectors that they have selected players based on performances and also with one eye on the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers which will be played in 2018.”

“The young squad is vibrant, enthusiastic and dedicated. It’s always nice to have a few fresh faces which lifts everyone. The squad will be the most competitive I have seen in my time in Hong Kong, this only encourages me with the fact we have some big tours coming up later this year, and the importance of domestic performances,” added Burke.

National Squad
Afzal Tanwir 阿夫扎 (Pakistan Association) *
Ahmed Nadeem 簡均倍 (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC) *
Arif Imran (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Ahmed Tanveer 廷伊華 (Kowloon Cricket Club) *
Atkinson James 艾堅遜 (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Barkat Waqas 高域斯 (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Chapman Mark 查普曼 (Hong Kong Cricket Club) *
Caddy Ashley (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Carter Christopher 基斯卡達 (Kowloon Cricket Club) *
Shah Ninad 沙利勒 (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Shah Kinchit 金赤沙 (Kowloon Cricket Club) *
Kapur Raag 卡普華卡 (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Hayat Babar 巴巴凱逸 (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CCc) *
Lamplough Giacomo 積卡姆 (Hong Kong Cricket Club) *
Li Kai Ming 李啟銘 (HKCA Dragons) *
Mehmood Adil 亞迪 (Kowloon Cricket Club) *
Mcaulsen Cameron 麥國麟 (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Khan Ehsan (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Khan Nizakat 穆罕默德汗 (Hong Kong Cricket Club) *
Khan Aizaz 艾扎茲 (Pakistan Association) *
Nawaz Ehsan 納瓦茲 (Kowloon Cricket Club) *
Rath Anshuman 阿舒曼華夫 (Hong Kong Cricket Club) *
Khan Waqas 瓦格斯汗 (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Subramanyan Jhathavedh (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Wasif Shahid (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Sodhi Kabir (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
*Contracted Players

National ‘A’ Squad (including Under-19s)
Bukhari Daniyal (Pakistan Association)
Bhimsaria Sunny (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Gorawara Adit (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Khan Akbar 簡卡巴 (Vagabonds CC)
Khan Anas 安納斯簡 (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Khan Mohsin 甘莫斯 (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Khan Mohammad (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Lulla Ansh (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Manglik Ahan (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Mohammad Saad 馬力山 (Vagabonds / Pakistan Association)
Mohammad Haroon Arshad 哈利 (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Mohammad Huzafah (Pakistan Association)
Mohammad Awais 艾小文 (USRC-MCC)
Mulchandani Ravi (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Robson Angus (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Sharma Vishal (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Sheopuri Tej (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Singh Karandeep (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Singh Simandeep 冼文迪 (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Umar Mohammad (USRC-MCC)
Zafar Sikandar (USRC-MCC)
Ur-Rehman Ateeq (Kowloon Cricket Club)

Source: Hong Kong Cricket Association

Women’s XV Squad for Asian Championship Annouced

Hong Kong Women’s XV will play a home and away series against Japan to settle the 2016 Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) after perennial contenders Kazakhstan withdrew from the competition. The tests will be played before the respective Hong Kong v Japan men’s fixtures with the women opening their campaign at home at 1:30pm this Saturday (7 May) at HK Football Club – entry is free, so head down and cheer on our talented women.

Coach Jo Hull yesterday announced her debut squad of 28 players for the ARC campaign, which will include the two matches versus Japan and a game against Singapore on 14 May. With Kazakhstan’s withdrawal, Hong Kong’s tour of Spain last December – the first and hopefully not last ever tour for the Women’s XV outside of Asia – looks even more vital in hindsight.

Hull agreed that that opportunity will now prove even more useful than initially expected, saying, “I think now is when we’re going to see the pay-off from the Spain Tour. We have pretty much been working non-stop since we came back with the group and the players have had time to reflect on the tour and the physicality and skill level required in the elite women’s game. The last few months have been focusing on implementing what we have been working on since Spain.”

Hull has placed a premium on experience in the squad with 18 of the players coming from the Spain Tour. Of the ten not present in Spain, five come in from the sevens programme in experienced campaigners Christine Gordon, Lai Pou Fan and Lindsay Varty, and up and comers Nam Ka Man and Lee Tsz Ting. Those five join several of their fellow HKSI elite athletes in the ARC squad, with 13 of the 28 players coming from the sevens set-up including captain Natasha Olson-Thorne.

Also returning to the squad after a lengthy recovery from injury is the influential Rose Fong Siu-Lan, a top class player who will be a massive addition to the side. “Rose has been working really hard and it is great to have her back,” said Hull, who previously coached Fong in the United Kingdom. “She is a quality fly-half who can help direct our game on the pitch. Saturday will be her first test match since her injury and I know that she is really looking forward to returning.”

Reflecting the dominance of recent Premiership seasons, the majority of the squad come from Gai Wu Falcons and league title and grand champion winners Valley, with 12 and six players respectively in the final 28. USRC Tigers have six representatives followed by Kowloon and Hong Kong Football Club with two each. Gai Wu No.8 Chow Mei Nam will captain the squad with Valley’s Adrienne Garvey as vice-captain, reprising their roles from Spain.

Hull continued “Our back row is a real strength. Our tight five, while not overly experienced in numbers of caps, has really improved in their fitness and in mastering the unique skillsets required for their positions while our backs are hugely experienced and have some real pace.”

Hull is particularly excited about the new culture developing around the team since the Spain tour. “We’ve seen a huge improvement in the work the team has put into their strength and conditioning, something which has been helped by our access to the facilities at the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi).

“With the recent tests in Spain, this year’s inaugural Super Series competition, the growing competitiveness of the Premiership and the facilities at THEi, I would say that this is the best and most intense build-up the Hong Kong Women’s XV have ever had ahead of a competition. The training centre at THEi is a fantastic resource and has not only enhanced our performance but helped focus the environment within and around the team,” Hull added.

“We target to take two from two against Japan, but we fully respect what they bring to the table and we don’t say that lightly. We haven’t beaten Japan for a long time, although we have come close on recent occasions. We know Japan will be supremely fit and ferocious in the contact area. The key for us is how we match that physicality and how we manage the game beyond the set piece. We want the players to express themselves. The team are getting much better at playing what is in-front of them and playing with innovation and we want them to feed off the occasion and the opportunity to play Japan at home.”

Hong Kong Women’s Squad for the Asia Rugby Championship 2016:
Chow Mei Nam (captain), Adrienne Garvey (vice-captain), Natasha Olson-Thorne, Rose Fong Siu Lan, Colleen Tjosvold, Li Nim Yan, Karen So Hoi Ting,Amelie Seure, Chan Ka Yan, Cheng Ching To, Christine Gordon, Claire Forster, Ku Hoi Ying, Tammy Lau Nga Wun, Winnie Siu Wing Ni, Cheng Tsz Ting, Chong Ka Yan, Mak Ho Yee, Poon Pak Yan, Sharon Tsang Shin Yuen, Lee Tsz Ting, Nam Ka Man,Cheung Shuk Han