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Women’s 15s Match Report HKCC 15-0 Tai Po Dragons – 31 October, 2015

Week 5 of the Season saw a HKCC team eager to get back to winning ways against a Tai Po team who had been through similar struggles in recent weeks.

The match began with a constant barrage of attacking pressure from HKCC, with the forward pack having some excellent phases moving up the pitch. The Tai Po midfield was able to hold off the HKCC attack on a number of occasions frustrating the team in white.

After dominating the possession in the opening 20 minutes HKCC finally broke the solid Tai Po defence with Ashely Brooks scoring on her return to the starting line up. HKCC continued to put pressure up the field but Tai Po finally broke into the opposition half to ease some pressure in the closing minutes of a tight first half.

HKCC gathered their thoughts at the break looking to add more points to the possession and trying to find answers for a stubborn Tai Po defence.

It was an excellent opening five minutes for the Tai Po team who worked their up the pitch with some dynamic running and crash balls. However, HKCC managed to absorb the pressure and turned the ball over feeding Tissia Polycarpe, who danced her way through the middle of the Tai Po Defence to make the game 10-0.

Fresh legs began to enter the field and change the balance of the game with Tai Po beginning to get more confidence and putting more pressure on HKCC. Both teams locked horns with neither side giving in. HKCC had throughout the game seen great success from the scrum and after sustaining another 15 minutes of pressure a scrum turnover saw HKCC back on the front foot. A penalty occurred, quickly taken it enabled HKCC to march up the field looking to add another try to seal the match.

It came on the final play of the game with Tissia adding a second try for herself in the corner sealing a 15-0 victory and the second win of the season for the HKCC Ladies.

HKCC enjoyed getting back to winning ways but knew they had been in a tough encounter against a very resilient Tai Po side.

HKCC Women of the Match
Forward: Wawa Li
Back: Diana Li

HKCC 15-0 Tai Po Dragons
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 16:30
HKCC: Joan Yip, Wawa Li, Nobuko Oda, Lauren Petersen, Lainie Man, Wendy Sham, Cheryl Gourley, Lynda Nazer, Ashley Brooks, Tinley Wong, Steph Zhang, Lucy Thomson, Brenda Chan, Zoe Wong, Diana Li, Charlotte Berry, Katie Rowbottom, Margaret Chan, Elane Lau, Christy Ma, Rhonda Wildeman, Jo Harvey, Tissia Polycarpe, Serene Yee
Try: Tissia Polycarpe (2), Ashely Brooks
Head Coach: Alex Tarleton

Woman’s 10s Match Report: DB Pirates 22-5 University Unicorns – 31 October, 2015

A Halloween special for the third round of Ladies 10s Development games as Discovery Bay Pirates took on University Unicorns on Saturday the 31st. For the Pirates this saw them coming up against one of their favourite teams from last year University. It is always a privilege to play against such a great group of ladies who are just as passionate about developing and growing ladies rugby. The Pirates reserve bench was also helped out by Tin Sui Wai, showing what the development league is all about, meeting other new players and playing as much rugby as we can!

Some great rucking and tackles from University held Pirates back until Paula Andrea pushed through to score a try close to the post allowing her to convert her own 5 pointer. Many more tackles, some great line outs and scrums later Sienna Stubbs was able to secure Pirates second try. University were incredibly patient, working hard to secure the ball and ultimately were rewarded just on half time with a try.

After some motivational instruction at half time, the Pirates started the second half looking to push on and win their first game of the season. The match turned on a sensational 90 meter run from Lou Lou (Louise Shepherd) who ran the length of the pitch, fending off several University players to score her first ever rugby try! Final try of the day by Vanessa Kima sealed off the game and Pirates first win of the season.

Thanks to University for a great game of rugby and to the ladies of TSW who reserved for us. Looking forward to the next game and wishing University and TSW the best of luck as we progress through the season.

db-pirates-Tryscorers-2015.10.31 — Try scorers (l-r): Vanessa Kima, Paula Andrea, Louise ‘LouLou’ Shepherd, Sienna Stubbs

Discovery Bay Pirates Ladies team are still looking for any players from around Discovery Bay and Lantau interested in joining the team. Any players between 17 up looking to join the sisterhood please contact [email protected] no experience required, just passion to learn and play!

DB Pirates 22-5 University Unicorns
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 14:15
DB Pirates: Meg McGrath, Jackie Philbrick Douglas, Catherine Osburn, Sienna Stubbs, Rebecca Tomasis, Gloria Lau, Gina Yueh (debut), Louise Shepherd, Paula Andrea (Captain), Vanessa, Special thanks to the Subs from TSW: Lee Ka Yu, Tsang hoi Lee, Lam Kit Yam, Cheung Yu Tung, Chan Lam
Try: Paula Andrea, Sienna Stubbs, Louise Shepherd, Vanessa Kima, Conversion: Paula Andrea
Coach: Steve Kean, Assistant Coach: Shonagh Ryan, Manager: Renee McCreadie

Women’s Rugby Results – 31 October, 2015

Super Series
Scorpions 24-7 Vipers
@ Kings Park, Kick-off: 10:30am

Scorpions:
1. Shonagh Ryan, 2. So Karen Hoi Ting, 3. Lau Nga Wun, 4. Melody Li, 5. Cheng Ching To, 6. Bobby Wilson, 7. Lo Wai Yan, 8. Chow Mei Nam (Captain), 9. Lau Tsz Ying, 10. Cheung Lok Tung, 11. Chan Stephanie Chor Ki, 12. Rebecca Thompson (Vice-Captain), 13. Chau Hei Tung, 14. Tina Chiu, 15. Lee For Wing, 16. Pong Shun Sze, 17. Lai Ming Yan, 18. Lam Ka Wai, 19. Tsang Sharon Shin Yuen, 20. Li Man Yi, 21. Hau Kwan Yi
Vipers
1. Yip Ho Kwan, 2. Siu Wing Ni, 3. Lee Ka Shun, 4 Chan Ka Yan, 5. Au Yeung Tsz Lam, 6. Cheung Shuk Han, 7. Leung Wing Yi Vincci, 8. Martini Ip (Vice-Captain), 9. Chan Wing Yi, 10. Aileen Ryan, 11. Tsang Wing Chi, 12. Colleen Tjosvold (Captain), 13. Laurel Fung Chor Lik, 14. Lau Sze Wa, 15. Adrienne Garvey, 16. Megan Richardson, 17. Leung Hei Nga, 18 Li Lei Man, 19. Daisy Myers, 20. Pun Wai Yan, 21. Emma Shields.

National 15s
HKCC 15-0 Tai Po Dragons
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 16:30
HKCC: Joan Yip, Wawa Li, Nobuko Oda, Lauren Petersen, Lainie Man, Wendy Sham, Cheryl Gourley, Lynda Nazer, Ashley Brooks, Tinley Wong, Steph Zhang, Lucy Thomson, Brenda Chan, Zoe Wong, Diana Li, Charlotte Berry, Katie Rowbottom, Margaret Chan, Elane Lau, Christy Ma, Rhonda Wildeman, Jo Harvey, Tissia Polycarpe, Serene Yee
Try: Tissia Polycarpe (2), Ashely Brooks

Valley Red 14-5 Gai Wu Fawkes
@ Happy Valley, Kick-off: 18:00
Valley Reds: 1. Phoebe Fok, 2. Pui Man Choi, 3. Rebecca G, 4. Deena Thinakaran, 5. Aggie Au-Yeung, 6. Rigel Mo Ching Lam, 7. Jess knight, 8. KK Wong (C), 9. Carman Law, 10. Choi Ying Wong, 11. Lemon Mung, 12. Lewis Wong, 13. Suzzane Stikko, 14. Zoe Smith, 15. Taryn Lo
Substitutes: 16. Teagan Lo, 17. Morgane, 18. Natalie Chan, 19. Sophie Lai, 20. Candy Tsang, 21. Avis Ma, 22. Anna Hryske
Try: KK Wong, Suzzane Stikko. Conversion: Choi Ying Wong (2)

USRC Tigers 0-15 CWB Pheasants
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 18:00

Police Sirens 8-17 City
@ Police Boundary Street, Kick-off: 18:00

HKFC Fire 0-39 Revolution SRC
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 18:00

National 10s
CWB Pink v Tin Shui Wai
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 13:30

DB Pirates 22-5 University Unicorns
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 14:15
DB Pirates: Meg McGrath, Jackie Philbrick Douglas, Catherine Osburn, Sienna Stubbs, Rebecca Tomasis, Gloria Lau, Gina Yueh (debut), Louise Shepherd, Paula Andrea (Captain), Vanessa, Substitutes (from TSW): Lee Ka Yu, Tsang Hoi Lee, Lam Kit Yam, Cheung Yu Tung, Chan Lam
Try: Paula Andrea, Sienna Stubbs, Louise Shepherd, Vanessa Kima, Conversion: Paula Andrea

HK Scottish 22-5 City Ladies
@ Shek Kip Mei, Kick-off: 15:00

Hong Kong Women’s Squad for Olympic Rugby 7s Qualifiers

Hong Kong Women’s Sevens coach Anna Richards has picked an experienced squad for the first leg of the Asian Olympic qualifiers, captained by Christy Cheng Ka Chi after pre-season captain Royce Chan Leong Sze failed to recover from injury.

With seven Hong Kong Women’s Sevens appearances under her belt, Cheng has proven a more than capable captain, leading the squad to its first Asian Sevens cup win at the opening event of the Series in Qingdao, China.

Richards was pleased with the build-up and the final squad selected. “We were pretty much able to select from our first choice squad with the exception of Royce who was coming off a long injury lay-off. Ultimately she was impacted when we changed the forwards-backs split. We have gone with seven backs, which meant that we couldn’t carry a specialist hooker. Royce is obviously disappointed but we know her leadership abilities and that she and all of the girls in the squad will be backing the team fully.

“We are fortunate to have Christy, who has stepped into the captaincy seamlessly. She’s been vice captain for several years and has captained Hong Kong at 15s so she is a great leader and has performed extremely well in the series,” said Richards.

Other influential veterans picked include vice-captain Natasha Olson-Thorne who has battled her way through injuries this season but continues to make her mark felt with fierce midfield running and clinical finishing. She was the second leading scorer for Hong Kong over the season with six tries from two tournaments.

“Natasha is doing well after being injured in Qingdao. That injury set her back a bit for the finale in Sri Lanka, but since then she has worked hard to get her fitness levels back and will be an important part of what we need to do next weekend.”

Candy Cheng Tsz Ting, Amelie Seure and Lindsay Varty are also experienced campaigners along with Aggie Poon Pak Yan, who has been the superstar of the Asian Series this year, finishing as topscorer with 17 tries and 121 points from two tournaments. Poon will need to maintain her form next weekend with the team relying on her finishing abilities.

Richards has also shown faith in 22-year old Chong Ka Yan, who only made her senior squad debut in September.

“Ka Yan gives us more speed in the backline which is always useful. It’s going to be a tough tournament and we can’t expect players like Aggie Poon to play every minute of every game if we want to be successful. It will be great to be able to call upon Ka Yan. She can add some real firepower for us off the bench,” Richards said.

With some dropouts in the women’s competition, the complexion of the tournament has changed. All of the six participating women’s teams will be in a single pool with the top two teams emerging from the round-robin pool stage advancing to the final.

“It’s not ideal to have teams dropping out late, and it’s a real shame for the girls in those teams. Now with the single pool competition, it makes for a very tough tournament to come out on top,” Richards added.

But Hong Kong is well prepared according to Richards: “We have been training well and we have the self-belief that we can win at this level. There are always more things you want to work on, but the girls are in a good place and with strong support from the local crowd I think we can get through.”

Richards is stressing consistency to her charges. “We have to replicate what we did in Qingdao where we minimised our errors and played consistently. If we can do those things and hold onto the ball we know we can put points on the board. But we have to make sure our approach is correct.

“The players have been working so hard and they have been playing together for a few years now and that builds real strength within the side. Our performance on the Series has given them the belief that they can win and that was a huge hurdle for us in the past. We didn’t have that belief a year and a half ago.

“That self-belief combined with what we hope will be great support from the hometown fans will be invaluable. The girls are mentally stronger and are in a good place heading into the qualifier,” Richards concluded.

Hong Kong Women’s Sevens Squad
Christy CHENG KA CHI (Captain), Amelie SEURE, CHENG Tsz Ting, CHONG Ka Yan, KWONG Sau Yan, LAI Pou Fan, Lindsay VARTY, Natasha OLSON-THORNE (Vice Captain), NAM Ka Man, POON Pak Yan, SHAM Wai Sum, Stephanie CUVELIER.

Women’s Super Series

This weekend marks the first matches in the new HKRU Women’s Super Series. The Series has been launched this season to provide an opportunity for performance players to compete in a domestic representative 15-a-side competition. The aim is to bridge the gap between Club and International rugby and to identify performance players for the future.

The Super Series sees the top 66 players from the Premiership clubs grouped into three representative sides. The sides will play each other on three weekends during the season. Each Premiership club coach is able to nominate six players for the competition; nominated players do not have to be qualified to play for Hong Kong and can still participate if they have played representative rugby in other countries. Each player will be assigned to one of the teams for the duration of the competition.

With performance top of mind, the teams will be coached by the HKRU Women’s Performance coaching team. This weekend’s Series kick-off features the Scorpions, coached by Chris Garvey, Hong Kong’s Assistant National Women’s XVs coach and the Vipers, coached by Hong Kong Rugby Union National Performance Coach (Development), Lai Yiu Pang. The third Super Series side will be coached by Hong Kong Women’s Sevens coach and former New Zealand Black Fern Anna Richards and Valley stalwart Dean Herewini.

The Scorpions and Vipers feature an assembly of top Hong Kong Women’s Rugby players including captain Colleen Tjosvold and vice captain Martini Ip for the Vipers, who also boast Adrienne Garvey and Hong Kong U20s captain Aileen Ryan, part of eight Hong Kong XVs caps in the squad.

Chow Mei Nam and Rebecca Thompson are the captain and vice captain of the Scorpions respectively, with Karen So and Melody Li strengthening the squad which features seven Hong Kong XVs players.

Scorpions v Vipers
@Kings Park, kick-off 10:30

HKRU Women’s Premiership Super Series Squads
Scorpions:
1. Shonagh RYAN, 2. SO Karen Hoi Ting, 3. LAU Nga Wun, 4. Melody LI, 5. CHENG Ching To, 6. Bobby WILSON, 7. LO Wai Yan, 8. CHOW Mei Nam (Captain), 9. LAU Tsz Ying, 10. CHEUNG Lok Tung, 11. CHAN Stephanie Chor Ki, 12. Rebecca THOMPSON (Vice-Captain), 13. CHAU Hei Tung, 14. Tina CHIU, 15. LEE For Wing, 16. PONG Shun Sze, 17. LAI Ming Yan, 18. LAM Ka Wai, 19. TSANG Sharon Shin Yuen, 20. LI Man Yi, 21. HAU Kwan Yi.

Vipers:
1. YIP ho Kwan, 2. SIU Wing Ni, 3. LEE Ka Shun, 4 CHAN Ka Yan, 5. AU YEUNG Tsz Lam, 6. CHEUNG Shuk Han, 7. LEUNG Wing Yi Vincci, 8. Martini IP (Vice-Captain), 9. CHAN Wing Yi, 10. Aileen RYAN, 11. TSANG Wing Chi, 12. Colleen TJOSVOLD (Captain), 13. Laurel FUNG Chor Lik, 14. LAU Sze Wa, 15. Adrienne GARVEY, 16. Megan RICHARDSON, 17. LEUNG Hei Nga, 18 LI Lei Man, 19. Daisy MYERS, 20. PUN Wai Yan, 21. Emma SHIELDS.

Source: HKRU

Women’s Rugby Fixtures – 31 October, 2015

Women’s Rugby Results – 24 October, 2015

Premiership
Kowloon 0-69 Gai Wu Falcons
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 16:30
HKFC Ice 0-51 Valley Black
@ HK Football Club, Kick-off: 18:00
CWB Phoenix 16-7 Tai Po
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 18:00

National League 1
HK Scottish 7-14 Gai Wu Fawkes
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 15:00
HKCC 5-29 City
@ Tai Hang Tun, Kick-off: 16:30
HKCC: Joanna Harvey, Joan Yip, Nobuko Oda, Lauren Petersen, Isabella Rivers, Wendy Sham, Cheryl Gourley, Lynda Nazer, Emma Chung, Tinley Wong, Yana Dimitrova, Lucy Thomson, Tissia Polycarpe, Zoe Wong, Diana Li
Substitues: Kassie Chapel, Katie Rowbottom, Wawa Li, Angie Ng, Charlotte Berry, Christy Ma, Elane Lau, Hoi Yi Li, Lainie Man
Try: Yana Dimitrova
HKFC Fire v Valley Red
@ HK Football Club, Kick-off: 16:30
SRC 0-17 USRC Tigers
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 18:00
Police 27-0 Tai Po Dragons
@ Police Boundary Street, Kick-off: 18:00

Photo: Panda Man

Match Report: HKCC 5-29 City – 24 October, 2015

Round 4 concluded an emotional week for HKCC with the passing of player Tom Nelson and with only 1 victory the HKCC Ladies knew they needed to play their best to win against an undefeated City.

After a minute silence HKCC Ladies kicked off and the ball bounced along the dusty pitch straight into the possession of City, who didn’t waste any time before launching an attack. City drew in the HKCC forwards before passing it out wide to the backs. The City fullback danced her way through the defence and quickly popped it off to the winger who comfortably ran round HKCC’s fullback and placed the ball under the posts. The try was easily converted and within minutes of starting City had set the precedent for the rest of the half.

Another HKCC kick off and much to their dismay similar phases took place with the City backs tearing through the HKCC defence and scoring another try. HKCC picked themselves up and kicked back into the City half. After some hard hitting tackles and scrapping in clouds of dust, HKCC won the ball and began their first serious attack of the game. Yet after too few phases HKCC again lost possession and with a big boot City cleared their lines, putting the HKCC fullback under pressure.

City mercilessly pummeled the HKCC defence and it was not long before another breakthrough ensued. This time much to HKCC’s relief, excellent pressure from scrumhalf Emma Chung led to City knocking the ball on over the try line. HKCC were awarded a scrum which led to a good pick up and hand off from number 8 Lynda Nazer, gaining much needed ground. Nevertheless momentum dropped, City regained possession and once again relied on their backs to successfully score a try in the far right corner.

HKCC kicked off and charged into the City half ready to wrestle for possession. After some phases of play with HKCC absorbing the hits, Comvita booted the ball to clear the lines, but this time the ball was effortlessly picked up by Tissia Polycarpe who ran it out of her own half. The HKCC scrums were working well and turned the ball over more than once yet it was not enough to get HKCC points on the board. City struck twice again before the half time whistle blew, ending the half at 29-0.

After motivational words from coach Alex Tarleton and a reassessment of the game, the HKCC Ladies knew they could do better and were eager to demonstrate this.

City kicked off giving HKCC possession and a chance to attack. With new energy and some strong running, particularly from second row Lauren Petersen who needed at least two City players tackling her to be tamed, HKCC clawed their way up the pitch. Before long and for the first time in the match, HKCC had City pinned against their own try line. Foul play from Comvita led to two yellow cards, something that HKCC were happy to take advantage of. A penalty gave HKCC forwards the ball but unable to break through they passed it out wide to the backs. Winger Yana Dimitrova took this opportunity and skillfully scored a HKCC try in the far right corner.

HKCC received the kick and attempted to move up into the City half but the two teams seemed stuck in a stalemate, tirelessly fighting back and forth but neither giving ground. The fulltime whistle blew leaving the result at 29-5.

Contrary to their usual solid defence, the first half consisted of too many missed tackles and sloppy defending from HKCC, which City’s fast paced backs confidently exploited. The second half however was a completely different game, with HKCC keeping City’s attack at bay and working tirelessly to gain a well-earned 5 points, the only points scored in the second half. The HKCC Ladies look forward to proving themselves in the upcoming fixture against Tai Po Dragons.

HKCC Ladies
Forward of the Match: Joan Yip
Back of the Match: Tissia Polycarpe

HKCC 5-29. Comvita City
HKCC: Joanna Harvey, Joan Yip, Nobuko Oda, Lauren Petersen, Isabella Rivers, Wendy Sham, Cheryl Gourley, Lynda Nazer, Emma Chung, Tinley Wong, Yana Dimitrova, Lucy Thomson, Tissia Polycarpe, Zoe Wong, Diana Li
Substitues: Kassie Chapel, Katie Rowbottom, Wawa Li, Angie Ng, Charlotte Berry, Christy Ma, Elane Lau, Hoi Yi Li, Lainie Man
Try: Yana Dimitrova