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Women’s Rugby Shines on Super Saturday

The 2016-17 season of the Women’s Premiership kicked off with a Super Saturday showcase at King’s Park with six of the seven Premiership teams in action, including Premiership debutants City Sparkle, last year’s League and Grand Champions Valley Black and the runners-up in both competitions Gai Wu Falcons.

Last year’s top two were convincing form with muscular bonus point wins on the opening weekend. In the season’s opening match Valley dispatched CWB Phoenix 45-7 in an impressive eight try performance even though three of its top players were absent representing Hong Kong in the Asian Sevens series.

The absence of Valley’s large contingent of Hong Kong representatives, combined with a number of retirements in the off-season, has catalysed a youth movement in the Valley with numerous players called up from last year’s second side Valley Red.

“I’m really pleased with our performance today,” said Sam Feausi, the long-time Valley star, who is serving as assistant coach for the team this season. “We showed good structure despite having a few girls missing. We had seven or eight players from last year’s second team in the first side today and it’s good to see the young girls stepping up.”

Their ability to transition to Premiership level will play a decisive factor in Valley’s ability to defend its two-season long unbeaten streak once the top sides face each other.

“We are confident, but this season is going to be much more competitive. Everybody is pretty strong. All of the teams are missing their sevens girls but the results are still really convincing,” Feausi added.

Gai Wu Falcons soared to their biggest opening day victory in the day’s second match dispatching Kowloon 56-0 despite lacking four of their stars including Hong Kong captain Christy Cheng Ka-chi who were also on international sevens duty.

In the final match of the day, USRC Tigers withstood a fierce early charge from City Sparkle before overpowering the Premiership debutants 45 – 3.

Tigers coach Liu Kwok-leung said City’s intensity troubled his side early on: “They put us under a lot of pressure and it took us a while to get settled in and switched on. Their defensive line speed is good and stopped us from organising. They have good potential to compete this season.

“But eventually we settled a bit and I was pleased that we kept our structure and performed what we have been training,” Kwok added.

City coach Fung Kai-hang said, “Tigers are one of the top teams and they played well. We have set some goals for the league this season. There are games we target to win, games we target to compete in and games that we can use as a learning curve.

“This was our first Premiership match and the girls really felt the difference in intensity. It’s more confrontational and the speed and strength of the game is much better at this level, but we learned a lot today.

“We need to keep working on our set piece and the contact area. We play Football Club next and they have a big pack and will be similar to Tigers. But the girls are really positive. We gave up a lot of tries tonight but they kept working hard and going forward,” said Fung

For the full weekend’s results click here

Additional reporting and image: HKRU

Women’s Rugby Results – 24 September, 2016

Premiership

Valley Black 45-7 CWB Phoenix
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 15:00

Gai Wu 56-0 Kowloon
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 16:30

City Sparkle 3-45 USRC Tigers
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 18:00

Photo: Valley Black

Asia Sevens Series Korea: Day 1 Results – 24 September, 2016

Hong Kong’s men and women had a good first first day in the second leg of the Asia Sevens Series in Korea with both teams making it through to the Cup semi-final.

All the semi-finals and finals are being live streamed Asia Rugby‘s YouTube channel AsiaRugbyLive

Hong Kong’s women won their first two matches convincingly against Uzbekistan (51-0) and Singapore (24-0) but lost a closely fought final match of the day encounter against Japan 24-12. This though was a vastly improved performance against a team that thrashed them in Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago. Hong Kong finished second in Pool C and will play China, who easily won Pool D, in the second Cup semi-final on Sunday.

The men also finished second in their pool, after cruising to easy wins over Taiwan (47-5) and Japan (57-0), Hong Kong lost a thrilling match against hosts Korea 28-21 and will also play China in their cup semi-final. While Japan are looking to blood new young university age players, it does devalue the competition and dis-respect the other competitors that their side is not even competitive.

Women’s Rugby Fixtures – 24 September, 2016

Hong Kong Beat Thailand to Claim Third Place

Hong Kong women claim third place 36-7 with a convincing 6 try demolition win over Thailand.

Earlier in the day China’s women dashed Hong Kong’s hopes for cup final appearance at their home tournament with a 19-7 win in the cup semi final. A slow start proved disastrous for the hosts as the visitors dominated possession and territory en route to a 12-0 lead at the half.

Hong Kong brought the score back 12-7 with a try by Natasha Olson-Thorne in the second half. China proved too strong though and a late breakaway try clinched the match just as the hosts pushed for the win.

“We had a better second half, but we gave away some cheap tries early on and we can’t afford to do that,” said Hong Kong coach Anna Richards. “We have got to make better use of the ball when we have it. In the second half we were a lot better, there was greater urgency and we scored a good try, but we probably should have scored a couple more with the amount of ball we had,” Richards added.

The loss sent Hong Kong to the third/fourth place play-off against Thailand who had earlier lost to Japan in their semi final.

In the play-off, Hong Kong fired out of the starting blocks posting three unanswered first half tries with a brace from Aggie Poon Pak-yan bookending a try from Ivy Kwong Sau-yan giving them a 19-0 cushion.

On the back foot for the entirety of the game, Thailand’s only reply came from the kick-off of the second half, as Hong Kong expressed itself with three more tries in the second half to run out 36-7 winners.

“It’s nice to finish like that, but it’s been a disappointing weekend in some aspects. We have done some things quite well and when we give ourselves the opportunity to attack we look quite good, but we have to be able to do that in the big pressure games,” Richards added.

“This is a good start and we have two tournaments still to come. Our aim is to make the final in the next leg and to do that we need to work on keeping our composure and making the most of what we have in front of us. We turned the ball over too quickly and gave away too many cheap tries this weekend. If we continue to do that then we are going to be on the back foot from the start,” said Richards.

Hong Kong Women’s Sevens Squad (Asia Rugby Sevens Series – Hong Kong): Cheng Ka-Chi, Christy (Captain); Natasha Olson-Thorne (Vice Captain); Nam Ka-Man; Candy Cheng Tsz-Ting; Aggie Poon Pak-Yan; Sham Wai-Sum; Colleen Tjosvold; Kwong Sau-Yan; Li Nim-Yan, Melody; Chong Ka-Yan, Adrienne Garvey, Yuen Lok-Yee.

Hong Kong in Cup Semi-finals at Asian Womens Rugby Sevens

Hong Kong advanced to the Asian Women’s Sevens Cup semi-finals finishing second in their pool. Hong Kong beat Guam 29-0 in the opening match, followed by a stuttering 7-0 win over Singapore in their second encounter with Hong Kong striking early but then unable to add to the tally for the remaining 13 minutes of the match.

The early wins set up a climactic pool game against Japan to see who would come out on top of the pool. Japan were comfortable 28-0 winners in a one-sided victory. Hong Kong failed to fire from the outset, with an uncharacteristic amount of loose ball and turnovers putting the game out of the hosts’ reach by half-time.

Despite the down finish to the afternoon, coach Anna Richards was mindful that the team are still on target heading into day two.

“That match was a good wake up for the girls,” said Richards. “The first two games I didn’t think we really played that well and I thought that against Japan we played much better. We were made to work hard and we kept at it and I was really pleased at the girls energy levels in the second half. We kept at them and started to make some ground late,” Richards said.

The going will get even tougher for the hosts when they play China in the cup semi final. Japan play Thailand in the other bracket.

“China were heads and shoulders better than everybody else in the field I thought,” said Richards. “We are going to need to reduce our errors tomorrow and make the most of what ball we have. Make sure that we protect that ball and not let them turn us over. China are a big team like Japan so we need to put them on the ground quickly and cut off their attacking space.

“China like to play out wide and I don’t think they attack the ruck in the same way Japan does. We did a good job of sealing off the ball today against Japan so if we can get our halfbacks over the ball quicker we should have more possession.

“We need to play like we did in the second half against Japan. We need to cut China’s attacking space down for 14 minutes. It’s difficult to do but at this level it’s essential. We also need to be a bit more accurate with the ball and capitalise on the breaks when we have them as you don’t get many,” Richards concluded.

Singapore will play Uzbekistan in the first plate semi final followed by Guam versus Sri Lanka in the second. Japan will play Thailand in the other cup semi final. Match action starts tomorrow at 11.00am an Hong Kong will face China at 12.06

Asia Rugby Sevens Series
Date: 2-3 September, 2016
Venue: HK Football Club
Tickets: Free
More info: public entry via Happy Valley infield, via the tunnel near the HK Racing Museum
Live stream: http://www.youtube.com/c/AsiaRugbylive/live

Additional reporting and photo: HKRU

Asia Rugby Sevens Series 2016

The first leg of the Asian Sevens Series 2016 takes place in Hong Kong on the 2-3 September at the Hong Kong Football Club. The annual tournament comprises the Asian Sevens Mens Series and the Asian Sevens Womens Series and features the current top eight Asian countries in men’s and women’s 7s to decide Asia’s predominant team. This year’s series features three tournaments in Hong Kong, Seoul (24-24 September) and Columbo (15-16 October).

After their strong showing at the Olympics, Japan will be hot favourites in both the men’s and women’s eight team tournaments but Hong Kong will be looking to raise their game and make them work hard.

The men’s tournament features:
Pool A: Japan, South Korea, China, Singapore
Pool B: Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei

The women’s tournament features:
Pool C: Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Guam
Pool D: China, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka

Asia Rugby Sevens Series
Date: 2-3 September, 2016
Venue: HK Football Club
Tickets: Free (tbc)
More info: public entry via Happy Valley infield, via the tunnel near the HK Racing Museum

Hong Kong Women Ready For Rugby 7s Olympic Repechage Challenge

Anna Richards, Hong Kong Women’s Sevens Coach, has an almost full-strength squad available for the Olympic Repechage tournament in Dublin, Ireland (25-26 June) to decide the 12th and final team to qualify for Rugby Sevens’ Olympic debut in Rio this August.

The squad includes captain Christy Cheng Ka Chi, who marks her first tournament action since the regional Olympic qualifiers last November after an injury kept her out of the Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens in April. Cheng will resume the captaincy after handing the reins to Natasha Olson-Thorne for the Hong Kong Sevens, with Olson-Thorne resuming her role as vice-captain in Ireland.

Versatile back Cindy Yuen Lok Yee also returns to the squad after an arduous year long rehabilitation effort to recover from a shoulder injury. The 21-year old Yuen, one of Hong Kong rugby’s promising young players, started her rugby career on the wing but can now play anywhere along the back line as coach Richards continues to emphasise upskilling players to play across multiple positions.

“Cindy has done really really well. She worked hard to come back from her injury and I am pleased that she has returned to full fitness and can get this opportunity. She is a really skilful player with some good stepping ability and I’m excited to see how she will go in Dublin,” said Richards.

That excitement extends across the entire squad as Richards looks ahead to one of Hong Kong’s few opportunities to play in a fully international competition this weekend.

“It’s an exciting team and it is good to be able to include a few of the players that we haven’t seen in a while. The squad is keen to have another opportunity to qualify for the Olympics. It is our last chance to qualify but I believe we have the calibre of players we need to win the tournament,” said Richards.

The returning players gave Richards the opportunity to select from almost a full complement of talent in the elite programme at the Hong Kong Sports Institute.

“I have never had so many people at training,” said Richards. “Christy is back training full time and Cindy has returned after 16 months away from the game. So I had nearly a full squad to choose from, which is really exciting.”

Many of the selected squad also featured heavily in Hong Kong’s three matches as part of the fifteen-a-side Asia Rugby Women’s Championship in May. “Our build-up was shortened by the Asian championships but the girls have been training hard. They had a good campaign in that competition, so hopefully they can carry on from there. It has been hot and the conditions have been difficult, but they have put the work in. We will start to dial it back a bit this week in training. Last week our focus was on getting everyone back into sevens mode, which was fun for the girls, now we want to keep that intensity as we head to Dublin,” Richards said.

That intensity will be in demand in Dublin with Hong Kong slotted as the top seeds in Pool D of the 16-team tournament, locking horns with Argentina, Kazakhstan and the Cook Islands.

“It is an interesting pool,” says Richards. “There are teams that we have played recently like Kazakhstan and Argentina (who Hong Kong played in the recent Hong Kong Sevens), but we don’t know anything about the Cook Islands. They are banded fourth in the pool but I think they will be tougher than that. I believe they have a lot of girls playing in New Zealand.”

Captain Cheng was pleased with the draw: “We’re happy with the pool. The girls have been training hard and as long as we hold up and perform well, we should be in a reasonable position. We know Kazakhstan well and are very evenly matched. It will come down to who has the better game plan on the day and who executes best. We split our results with Argentina before and know that their speed is their main strength. Size-wise they are similar to us so I think it will be a good match-up.”

But for Cheng the biggest result is already achieved in making her return to fitness in time for selection: “I’m feeling good and am happy to be back training with the team. I’m a bit rusty on my skills and conditioning but that will come in time and I’m just happy to be running again. Every athlete’s dream is to reach the Olympics so it is a great opportunity for me and all of the team to be able to have another chance at qualifying,” Cheng added.

Hong Kong are the highest seeded team in the tournament not currently playing on the Women’s Sevens Series. Russia are the top seeds in Pool A along with Samoa, Zimbabwe and Madagascar; Spain are atop Pool B with Mexico, Venezuela and Tunisia while hosts Ireland head up Pool C ahead of China, Portugal and Trinidad and Tobago.

Russia and Spain were among the nine nations to confirm their status as core teams for the 2016-17 Series. Russia finished seventh overall with Spain in ninth. Ireland finished the Series in 11th place. Spain were the only one of the trio to reach the Cup quarter-finals at the final Series tournament in France and will take heart from their improved form over the last two rounds of the Series, but it is Russia, bowl winners in France, who are the top seeds for the repechage.

Richards, a four-time Women’s Rugby World Cup winner is unfazed by the competition: “There are some really good sides, including core World Series teams, so we have to be the underdogs going in, but you have to be in it to win it, and we’re fortunate enough to be there. It’s just another really good opportunity for us to go and perform.”

According to Richards, the keys to victory lie in the team’s consistency and ability to execute under pressure. “We will be one of the fitter teams and our skills are improving so I think it will come down to decision-making and our ability to perform under pressure – and there will be a lot of pressure. It’s always a challenge, but we have the capacity to beat a lot of the teams at this level; whether we can take a step up to beat the teams on the World Series, we will find out,” concluded Richards.

Hong Kong Women’s Sevens Squad – Olympic Repechage (Dublin, Ireland):
Cheng Ka Chi (Captain), Amelie Seure, Cheng Tsz Ting, Chong Ka Yan, Lee Tsz Ting, Li Nim Yan, Lindsay Varty, Natasha Olson-Thorne (Vice Captain), Nam Ka Man, Poon Pak Yan, Stephanie Cuvelier, Yuen Lok Yee.