bc magazine

HKCC Babes 24-12 Revolution Ladies – 11 October, 2014

Coach Darren Cartlidge put last week’s disappointing loss against HK Scottish to good effect with the Leighton Asia HKCC Babes as they took on Revolution Ladies at King George V field this week, firing up his team who took to the field inspired and ran in two tries in the first ten minutes. Player of the game Emily Tuck snagged the first, followed by a delightful jinxing run from Lucy Thompson playing out of position at number 12 who broke through two lines of defence to get her debut try after a great inside pass.

Revolution proved they weren’t there just to make up the numbers, and hit back almost immediately, whipping the ball out to the left wing and punching through the HKCC defence from 30 yards out. It was shaping up to be a real end-to-end running game, using every inch of the fantastic new pitch installed earlier this year at KGV. Revolution sought to capitalise on the strategy that brought their first try –moving the ball out wide and making ground on the wings, but the Babes were resolute in defence, with some spectacular tackling in particular from the diminutive Christy Ma, on the left wing, and flanker Tam Suet Yee.

In possession, Babes made good use of their physical domination, gaining ground at the breakdown, with scrum half Lynda Nazer having her best game in a white shirt to date marshalling the forwards. Before half time, this approach reaped results, a driving maul at lineout, recycled through two phases of forward play, resulting in a second try for Tuck who, playing at number 8, seemed to be everywhere at once. Fly half Julia Mason added the extra 2 points.

In the second half, the tough physical side started to take its toll, as Captain Anna Holmes joined Tam Suet Yee injured on the sidelines (fingers crossed on speedy recoveries for both), but the Babes were able to call on strong reserves from the bench and some positional shuffling, with Joanie Yip moving into the front row and Wendy Sham taking a position on the flank. Revolution couldn’t keep up with the power of the Babes pack, and the referee moved to uncontested scrums. This shifted the balance of the game slightly, resulting in a second try from Revolution, who used positional kicking to smart effect in working up the field.

At 3 tries to 2, the game was set for a nervy final few minutes – especially as the referee curtailed the second half to only 20 minutes to compensate for delays in earlier fixtures. Supporters of both teams were increasingly vocal from the sidelines. But the Babes kept their composure, and from a tap and go penalty 15 yards out the backs made a series of smartly timed passes out to find the overlap for winger Rosie Hui, who dived over the line to score her first try of the season. It was, according to Anna Holmes, the game in a nutshell, “We’ve been working hard at ironing out the small mistakes – using set plays wisely, taking the time to build phases of play and concentrating on getting the ball securely to hands, at pace”. Julia Mason expertly converted from out on the left with the final touch of the game to cap a well-deserved 24-12win.

Next Saturday, HKCC Babes take on Comvita City Ladies, 16:30 @ So Kon Po

HKCC Babes
Eva Rona, Cheryl Gourley, Anna Holmes, Rhonda Wildeman, Sarah Higgins, Suet Yee (Mon) Tam, Zoe Wong, Emily Tuck, Lynda Nazer, Julia Mason, Christy Ma, Lucy Thomson, Tinley Wong, Serene Yee, Apple Ng.
Substitutes: Joanna Harvey, Lainie Man, Wendy Sham, Katie Rowbottom, Joe Yip, Joan Yip, Rosanne Hui
Tries: Emily Tuck (2), Lucy Thomson, Rosie Hui

HKCC Babes 5-12 HK Scottish – 4 October, 2014

After the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the Duke of Wellington said that the only sight sadder than a battle won, is a battle lost. With all due respect to the Duke, he missed something. The only thing sadder than a battle lost, is a battle that is lost when you’re sat on the sidelines, unable and incapable of influencing the outcome. This is how your correspondent spent the last thirty minutes of the Leighton Asia HKCC Babes encounter with HK Scottish on Sunday, shouting impotently from the touchline as time slipped away from the HKCC Babes.

Sporting battles, in fairness, have little ultimately at stake, but the passions on the pitch speak to the opposite. HK Scottish knew from early on that they were pinned down against a pack that was superior in every sense – rucking, scrummaging, making the hard yards; but they had strong kicking ability to draw on, exploiting a fairly common weakness in Ladies rugby that is pressure under the high ball. Scottish also resisted the forwards’ pressure well: two early Babes tries, products of team efforts and massive adrenaline, were cancelled out for for double movement and referee unsighted. So despite the run of play, after thirty minutes there were zero points on the Board.

A fourth failure to retreat ten at a penalty saw the Babes incur a costly yellow before the half was out, matched with a second in the closing stages of play. When it seems like the deck is stacked against you, players come out tougher and more resolute than ever, but the tide was against the Babes here, and the referee awarded a Scottish try either side of the half. There could be no disputing the second, a brilliant play off a penalty by the Scottish scrum half, surely their player of the game, but the first was more contentious – both a possible knock on and some offside play at the ruck being pointed out vocally from the watching supporters.

At this point, the author becomes a mere bystander – watching (injured) from the sidelines. In the second half, Babes soon adopted the Scottish tactics, and an excellent grubber kick and chase from Babes’ player of the game Harriet Jamieson set up the perfect ruck in the left corner for wing Steph Zhang to dive over for her first 15s try. The chase was on, a clear goal in sight, 12-5, as HK Scottish themselves changed tactics, avoiding the kick and clinging to possession, timing out the uprising.

As the minutes ticked away, and the referee allowed interminable scrummaging resets, the desire of HKCC became yet more positive, and even more apparent. Each player stepped up, demanding the ball, demanding the opportunity to be heard. With HKCC Babes spirit still holding up high, a forth try was made but unfortunately disallowed by the referee for double movement. And as the sun slipped away behind the skyscrapers and night descended on Kowloon, it became clearer that no matter what the outcome, it was worth stepping up to the fight; that the only thing worse, was sitting it out.

HKCC Babes
Eva Rona, Cheryl Gourley, Anna Holmes, Sarah Higgins, Carolyn Champion, Wawa Li,
Zoe Wong, Emily Tuck, Lynda Nazer, Julia Mason, Serene Yee, Harriet Jamieson, Tinley Wong, Steph Zhang, Wendy Sham.
Substitutes: Joanna Harvey, Lainie Man, Suet Yee Tam, Zoe Wong, Brenda Chan
Tries: Steph Zhang

Hong Kong Cricket Club Women’s Rugby Team – HKCC Babes

The Hong Kong Cricket Club Women’s Rugby Team (a.k.a. HKCC Babes) is a surprisingly diverse group of ladies with a common focus – to make friends and annihilate the opposition!

Rugby is a tough physical and mental game and we are serious about performing our best, both individually and as a team. We train and work hard together to achieve that. Competing, and hopefully winning, is HKCC Babes’ main motivation and guiding ambition.

But when the final whistle blows, we also believe that rugby is a social sport… and there’s no better way to meet fun people and establish friendships (sometimes for life) than by joining in, boots and all. HKCC Babes is a team where diversity really works. We come from many different countries, professions and levels of experience in rugby, yet we get on together as a tight-knit team, on and off the pitch.

The Hong Kong Cricket Club also provides amazing support and facilities for the team both for training and social opportunities. Our active, rolling social calendar makes it easy for new comers to join-in and to get to know everyone. If you like the sound of all this and enjoy taking the rough with the smooth, why not contact us to learn more?

Email: [email protected]
Website: www.hkcc.org / www.pitchero.com/clubs/hkccrugby/
Facebook: HKCC Rugby
Training: 7:30-9p.m. Tue and Thur. Aberdeen Sportsground, 108 Wong Chuk Hang Rd. For directions: www.lcsd.gov.hk/lsb/en/facilities.php?ftid=38&did=11
Head Coach: Deacon Manu
Ladies Coaches: Darren Cartlidge & Jeremy Nesbitt
Captain: Anna Holmes