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Gai Wu Falcons Flying Start Continues

Gai Wu Falcons continued their perfect start to the Women’s Premiership season beating City Sparkle 58-0 in round four. In the other matches HKFC Ice beat CWB Phoenix 22-14 at King’s Park while the USRC Tigers beat Kowloon 49-0.

The return of Gai Wu’s sevens stars proved too much for Premiership debutants City as Chong Ka-yan ran in four tries alone. Coach Lai Yiu-pang also credited Melody Li Nim-yan for her commitment and work rate and welcomed sevens captain Christy Cheng Ka-chi back for her first fifteens action this season.

“It was really good to get the sevens girls back. Christy played about 30 minutes and she looked really good and Melody was all over the park today. Ka-yan [Chong] may have even had a fifth try it was hard to keep track,” said Lai.

Gai Wu prevented their opponents from scoring for a third consecutive game this season and have now posted 145 points for to zero against over just three matches.

Despite this prodigious strike rate, the Falcons still trail Valley Black – who were on bye this weekend – on points differential. Valley are on +154 after three wins to start the season, keeping the Falcons nestled in second place on the table behind last year’s double-winners.

In other Premiership action, USRC Tigers mauled Kowloon 49-0. It was a disappointing set-back for a Kowloon side that had come within a minute of claiming their first win of the season last week against HKFC and were looking to string together another strong performance. But the Tigers proved too strong.

Tigers coach Liu Kwok-leung was pleased the way his side stuck to their desired structure saying, “This result is what we planned for. We followed our game plan all the way, kept our intensity high and used our width and attacking space well. Everyone played their part well. It was very smooth.”

Liu was also pleased to have his own sevens players back, none more so than the influential Natasha Olson-Thorne. “Natasha was a key player for us tonight. At times when we struggled with our decision-making and the ball was getting messy, she always showed the leadership to rebuild momentum.”

HKFC Ice had the best of its second tight encounter in as many weeks beating CWB Phoenix 22-14. Ice’s forward pack proved the difference in a strong opening half, keeping Causeway Bay under near constant pressure with the first try coming midway through the half.

The pressure led to penalties for Causeway Bay and a succession of yellow cards enabled Football Club to add a second try on a 13-strong Causeway Bay shortly before halftime. Football Club added a buffer-try in the third quarter but Causeway Bay fought back with two successive tries to close the gap to 17-14 before Club collected a bonus point try for the 22-14.

“It was a ding-dong forwards battle,” said HKFC coach David Wigley. “Causeway Bay really upped their game in the second half and had us worried. They have some big strong forwards, and as we got a bit lazy in defence, we were struggling to control their pack.”

Wigley singled out Rosie Fong for her masterful control of the match and scrumhalf Henrietta Wong for solid display.

Full women’s rugby results for 22 October, 2016 here

Additional reporting and image: HKRU

Woman’s Premiership Rugby Preview – 22 October, 2016

This weekends action in the Women’s Premiership sees Gai Wu Falcons take on City Sparkle at Shek Kip Mei, while CWB Phoenix host HKFC Ice at So Kon Po and USRC Tigers face Kowloon Ladies at Kings Park, All games kick off at 18.00.

HKFC Ice survived a tough encounter against Kowloon last week with a last-minute try securing a 22-17 win and will hope to continue their perfect start to the season against CWB Phoenix. After suffering a rash of injuries last week, the going could prove slippery for Ice. The Sports Road outfit suffered six injuries in the match last week with four players remaining out from the starting fifteen for this Saturday’s match, pushing them to call up players from National League level.

“We have a few girls who can step up from the second team, which is also part of our long-term plan. They are capable players but haven’t yet played at this level,” said HKFC coach David Wigley. “CWB Phoenix had a tough game against the Tigers last week and we won’t take them lightly at all, but we are confident. We’ve played them a number of times last season and they were all tough matches, but we came through and won them all.”

“They have a tough pack and are really good on the ground; they slow the ball down well,” added Wigley. “Our game plan revolves around quicker ball, so the contest at the breakdown will be vital. We are going to have to up our game, especially at the breakdown, where we lacked a bit last week.”

Causeway Bay coach Ocean Chow will be hoping to wipe the slate clean against HKFC and is targeting this match as his side’s potential first win of the season after having faced the most challenging schedule in the early rounds of the Premiership.

“We are ready for Football Club and believe this game can be our first win this season. The players know they played well last time, we had a good performance, and we have the ability. They feel confident.”

Chow wants to see his team get the ball wide this weekend. “Our plan is to involve the backline more, particularly in the first half. That is the strength of the side and if we can use them in the first half we can conserve some energy for the second half, when we can bring our forwards more into the play.”

Most importantly for Chow, who bemoaned his side’s lack of mental preparation for last week’s game, is that the self-belief has returned to the squad: “The players believe they can win, which is crucial – we have to have that belief. They can feel our potential and now we want to realize it.”

Causeway Bay are aware that Football Club boasts some difference makers, both up front and deep, with Hong Kong stars Royce Chan Leong-sze and Rose Fong Siu-lan anchoring the pack and backs respectively.

“Rose and Royce are key for them. Rose always controls play very well, while Royce adds strength to an already considerable forward pack. This is why we want to make sure we get width on our attack, to move their forwards around a bit,” said Chow.

A consistently improving Kowloon will look to sneak up on Tigers this weekend after turning in a buoyant showing against Football Club.

Tigers Coach Liu Kwok-leung will rely on the return of his sevens players from international duty to ensure there are no slip-ups for his talented side after last week’s heavy loss to Falcons.

“Kowloon are much improved – I saw them play last week – everyone is confident, aggressive and as a team they are getting much better. They have mostly new players, who are not so experienced but have done a lot to strengthen their skills and mindset. I see them running hard, playing confidently and knowing what to do in the second and third phases. They are much improved on last season.”

“The good news is that our sevens players are back, and our bench is looking strong.” added Leung. “I feel confident about our prospects this season. We’ve finished in the top three for the past two seasons and aim to move up this time. We always want to be at the top.”

“After coming through last week, despite some lapses, we know we need to keep our momentum going. In the past we haven’t always kept stable through the whole 80 minutes. Too often we give away chances, so everyone understands that we need to keep possession and keep the intensity high for the whole game,” said Liu.

That intensity promises to be matched by Kowloon after an inspiring performance last week versus Football Club.

“Everyone has renewed confidence after last week,” said Kowloon coach Jonathan Ho. “Our performance will definitely be stepping up a notch this weekend.”

Ho feels that the standings don’t flatter his opponents. “It’s true that Tigers are just slightly ahead of us on the table but they are a well developed and mature team. They are closer to Valley and Gai Wu than the rest of us.”

Ho has reinforced the team’s preparation in the set piece this week in training. “We have worked a lot on our lineout as it is an area where, with more confidence, we feel we can perform much better than we have been doing. Tigers strength is their backline, which I think is as good as the top two teams (Valley and Gai Wu).”

Ho’s estimation is confirmed by the fact that Tigers have three backs who are mainstays in the Hong Kong Women’s sevens squad including the hard-tackling Natasha Olson-Thorne, Lindsay Varty and Nam Ka Man who looked in outstanding form for Hong Kong in Sri Lanka.

Ho understands that with Tigers strength in the backs, possession will be a key for his team: “We need to get the ball in our hands and keep it. When they attack we have to make contact early, try to secure a turnover and work to turn defence into attack. We need to make something of every situation.”

Most importantly, Ho will look to his charges to build on last week’s efforts. “Last week’s game was definitely a turning point for us. Since last week, the whole mood in our camp has changed for the better. It’s just a matter of believing that we can do it.” That belief will be put to the test on Saturday.

It will likely be one-way traffic at Shek Kip Mei as the Gai Wu Falcons take on the debutant Sparkle. Gai Wu fans will be hoping the Falcons can maintain their defensive clean sheet, they have yet to concede a single point to their opponents this season, turning in convincing results over Kowloon (56-0) and Causeway Bay (31-0).

Additional reporting: HKRU
Image: Phoebe Leung

Can City Sparkle Against Valley Black?

Premiership debutants City Sparkle take on a Valley Black team unbeaten for two seasons in the third round of the 2016-17 tournament.

City coach Fung Kei-hang acknowledges that his side’s steep learning curve is about to face an even higher gradient: “It’s going to be a tough game for us but we will focus on our defence and hopefully be able to create some counter opportunities to mount our attack.”

In keeping with this season’s objective of acclimatising to the top flight, Fung views the Valley tie as another crucial learning opportunity for his side. “We have learned a lot from the last two games. We are still struggling to get used to the intensity of play at this level but are working hard on building our own intensity in terms of bringing our pace and quickness into the game.”

Fung is encouraged by some early signs of progress: “We have improved our recycling from the back significantly compared to last season and we managed to score a few points against Football Club last week so we can build from that,” Fung added.

The USRC Tigers will be roaring to go against SCAA CWB Phoenix after a stop-start beginning to the season. They were in action in week one, before joining all of the clubs on a bye for the Women’s Super Series the following weekend and then had a Premiership bye last week – leaving them with only one game over the last three weeks.

Coach Liu Kwok-leung is not concerned that the lengthy lay-off has hampered his team’s preparations. “We’ve done a lot to prepare our mindset for this and to prepare physically. We’re missing three of our sevens players this weekend, but that just creates opportunities for the younger players,” said Liu.

Tigers are bracing for a backlash from Causeway Bay who have yet to record their first win after facing last year’s Grand Finalists Valley and Gai Wu Falcons in the opening weeks. “It will be a hard game and we are ready for that,” said Liu.

“South China are always aggressive, especially early in the match. From playing them over the past few seasons we know we will need to focus on the contact area. It will be a real challenge for us as most of our team don’t have the physical size they have.

“We have been focusing on our defence and have had some hard, physical practice sessions. We know we can win when we play to our game plan so it’s all about our mindset and our discipline. With some experienced players away a lot will rest on the younger players stepping up and I am confident that the they can do it.”

HKFC Ice will look to back up their opening win with another ‘w’ this weekend over Kowloon after a solid start to the season last weekend against City.

“We had a positive start to the season with a tough game against City. Our forwards were key against them, they had an outstanding performance and took the match to them.”

Coach Wigley is pleased with the enthusiastic start but wants to channel his team’s energy better saying, “We need to focus more on improving the structure of our play. We were frenetic in the opener and even though there was a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of our play was disorganised and we wasted a lot of energy.”

Despite the presumed gap between the two sides, with Kowloon finishing near the bottom of the table last season, Wigley remains cautious:

“We go in to every game looking to win – whether by a few or by a lot it doesn’t matter – we take every game as it comes. Even though Kowloon have some losses we don’t consider that. We don’t know what teams have been doing over the break so we don’t take anything for granted.

“Kowloon are strong in the forwards – as are we – so I expect a real battle in the packs. I’m confident in the quality of our forwards and we expect to win the majority of those confrontations,” Wigley added.

Kowloon coach Jonathan Ho is also expecting a tough encounter: “Last season we had two very close matches against Football Club – even though they won both, they were tight affairs. We weren’t too far away from them so we can take some confidence into this match.

“Football Club are very balanced. Rose Fong is a big threat at the back and Claire Forster, who used to be one of our players, is playing well for them up front. But our forwards have also improved and our backline isn’t too far off of Football Club’s pace, so I expect it will be a fast game and we will try to involve our backs to good effect.”

Ho is also confident of a turnaround in his side’s fortunes this year: “The season doesn’t look good in terms of our points on the board, but behind the scenes there has been quite a significant improvement. That isn’t just my view either; I have heard the same from other coaches in the league.

“I think we are most improved in the ruck and I’m pleased that the new players are getting used to being part of this group. Our backs are also more competitive even against the top teams. But we still need to improve our aggression, our tackling and our reaction speed,” Ho concluded.

Additional reporting and image: HKRU

Match Report: HKCC Babes 7–0 CWB Phoenix

Ten seconds before kick-off at Aberdeen Sports Ground on Saturday evening and two thoughts are running through a player’s head: (1) Causeway Bay Phoenix (the opposition, in pink and blue stripes, comprehensive winners at the last fixture in October) are incredibly strong in the ruck and counter at pace and (2) don’t let it happen. HKCC Babes launch the ball high and wide. Thoughts stop; training kicks in. Run. White shirts flood the Causeway Bay half, the first hit connects and it’s good. Causeway Bay reset, probe left, try right, find no forward momentum against an onslaught of tackles. These are full, flying, wheeling tackles, fingertips connecting to pink jerseys and refusing to let go. Causeway Bay are pinned in their own half. Babes attack with aggressive runs breaking though lines of defence but can’t quite find the fourth or fifth phases needed to make it count. The referee intervenes, blowing against HKCC for a series of ruck infringements – hands on the ball on the ground, not rolling away, coming in from the side. Mainly down to exuberance or lack of experience – sweet relief to Phoenix. They smartly kick for position.

Line out. Pause, lift, release. That split second of confusion after a play, where’s the ball? Realise white shirts have shot up fast and pinned it down. Rejoice. Re-join the line. But Causeway Bay kick clear four times in quick succession to march up the field. At times like these, HKCC Babes have looked vulnerable in the past, a ragged defensive line. Not today. A streak of white sets determinedly across the field, players holding position. Approach as a line, retreat as a line. Tackle after tackle goes in; some of the smallest players in the squad hauling down the opposition with huge efforts. Tackle. Release. Roll away. Re-join the line. HKCC stands firm, even as the Causeway Bay scrum works well to disrupt the pack. Nearly 10 minutes of pressure in the Babes’ 22 and then, HKCC wins a scrum and the fly half kicks for touch; It’s halftime. Breathe. It’s still 0-0.

Kick-off is caught cleanly and the second half begins, HKCC in possession and determined. Determined not to let the shirt, or each other, down. Substitutes – debutants, those returning from injury, some probably still really injured – flit in seamlessly. There’s shouting on the sidelines, huge support in the ground; inaudible, but invaluable. It’s dark now, floodlights illuminating the pain on the pitch: tackle, release, roll away, repeat. HKCC stop giving up penalties quite so cheaply, discipline installed by a vocal captain who leads by example, firm on the ball. The backs, strung wide across the pitch, demand the ball more loudly. And this is all it takes, five or six minutes of controlled possession, a sudden streak of white from ten yards out to under the left post. A try! Fireworks! Seriously, actual fireworks, sparking in the distance with impeccable timing as the conversion is taken cleanly. Thanks Ocean Park!

Causeway Bay restart and reassert their game. Passing it wide, using their pace. Once again, kicking for territory. And now they’ve something to prove. But HKCC give up no weakness and cede no ground. Tackle, release, roll away. Nine minutes remain. There’s hurting, there’s mud, there are flashes of pink and blue attempting to barge through, and then there’s more pain, and more mud. Counter attacks are exchanged, there’s no time for a gasping recovery. Even the supporters are breathless. And then, the referee, “last play”. The HKCC scrum packs down; the front row is in agony, the second row on its third patched-up incarnation, the back-row eager and ready. The backs are able to do little but wait. The scrum half and fly half share a look – they have just one more job to do.

And then it’s done. Kicked out of play. All over, bar the hugs, the tears, the celebrations, the beer and, later, the pain. And, as always, bruised hands shaken between each and every participant, and thanks given to the referee. Leighton Asia HKCC Babes 7 – SCAA Children’s Cancer Foundation Causeway Bay Phoenix 0. All that fuss, you might question, for a middle-of-the-table, run-of-the-mill game? For a game settled by one measly try? Try telling that to anyone who was there, to anyone on that winning team. That’s rugby.

HKCC Babes:
Carolyn Champion (c), Cheryl Gourley, Jo Harvey, Lauren Petersen, Lainie Man, Rosie Wright, Emily Tuck, Sarah Higgins, Lynda Nazer, Harriet Jamieson, Christy Ma, Lucy Thomson, Tinley Wong, Steph Zhang, Wendy Sham
Substitutes:
Joan Yip, Ellie Storey, Jess Gilbert, Brenda Chan, Kirsty Reid, Serene Yee
Coach:
Darren Cartlidge

Tries: Rosie Wright
Conversions: Harriett Jamieson

CWB Phoenix 19–0 HKCC @ Causeway Bay – 1 November, 2014

Causeway Bay Phoenix showed why they are top of the Women’s National League 1 this weekend, showcasing their exceptional counter-attacking to break down a spirited Leighton Asia HKCC Babes.

Holding home ground advantage at Causeway Bay Sports Ground, CWB (to give them their full title, SCC Children’s Cancer Foundation CWB Phoenix) kicked off into the bright sunlight, soon surrendering territory that they were not to make up for the first 20 minutes. HKCC pressed hard, but were unable to find the necessary attacking width and squandered several golden opportunities through failing to protect the ball. Carolyn Champion, Babes number 8, became the first of two players to be flummoxed by the white soccer lines painted onto the pitch – carrying three defenders with her to touch down, only to discover that the actual try line was an agonising three yards away. Close, but no cigar.

CWB took full advantage of the reprieve, sprinting clear in the aftermath to run in an 80 yard breakaway try that was duly converted. Five minutes later, they almost executed a repeat, excellent defensive coverage from Wendy Sham holding up play long enough for support to arrive. But before the half was over, HKCC had lost another breakaway try, lost three players off the pitch injured, and were down to 14 owing to an ill-judged high tackle from flanker Rosie Wright. The turnover in players was equalled by turnovers on the field, HKCC frivolous in possession and CWB extremely quick to take advantage with the counter-ruck.

HKCC weathered their period of disadvantage, but didn’t truly look like scoring as a number of players adjusted to unfamiliar positions to cover for injuries. Fly half and birthday girl Julia Mason came back on to try to inject stability into the backline play, but HKCC still struggled to establish an attacking platform, unable to generate forward momentum in the final 15 yards. CWB turned the screw with fifteen minutes to go, pressing advantage with three quickly taken penalties and exploiting an overlap in the left corner. A fourth try was even initially awarded, only for both players and referee to soon realise they’d been foiled by the phantom try line, again.

HKCC kept up the intensity, Rosie Wright in particular earning redemption for her earlier sin-binning with high energy tackling and running that saw her named Player of the Game. The fighting spirit was epitomised in the final play of the game – Julia Mason opting to keep the ball in play rather than kick out and end the game, despite, by that stage, the inevitability of a loss. But in the end, CWB came away well-deserved winners – executing the basics well, and exploiting the Babes’ errors ruthlessly. HKCC were left to rue missed opportunities, and an ever lengthening injury list.

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HKFC Ice kicked off against CWB Phoenix with an unintended late start at King‘s Park courtesy of typhoon Haima. Ice had a noisy crowd of enthusiastic supporters there to cheer them on.

Rosie Hopewell-Fong led the girl’s from the start, implementing a pre-planned kicking strategy to exploit the space. The chasing backs earning Ice an early penalty. HKFC looked threatening, exerting pressure and keeping the ball deep in the CWB’s half. On 14 minutes, an excellent drive for the line by Rosie Hopewell-Fong opened the scoring.

CWB put together some fast passages of play and notable scrums from their forwards; however HKFC’s solid defence and some exceptional tackling from Crystal Wray on the wing prevented them from gaining the possession. With both sides kicking for territory and looking for a line break, the majority of action was in the middle of the pitch as the first half drew to close.

Ball and handling errors from both sides resulted in a few missed opportunities for HKFC. Two yellow cards were presented to CWB for foul play. Ice exploited their numerical advantage and Captain, Bobby Wilson scored a hard earned second try just before the whistle. Half-time 10-0.

After the break, CWB looked to pick-up the intensity of their game, as they did so though the errors started to creep in and several dropped balls and Ice took full advantage of CWB’s generosity as Bobby Wilson scored her second try of the afternoon, converted by Rosie Hopewell-Fong’s 17-0.

Exciting, yet scrappy game play at times from both teams fighting for their place. Ice made some changes with Angelina Cheung and Maggie Wong off replaced by Nina Pirie and Natalia Lech. Relentless pressure from CWB looking for a way back into the game was finally rewarded with a converted try.

With 5 minutes to go, more subs for HKFC; Jamie Ho for Stephanie Siu, Denise Chan off for Doris Chen and Amy Kong on for Royce Chan. These fresh legs combined to set up HKFC Ice’s Crystal Wray for a fourth try and surely seal the game with 3 minutes to go. CWB replied quickly penetrating a wide gap up the middle to secure a well deserved second converted try. Final score 22-14.

HKFC Ice:
1. Denise Chan, 2. Shonagh Ryan, 3. Megan Richardson, 4. Angelina Cheung, 5. Iris Chan, 6. Claire Hunter, 7. Nina Pirie, 8. Bobby Wilson ©, 9. Sophie Short, 10. Rose Hopewell-Fong, 11. Jane Cheung, 12. Stephanie Siu, 13. Jamie Bourk, 14. Crystal Wray, 15. Helen Lee
Substitutes: Doris Chen, Cheryl Gourley, Zuzanna Osinska, Royce Chan, Cynthia Luk, Henrietta Wong, Hei Hei Wong and Rabbit Leung.
Tries: Bobby Wilson (2), Rosie Hopewell-Fong, Crystal Wray
Conversion: Rosie Hopewell-Fong

Causeway Bay Phoenix:
1. Pui Yan, Cooliy Wong, 2. Tsang Siu Ching, 3. Chin Po Po, 4. Chan Yan Yi, 5. Wing Chi Jenny Wong, 6. Li Man Yi, 7. Tin Yan, Dora Chim, 8. Tsang Ching Man, 9. Sin Man Hau, 10. Wong Sze Man, 11. Lau Sin Tung, 12. Au To, 13. Chan Abigail, 14. Lam Ka Wai, 15. Tsang Yuen Ying
Substitutes: Ho Pui Ki, Kwan Ki Chan, Rain Lam, Kwok Yuk Lin (C), Ling Yee Ally Cheung, Ng Wing Yee, See Wai June Au, Wing Ting Catherine Cheng

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HKFC Ice kicked off against CWB Phoenix with an unintended late start at King‘s Park courtesy of typhoon Haima. Ice had a noisy crowd of enthusiastic supporters there to cheer them on.

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HKFC Ice kicked off against CWB Phoenix with an unintended late start at King‘s Park courtesy of typhoon Haima. Ice had a noisy crowd of enthusiastic supporters there to cheer them on.