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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

Match Report: HKCC 22-24 Valley Red

A 2 point conversion was the sole difference between the teams as ‘Societe Generale Valley Black Ladies and HK Cricket Club Babes shared 8 tries in a great game at Aberdeen on Saturday. It was a spirited, full-throttle affair from the start, with HKCC pinning Valley in their own half early on and then whipping the ball out wide for an early try from WaWa. Valley punched back soon after with a great breakaway run.

Within five minutes HKCC had restored their advantage, some aggressive running and a well-timed penalty from scrum half Lynda creating the space for Sarah to fall over the line for her debut try (the two players rewarded for this effort with joint player-of-the-game billing). But Valley were on the prowl straight from the kick off, bursting through the line for a try under the posts, duly converted.

Valley was never able to establish a proper attacking platform though, with every lineout stolen away by HKCC jumper Winnie and the HKCC dominance also apparent in the scrum, with Rhonda making a number of powerful runs from number 8. However, HKCC’s backline struggled a little defensively throughout the game, and bunching around the breakdown created a gap in the line which Valley soon exploited, leading to their third try from scrum-half and Valley player of the game, Shanshan. And early in the second half, the lead was extended slightly with another breakaway try.

But the HKCC backs looked dangerous and creative with ball in hand, well-executed runs and excellent handling skills reaping dividends in the second half and securing a try for Tinley at 13 and the excellent Wuki at fullback (stepping in at very short notice whilst on Christmas vacation and now headed back to the snowy East Coast US). This latter try was converted by fly-half Harriet, setting the game up for a tense conclusion, as Valley sought desperately and successfully to win back possession, putting the ball out of play and settling the game at 24 points to Valley, 22 to the Babes.

Despite the loss, Babes’ Coach Darren Cartlidge was proud of the performance, noting, “This is a phase of rebuilding for the team, and the four well-worked tries indicate good progress. We have new players coming on board, including Ellie Storey who made her debut today, and much to look forward to as we head towards the business-end of the season”.

HKCC 17 – 31 Revolution – 6 December, 2014

This week’s match report for the HKCC Babes is going to read a lot like Kevin Pietersen’s autobiography. For one, your correspondent was named HKCC player of the game, so lot of it is going to focus on how awesome I am and how no-one else did anything (ed: don’t worry reader, we’ve edited all those bits out). Another reason is that it was a riveting game, with enough twists and turns and mini-plots for a whole novel.

Saturday’s game was the late kick-off at KGV, in dark and cool conditions. Revolution were gunning for revenge following the previous match-up between these two teams, on the same field, and started brightly, fielding the kick off well and making good ground. Revolution backs made great use of the full width of the field, with an especially impressive fly half distributing well. This lead to the first try of the game, as a well-executed loop play saw Revolution 13 cut through the defensive line to touch down. A second try soon followed, and as Revolution grew in confidence, they also began to kick more, testing HKCC’s fullback, Karen Chiu, who impressed in defence making good tracking runs and a number of try saving tackles in only her first season playing rugby. Finally, one such kick took an unlucky bounce, and with a third try secured (but unconverted), the Babes had a tough fightback on their hands.

The Babes attacking platform started with the scrum, which, though solid in the drive struggled to control the ball. Consequently, quick ball was proving elusive, and the game became bogged down in a succession of rucks. Direct running over the gainline soon fixed that, making good ground and allowing Captain Carolyn Champion, at 12, to feed Tinley Wong for Babes’ first try.

And the scrum dominance was asserted shortly after halftime, when Revolution were reduced to 14 following injury after HKCC steamrollered their scrum once too often (happy to report that none of these injuries were serious). Despite the deficit, the back and forth continued, so much so that your correspondent apparently lost track of two tries (one apiece). If found, please return these tries to their rightful owners. As in previous games, HKCC dominated possession but were vulnerable to breakaways. Jo Harvey went unrewarded for her sterling effort in making 20 yards with players hanging off her only to be judged held up over the line, but almost immediately the prospect of a fightback was dented by Revolution, kicking through again for their fifth and final try.

Undeterred, HKCC won turnover ball straight away from the kick off, and their Babes’ second try was brought about by quick thinking on the part of Lynda Nazer feeding quick ball down the line to Tinley Wong who touched down besides the posts, Harriet Jamieson adding the 2 points. One highlight of the game for the Babes is certainly the blossoming partnership between Nazer and Jamieson at 9 and 10, who had the back line moving much more fluidly in the second half.

But, unfortunately, like Pietersen’s England career, the game ended on a slightly sour note, as the referee missed a raised flag from the touch judge with Revolution sprinting downfield. Raised voices from the sidelines inflamed the situation, and play was suspended for several minutes. Although both team captains did a good job of ensuring that the full spirit of the game was maintained on the field, the momentum being built by HKCC was certainly stopped dead in its tracks and the game fizzled out, with Revolution kicking into touch to seal their hard-fought and well-defended victory.

And with that, the Ladies Division 1 season takes its Christmas Break. Happy Holidays!

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.

Leighton Asia HKCC Babes 15 – 0 Comvita City Ladies

Defensive superiority made all the difference for HKCC Babes at the weekend as they held off the challenge of well organised but ill-disciplined Comvita City Ladies at So Kon Po on Saturday. The first ten minutes set the tone of the game – HKCC dominating possession and territory, camped near the City try line but lacking the killer touch in linking phases together.

Making her full debut at tighthead prop, Jo Harvey impressed in early scrum exchanges, as HKCC set out clear attacking intent. But the Babes’ attacking play in the loose was sloppy, with miscommunication and some badly chosen running lines meaning that City were twice able to break out of their own 22 after withstanding prolonged pressure. The third time proved the charm though, as the experienced head and hands of fly half Julia Mason darted through a gap for the first try. And City were soon down to 14, a sin bin for repeat infractions at the breakdown. The resultant overlap was exploited with a sublime, scintillating, beautifully weighted, miss pass to inside centre Harriet Jamieson to touch down for HKCC’s second. City came back strongly, turning over the ball within a few minutes of the restart and making their first sustained break into the Babes’ half. City established their most promising position, with a line out on the ten yard line, but were thwarted by the half-time whistle.

The second half was dominated by a mis-firing scrum, with City first looking to run down the clock on a second sin-bin, and then the tiredness of novice packs beginning to show. The referee patiently called multiple resets to ensure that both sides scrummaged safely as the spectators (both on the sidelines and amongst the backs) looked on. Once out, City proved unable to make forward ground as HKCC kept up their high tackle rate, whilst niggling errors meant HKCC was unable to convert possession into points. But Captain Emily Tuck kept a cool head, with the Babes making smart decisions at penalties and making more use of the kicking game. And this paid off, City pushed back into their own half by a thumping kick from the fly half, and from resultant phases (including some outstanding rucking from Harvey, cementing her status as Player of the Game) the ball was shipped out to the right wing for Rosie Hui, who didn’t put a foot wrong all day, to race in for the third try of the game.

The game ended on a slightly sour note, with the referee spotting a punch thrown and duly red-carding the offending City player. HKCC pressed for a fourth try in the final minutes, but couldn’t find the breakthrough, leaving Head Coach Darren Cartlidge to reflect after the game that, “A win’s a win, but there is much to improve upon from this performance, particularly in building our attacking phases of play”. HKCC will look to make it three wins on the trot, against Valley at 1800 next Saturday.

HKCC Babes
Eva Rona, Cheryl Gourley, Jo Harvey, Lainie Man, Katie Rowbottom, Sarah Higgins, Wendy Sham, Rosie Wright, Emily Tuck, Lynda Nazer, Julia Mason, Harriet Jamieson, Lucy Thomson, Rosanne Hui, Apple Ng
Substitutes: Christy Igksa, Serene Yee, Olivia Lai
Tries: Julia Mason, Harriet Jamieson, Rosie Hui

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

Pre-season: HKCC 20-5 Valley Black @ Happy Valley – 27 September, 2014

For proof that rugby is a hooligan’s game played by ladies of grace and style, flash forward a mere seven hours after Saturday’s face-off between Leighton Asia HKCC Ladies and Valley Black Ladies when the two sides met again, this time in the refined atmosphere of Lan Kwai Fong. Sworn enemies on the field danced up a storm off it, with much silky footwork on display.

In the game itself, Valley started brightly and with serious attacking intent, pinning HKCC Babes back in their own 22, and a try only averted thanks to brilliant last-ditch defending from Brenda Chan at full back. Fast line speed in defense and a couple of offside errors at the breakdown gave the Babes a chance to calm the pace and clear, and this visibly lifted confidence. Consequently, HKCC were soon two tries to the good, the account opened by number 13 Tinley Wong in a delightful break down the left, followed up almost instantly by a barnstorming 40-yard run from player-of-the-game flanker Emily Tuck. In perhaps a first for HK rugby, the two teams agreed not to kick for conversions, given the high risk of a ball being lost in the Happy Valley building works!

Valley stemmed the tide, but found it difficult to recycle their own ball, and had possession stifled by the HKCC pack, who dominated the scrum, finally bringing technique and teamwork together to capitalise on individual skills. Eva Rona in particular, at loose-head, dominated her opposite number, bringing huge pressure to bear on every Valley put-in. Credit here goes to the referee too, who took his time ensuring that both packs, relatively new and with some very inexperienced players, scrimmaged safely and effectively, and that the natural flow of the game was disrupted as little as possible. HKCC hooker, builder Cheryl Gourley, took advantage of one such ‘advantage’ play, diving over from close range towards the end of the first half.

With ten minutes gone in the second half, and the sun mercifully retreating, Valley hit back, good work from their two locks in particular being rewarded with a try in the left corner. But it wasn’t enough to break HKCC’s control of possession, and the game was settled when Serene Yee found a sublime line cutting back inside the park after unselfish and beautifully weighted passes along the whole back line to the right winger.

For HKCC Babes, this game marked the perfect prelude to the season, with parts of their game now visibly coming together, and the error count dramatically reduced on even a few weeks ago. Captain Anna Holmes said, “We’re confident in our plans, now we just have to execute them during the season as we did today. I’m very proud of the progress the whole team has made in stepping up from 10s to 15s this summer”. The first league game is 4^th October versus Scottish; kick off 1800 at Kings Park.