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Gai Wu Falcons Beat HKFC Ice 32-5

Gai Wu start the new Women’s Premiership season in fine fettle according to Coach Lai Yiu Pang with strong competition for places from many of the women who were playing for the Gai Wu Fawkes in WNL1 last season pressing for spots in the Falcons squad.

The Falcon’s couldn’t have got off to better start against HKFC Ice with Eddie scoring a simple unconverted try in the fourth minute. Ice put together perhaps their best period of play in the match during the first ten minutes and after a prolonged period of pressure Rachel crossed the line to bring the scores level at 5-5 after 10 minutes.

There’s a competitive hardness to Gai Wu and their response to HKFC’s score was immediate. A beautiful side-step by Tina saw her shatter the Ice defence to finish off a flowing move. A couple of minute later and a lovely hand-off by Bernie as she sprints down the left sideline allows Maxson to score the Falcons’ third try, 17-5.

HKFC are creating some small breaks but handling errors and penalties at the breakdown are hampering their attacks. When they can string the phases together Ice look threatening and only some fine last ditch Gai Wu defence just before the halftime hooter prevents HKFC scoring a second try.

Gai Wu though are comfortably controlling the game with some of their young players really impressing before National Coach Jo Hull who was at Happy Valley to watch both games. Jasmine especially catching Hull’s eye as she offered the Falcons real pace and penetration on the outside in only her second season playing rugby.

As the second half gets underway and it’s all Gai Wu as they pound the Ice try line, it’s backs to wall defending from HKFC but eventually the Falcons forwards get a maul together and force their way over the line as Joyce Kam-chi Chui touches down for a fourth try, 22-5. From the kick-off the Falcons are back on the attack stringing the phases together and Maxson soon touches down for her second try of the afternoon, 27-5.

The two quick tries see HKFC visible wilt, the game is gone and there’s a lot of time in the half left. Megan tries to lift Ice with a strong run from inside her 22. As she’s tackled by CKY her flailing arm punches the Gai Wu player on the temple who crumples under the blow. It looked completely accidental and thankfully after some treatment a dazed CKY sporting a golf ball sized shiner walks groggily from the field.

The injury break combined with the heat and humidity has sapped the intensity from the game and with their scrum in total control the only question is how many points do Gai Wu want to score. Rachel Prolas almost has her first try of the game but is stopped just short of the line by some resolute tackling.

Ice’s new coach Royce Chan Leong Sze, fresh from her Rugby World Cup experience is champing to get on the pitch to help her team, wrings the changes as her charges melt under the Gai Wu pressure which see Shun Lee burst free to score the Falcons sixth try, 32-5.

The changes work and bring a bit of solidity back to the HKFC’s defence as they make a few mini breaks to prevent Gai Wu, who don’t help themselves with a few spilled passes, from spending the remainder of the match camped inside Football Club’s 22.

Coach Lai uses the final quarter to give game time to several of the emerging Fawkes players. There’s an impressive camaraderie and desire among the Gai Wu players with everyone pushing each other to succeed and do well. The club’s ability to continually unearth new talent bodes well for the future of the local game and the national team. Talking to the players on the sideline during and after the match there’s a unified desire for the new season – Beat Valley!

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Valley Black Beat USRC Tigers 39-3

Valley Black began their quest for a fourth consecutive Premiership title and a fourth unbeaten season against USRC Tigers as dusk descended on Happy Valley. Valley began the game on the front foot with new signing Aroha Savage, the number 8 who last month won the Women’s Rugby World Cup with the Black Ferns, the focus of much of the play as new Player Coach Bella Milo pushed her players to use the width of the pitch. Valley’s fast start paid dividends in the fifth minute when Savage touched down for a try on debut that owed much to her will to score.

USRC in their new strip of almost completely yellow shirts, worked hard but some individual errors and poor work at the breakdown allowed Valley to strengthen their hold on the game as Bella Milo touched down for a second try on 20 mins which Zoe Smith converted, 12-0 to Valley. The Tigers really had yet to get into the game and with Valley spending increasing amounts of the game inside the USRC 22, a third try soon arrived.

It was backs to the pen for the Tigers, but their defence was solid and a magnificent break out run from Winnie Siu along the far touchline and into the Valley 22 had Tigers supporters hollering. A resulting Valley infringement almost on the touchline offered the chance for the Tigers to kick for the corner and look to score from the resulting line-out. Instead looking to get some points on the board, Charlotte Mryans pointed to the posts and slotted an absolutely beautiful struck penalty between the uprights for the Tigers first points of the season, 17-3.

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Valley came right back though and camped themselves inside the Tigers 22 under such intense pressure there was little surprise among those watching when the Black forwards used their power to create a second try for Savage under the posts which Smith dutifully converted 24-3.

The Tigers made a final foray before the half time whistle and some slick passing saw them inside the 22 but they couldn’t come away with any points. Valley easily in charge and without having to do too much.

Stern words from their stand in coach during the break saw the Tigers up their game at the start of the second half and USRC’s physically , commitment and solid defence blunted the Valley attack for long periods during the third quarter but the humidity and the effort were taking it’s toll on theTigers as injuries mounted. Despite the stoic defence, Valley’s back were having more of ball and starting to string their passes together. A fine line break by Jade saw her almost score, but for a fine try saving Tiger tackle which keep the score as it was at the half. Moments late Jade thought she had scored with a 50m sprint down the near touchline only for the try to be ruled out for a pinkie toe in touch.

The Tigers grabbed the resulting line-out and worked the ball out of their 22 only to concealed a penalty for offside. Quickly taken by Valley it almost sees them to the try line. As Valley ring the changes the Tigers work their way into the Valley 22 and the backs create a lovely overlap and look certain to score in the near corner, but the ball is slow and Valley’s last ditch tackle saves a certain try.

Fatigue and fitness are starting to tell. A break down the near side by Jade, is followed by a surging line break through the centre of the Tigers defence Bella Milo who releases Jade for the first score of the second half.

Soon to be followed by another as Riva Bril breaks out courtesy of a strong handoff and sets up Karen So for Valley’s sixth try.

Aroha Savage completes her superb debut by charging through the heart of a tiring defence leaving a swathe of Tigers on the ground as searches for her hat-trick. A slick handoff brings the backs into the attack and quick hands along the line sees Jade score in the corner for her second try. 39-3.

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And that’s how it finished, final score 39-3. USRC pushed Valley hard in a physical encounter, but never really looked like scoring a try. Tigers President Marco Cassandro commenting that he was proud of how his team played. “It’s the first game of the season, we’ve got some new faces and a really strong and positive feeling within the club about what we can achieve this season. We’re not at Valley’s level yet, but we’re progressing well”.

On the Valley sidelines new signing Black Fern Rawinia Everitt whose assisting with the coaching as she recovers from injury said the she was impressed with the Valley squad, “I want to bring some of the All Black rugby culture to the club, to ensure that players have the desire and passion to wear the shirt, and what it means and what you have to bring to wear the shirt!”

Women’s Premiership, Opening Day Preview

After the excitement of the World Cup, domestic rugby returns with the start of the women’s 2017-18 season. The Premiership has been expanded to eight teams, with National League 1 winners Tai Po Dragons promoted, and a new fixture structure created.

The HKRU is calling the new structure “innovative and designed to boost the competitiveness of games, the skills of individuals and the strength of teams”. In the first half of the season, up to Christmas, each of the eight teams plays all others before splitting to a Premiership of the four top-placed teams, and a Premiership Development league of the lower four.

We’ll be blunt and state that the new structure is crap. Yes you’ll not see 100 point blowout results – but as the World Cup showed, you improve by playing better players and teams. Playing the same players more often in the mini leagues does not help you improve. Last year you could visibly see teams and players strengthen through the season.

Also if anything it reinforces the problem of players playing a person because they know their weaknesses rather than the game situation. With no disrespect to the World Cup squad even we watching fans knew exactly what the HK team and each player would do in each situation. The tries HK scored at the World Cup were when a player did something a little different – used their skill to play the game situation not follow a pattern.

The Premiership winners secure the Women’s Premiership League Cup, while in the ‘Development’ half, the Premiership Development Challenge Trophy, which will start the year in the hands of the fifth-placed team and then pass to any team that beats them, and so on.

The end of season Grand Championships will feature all eight teams, playing quarter-finals, semis, and the Grand Final. In addition as last year there will be three Super Series games featuring sides drawn from a mix of players from across the club teams.

At the end of the season, the lowest-placed team in the Premiership Development will be relegated to National League 1, while the winners of that league will be promoted.

On the pitch, all eyes will be on Valley Black who enter the fray off the back of a third straight unbeaten season, 42 consecutive matches won. In charge of the Valley Premiership team this season is former Samoan national captain and Hong Kong national backs coach, Bella Milo – one of two women coaches in the Premiership.

“We had a camp last week in Sheung Shui, with the aim of bringing both our teams closer. Our aim is to promote off-the-field relationships. We want to develop a lot of our group and will give more players game time in the first half of the season,” Milo revealed.

There are no major withdrawals from the squad, but a couple of big names have been added. Aroha Savage, Black Ferns World Cup winner will play at number 8. Rawinia Everitt, a former Black Fern, arrives with an injury that will keep her from playing at the start of the season, but affords her extra time to settle in as Assistant Coach.

Milo said, “Everyone is eager to get playing, putting into practice some of the details we’ve focused on pre-season. The league is looking a lot better. I expect higher intensity levels and a good competition.”

Gai Wu Falcons will be looking change the pattern of recent seasons where their only losses were to Valley, and are confident to go one better having reduced the gap against their arch-rivals last season, from a 28-3 thumping early on to gritty, tight contests in the season-closing league game (8-7) and Grand Championship final (15-7)

The team has seen a lot of changes in personnel, which, says coach Lai Yiu Pang, is why they are running three teams, “to press development, so that players can come through, challenge each other and the seniors. It helps to keep the club strong.”

Injuries from national duty to Christy Cheng and Lau Sze Wa, combined with the absence of Hong Kong sevens players training for the Asian series, leave Lai working hard to put out the team he wants early on.

Charmaine Da Costa, who has been playing for the club in NL2/NL3, has caught the attention of the national sevens set-up. And teenage fly half Jasmine Fung, who only joined last season, put in such impressive hit-out performances last Saturday that Lai will use her to replace veteran Lee Tsz Ting, who is focusing on her sevens game.

Others moving up from Gai Wu’s lower levels to the first team include flanker Justine Chan; prop Cherry Ng; and scrumhalf Wong Suet Ying. Ng will be making a big jump after playing NL3 rugby last season.

“The first half of the season will be a good chance to look at the whole squad and our bench depth. I hope to build a squad of 30 or even 35 players. The league is about consistent performance throughout the season and in the more challenging second half we will need that depth,” observes Lai.

USRC Tigers ambitious to improve on last season’s third place are now coached by Fan Shun Kei. A former Hong Kong national half-back, who played for Tigers from age 13, right through his club career and has recently been coaching the national Men’s U20 Sevens side.

“The key challenges for us are to develop a performance culture across the whole squad and enhance the basic skill sets for those players,” said Fan.

The squad features a crop of new players, including a couple of capable 19-year-olds from New Zealand, prop Abbey Rivers and fly half Sarah Swinbanks. Fan enthuses that, “Abbey offers some hard ball carrying and physicality, and Sarah can use her experience to direct the games and enhance our kicking game.”

Fan is looking to rotate in players from lower levels to give them experience. As the season kicks off, injuries and absences are making that a necessity.

“The hardest thing at the moment is losing some key players to sevens duty. Our objective for the first half is to finish in the top four so I’m trying to promote some of the new players to give them a taste of Premiership rugby.”

There’s also a new player-coach at HKFC Ice as Royce Chan Leong Sze just back from playing in the World Cup takes charge. Chan says she’s still fired up by the experience and eager to apply with Ice what she learned there.

HKFC is in somewhat of a rebuild, with new players arriving from other clubs and overseas. Chan will be playing alongside national teammate Rose Hopewell-Fong who’ll also take on a coaching role.

Newly joined from Australia, where she played at national sevens level, is Rachel Crothers. Two quality players are also back from injury. Rachel Fong (sister of Rose) is developing as a fly half, as she returns from 12 months of enforced layoff, while Fion Got is back after nearly two seasons off with injury.

“We have some new players from varied backgrounds and my challenge is to bring everyone together, and meld their playing styles,” Chan says.

SCAA Causeway Bay Phoenix have a new coach as Chris Lin takes over a team that has finished fifth for the last seasons and looks to guide the upwards.

Jonathan Ho, Kowloon Ladies coach, believes his team can do much better than last season’s sixth place finish, having been competitive in games against most of their opponents. The squad is essentially unchanged, although injuries to key players including forward Christine Gordon and centre Lily Chau will make the early games tougher.

One new player is Stephanie Ching, an exciting youngster who has been training with the national sevens side. Joining the coaching team is Ho’s brother, former Hong Kong fifteens and sevens player Ben Ho, who will take responsibility for the forwards.

Ho believes in Kowloon’s ability. “We are competitive. Not so much needs to change – the players just need the confidence and belief that they can beat the likes of Football Club and Causeway Bay,” he said.

In their debut Premiership season City Sparkle fought hard and showed they could challenge for wins, but ended up bottom of the table. In their second season they look to consolidate. Coach Kai Hang Fung was delighted with his side’s performance in pre-season games against Tai Po and Gai Wu, which he said “showed that we’ve improved and are better at handling pressure.”

“We have boosted the squad size with some girls from NL2. We now have the numbers to stay strong through the back of the season, when injuries mount. That really cost us last season.”

City’s second team took out the NL2 championship last season, offering a pipeline of players who know all about winning.

As 2016/17 Women’s National League 1 champs, Tai Po Dragon Ladies return to the Premiership as the eighth team. The side played in the inaugural Premiership season 2015/16 and will look to offer feisty competition under the tutelage of coach Tsang Hing Hung, a former Hong Kong international and a serving police officer.

Women’s Rugby Fixtures – 23 September, 2017

Women’s East Asia Cup 2017

Hong Kong will host the Women’s East Asia Cup featuring the hosts, Japan, China and Korea from September 21-24. HK Cricket have announced a 14 woman squad for the tournament which includes debutant Bella Poon.

The team, led by all-rounder Mariko Hill, is looking to improve on it’s performance in last year’s World Cup qualifiers where they squandered some good positions. The East Asia Cup serves as an important part of the squads build-up to the ICC Women’s World T20 Qualifiers in November.

Coach Richie Waite has been putting the players through their paces over the summer and is in confident mood ahead of the tournament. The squad has been doing extra conditioning sessions said Waite “Players have been put through skill set sessions. We have made good progress over the last 2 months and go into the tournament with only a winning mentality.”

“It gives us an opportunity to test ourselves and I am looking forward to seeing them translate their hard work into first-class performances on the pitch.”

As for the squad, Waite said the selectors had tried to ensure it well-rounded “The squad gives us good options across all disciplines, Mariko shows great leadership on and off the field and is determined to lead this squad forward. Our preparation for the upcoming tournament has been very good.”

Hong Kong East Asia Cup Squad:
Mariko Hill (Capt), Kary Chan (Vice-Capt), Jenefer Davies, Emma Lai, Shanzeen Shahzad, Yasmin Daswani, Keenu Gill, Natural Yip, Ka Man (Betty) Chan, Ruchi Venketesh, Pull To, Chan Sa Ha, Annie Ho, Bella Poon

Women’s East Asia Cup 2017
Date: 21-24 September, 2017
Venue: HKCC, KCC, Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground
Tickets: Free
More info:
21 Sept – HKCC
22 Sept – KCC
23-24 Sept – Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground

WRWC: Hong Kong 5 Japan 44

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Hong Kong lost 44-5 to Japan in their final game at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in Belfast. The Sakura putting on a clinical offensive display scoring eight tries, with the first coming after just 82 seconds.

Despite enjoying significant amounts of possession, Hong Kong struggled with its accuracy, particularly in a nervy first quarter, as unforced errors, turnovers and knock-ons blunted their attacking edge.

Meanwhile, Japan managed to turn almost all of their five first half turnovers into points, including scoring two tries in the opening 12 minutes as they leapt out to a 10-0 lead.

Strong defensive efforts by Natasha Olson-Thorne in particular, who turned Japan over three times in the first half, kept Hong Kong in touch for the remainder of the first period, but Japan managed to add a momentum-sapping try shortly before the break, 15-0 at half-time.

Hong Kong steeled its nerve and gained parity over the course of the match, but as in previous matches never really threatened to break down the well-disciplined and organised Japan defence.

Japan clinched the match early in the second half, after an unforced error at the restart gifted Japan possession. Moments later Shimizu crossed the line for her second and Japan’s fourth try as they extended their advantage to 20-0.

Hooker Karen So put Hong Kong on the board in the 52nd minute with a fine individual effort. So came off the bench to put the ball into an attacking lineout on Japan’s five-metre line. Cool under pressure, So’s throw was on target for captain Chow Mei-nam who claimed possession and drove Hong Kong to the Japan try-line.

After a succession of phases, So collected the ball at the base of the ruck and leaped over the pile to score Hong Kong’s only points.

Simple errors on attack and defence were a consistent problem for Hong Kong, who missed 19 tackles and conceded 16 turnovers. Not all of which were the result of Japanese pressure, the errors a part of but not the only reason that the squad failed to achieve it’s ambition of a first win at the World Cup.

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With their first win at a World Cup in sight, the Sakura gathered steam in the final quarter, adding four more tries and two conversions, final score 44-5.

Hong Kong’s first World Cup ended without a win, but with plenty of victories along the way according to captain Chow Mei-nam. “It was our first time in the World Cup and we wanted to create a legacy. We did that with our toughness and never give-up attitude.”

“We are very proud and happy to represent Hong Kong and the crowd was behind us all of the way. Many of our supporters traveled a very long way to come watch us, and many more people were watching at home. With their continued support we can keep playing better,” added Chow.

Additional reporting, images: HKRugby

Women’s Rugby World Cup Final: England v New Zealand Preview

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The two most successful teams in Women’s Rugby World Cup history will lock horns for the fourth time in the final. bc previews what should be an epic match and the rest of the action on the final day in Belfast.

England are the defending champions, but have never beaten New Zealand on the World Cup stage, losing one semi-final and three finals between 1998 and 2010.

The Red Roses did win the most recent meeting between the sides, scoring five tries in a 29-21 win over New Zealand in the International Women’s Rugby Series in June.

However, the Black Ferns have never lost a World Cup final and are eager to keep that sequence going by avenging that loss on home soil two months ago with victory at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast.

The final day of action gets underway at 12:00 local time (GMT+1) with the 11th place play-off between Japan and Hong Kong at Queen’s University, followed by the ninth place play-off between Spain and Italy and the battle for fifth between Australia and Canada. Ireland and Wales will kick-off proceedings at Kingspan Stadium at 14:00, before France meet USA in the bronze final.

Attention will then turn to the final with the winner to not only hold aloft the coveted trophy, but also occupy the number one spot in the World Rugby Women’s Rankings when they update on Monday.

Final: England v New Zealand

The wait is nearly over for the latest chapter in the World Cup story of England v New Zealand and the kick-off can’t come soon enough for fans around the world that have seen the two teams progress to a fourth title decider.

It is England’s fifth successive appearance in the final, while New Zealand have been on a mission to banish the disappointment of failing to reach the semi-finals three years ago and lifting the trophy is the only thing that will do that for the players involved in France.

For New Zealand captain Fiao’o Faamausili it would be a remarkable end to a career that has already seen her win three World Cups. But such is her humility the hooker is not focusing on that personal target but rather the chance to give her younger team-mates that victorious feeling and ensure she leaves a legacy that will continue for years to come.

The Black Ferns have certainly lit up Ireland 2017 with their attacking play and boast the leading try scorer in Portia Woodman, who has crossed for 13 tries so far, including four in the semi-fiinal win over USA. Woodman, though, isn’t the only threat in a team that has scored 42 tries and racked up 258 points in four matches and England captain Sarah Hunter is only too aware of what lies ahead.

“They have got a strong pack that will want to give their backs some good front-foot ball to play off and I think that is really key, if they can get some good clean quality ball then we have seen their backs and how their backs have lit up the tournament,” admitted Hunter, who played in England’s WRWC 2010 loss to New Zealand and the success against Canada in 2014.

“Their half-backs are really smart and make really good decisions and their back three, if you give them time and space with the ball they will exploit it and they will be under the sticks before you know it. We know we are going to have to be really clear and clinical with everything that we do to not give them any loose ball to play with.

“To be the best you have got to play the best whoever that may be and the fact that New Zealand are in the World Cup final that means that they are (the best).”

England have suffered a blow with full-back Danielle Waterman ruled out of what would have been her fourth final due to concussion suffered against France in the semi-finals. As a result, Emily Scarratt drops back to full-back with Megan Jones stepping in to the vacated outside centre position.

New Zealand, by contrast have named an unchanged starting line-up for the third match in a row, one that has seen off the challenges of Canada (48-5) and USA (45-12).

“It is definitely going to be a tough challenge, it is finals rugby,” admitted Faamausili. “You have got two top teams battling against each other. It is not like we haven’t played each other before but we will definitely be two teams going out there to make sure that one team is winning the World Cup.”

“This is something we have been working hard towards and it has finally come and we can’t wait to get out there on Saturday. It is definitely there, that motivation (to avenge the June defeat) but to play any team in the World Cup final you are always going to be motivated because you want your team to be the one that comes out on top and it is not just for yourselves, it is for everyone back home and for all those new players that have never experienced a final before.”

A sentiment echoed by New Zealand coach Glenn Moore: “A World Cup final is what we’ve all had our sights on for a long time. Everything we’ve done in the past two years has led to this,” insisted Moore. “We feel comfortable that we’ve done the work and we’ve selected a very good side. We also have a strong bench who will make an impact.”

“You’re going to see the two best teams in the world really go at it. I’m excited to see our team play and I am so proud of them.”

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Bronze Final: France v USA

It’s the match that France and USA didn’t want to be involved in on the final day, but after their title dreams were ended by England and New Zealand respectively, both have to pick themselves up to challenge for the bronze medal at Ireland 2017.

France have found themselves in this predicament on seven occasions so are no strangers to the bronze final, while USA are first-timers after tasting victory in their first three semi-finals from 1991-98.

Both coaches have taken the opportunity to make a number of changes to their starting line-ups with Samuel Cherouk welcoming back outstanding flanker Romane Menager after she sat out the semi-final loss to England with concussion. She will start against the Women’s Eagles, though, at number eight with Safi N’Diaye dropping to the bench.

The only other change to Les Bleues’ pack is the return of Lise Arricastre at loose-head prop, while the backline shows four changes with Jade Le Pesq stepping in to partner Caroline Drouin at half-back, Carla Neisen joining Elodie Poublan in the centres and Camille Grassineau and Caroline Boujard named on the wings.

“If we are good in attack, if we are able to keep the ball, I think there will be areas where we can play and upset them,” said France manager Annick Hayraud. “They are powerful, very fast. We need to go and get them, not let them come and get us. They are not in this match by chance. It will be a great challenge for them to play for the bronze final.”

Captain Gaëlle Mignot added: “They’ve qualified for the semi-finals and played strongly against New Zealand. We expect a tough match because they also want to finish the tournament on a winning note and it has been a long time since USA were in the last four. It’s going to be one of our biggest matches.”

Kayla Canett will make her first start of the tournament for USA at fly-half, replacing the experienced Kimber Rozier who is unavailable for the final game, in an otherwise unchanged backline. The other two changes made by coach Pete Steinberg from their first semi-final since 1998 come in the forwards with prop Hope Rogers and back-row Abby Gustaitis given a starting role, the latter’s inclusion resulting in a switch across to openside flanker for Sara Parsons.

“We’ve lost a couple of players through injury, but that gives other players a chance to step up. Kayla Canett is going to get her first play at 10, which is her natural position and we’re excited to see her there,” said Steinberg. “And it gives some of our other players who’ve been eager to compete a chance to step out and compete, so we’re excited to do that.

“We know what we need to do against France. We need to have solid set pieces, we need to hold onto the ball in contact, and we need to apply pressure on defence with some good line speed. We feel like if we can do that, we’re able to compete. Our goal has always been to play our best game in the fifth game of the World Cup, and I think we’re ready to do that.”

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Fifth Place Play-off: Australia v Canada

The pressure is off Australia and Canada with their qualification for WRWC 2021 confirmed by their semi-final wins over Ireland and Canada, but both will want to finish the tournament on a high with fifth place.

Canada comfortably beat Australia (45-5) when the sides met in the International Women’s Rugby Series back in June, but they will be taking nothing for granted against an Australian side which impressively brushed hosts Ireland aside 36-24 to confirm a top six finish.

Coach Francois Ratier welcomes back prop Daleaka Menin, winger Magali Harvey and Alex Tessier to the starting line-up, the latter this time getting the nod at fly-half with Emily Belchos shifting out a position to form a new centre partnership with Amanda Thornborough. The other positional change sees Elissa Alarie, who scored two tries in the 52-0 defeat of Wales, switches across to the left wing to accommodate the return of Harvey.

“We were happy with the performance against Wales, getting back to a performance where we can score a lot of points and where our defence and set pieces can be solid. We’re in a pretty good spot and hopefully we’re going to end on a high,” said assistant coach Shaun Allen.

“Just from (Australia’s) performance at the World Cup, we’ve seen massive improvements in what they have been able to do since the New Zealand series. They’re very physical and very direct in terms of what they do on the attack. It’s going to be a good test for our defence and our ability to tackle them. They have some weapons around the field and we’re going to have to do a good job of identifying them and shutting them down.”

Australia coach Paul Verrell has, unsurprisingly, named an unchanged starting line-up from that which powered past Ireland to avenge their first-day loss in Dublin. The return of the experienced Ashleigh Hewson at fly-half after her recovery from injury suffered against the Irish was key to the improved performance, working in tandem with captain Sharni Williams to unleash a dangerous backline.

Another aspect of the Wallaroos success against Ireland was the carrying of their props Liz Patu and Hilisha Samoa, who scored a try and was named Aon Player of the Match. Between the two of them, they accounted for more than a quarter of Australia’s carries in the five-try win that ensured an improvement on their seventh place finish in 2014.

“The team’s very positive, they all have a goal they want to achieve,” insisted assistant coach Scott Allen. “It’s not a matter of (thinking) we’ve already achieved something by qualifying for the World Cup and now we can afford to relax. The girls are working towards a target.”

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Seventh Place Play-off: Ireland v Wales

The last direct qualification place for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 awaits the winner of this seventh place play-off between hosts Ireland and Wales.

Ireland edged their most recent encounter 12-7 in the Women’s Six Nations in March and both will be eager to end the tournament on a positive note and avoid having to go through the global qualification process for 2021.

“It’s no secret that we didn’t want to be in this position, but it’s where we have found ourselves on the final weekend, and while we’re disappointed that we’re not competing for higher honours, we want to sign off the competition with a win,” said Ireland coach Tom Tierney.

“It really is a cup final tomorrow, with automatic qualification for the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup on the line. It’s been a tough few weeks, but I know that the players really want to put in a performance tomorrow and as they have said, leave the green jersey in a better place.”

Tierney has rung the changes for this final match, two enforced with captain Claire Molloy and centre Jenny Murphy unavailable through concussion. Paula Fitzpatrick takes over the captaincy and also switches from number eight to blindside flanker in a rejigged back-row that sees Heather O’Brien return for her first start since the opening day.

The majority of changes come in a backline with Jeamie Deacon and Katie Fitzhenry forming a new-look centre pairing and Eimear Considine returning to the wing, while Nora Stapleton continues at fly-half for what will be her 50th test for Ireland.

Wales coach Rowland Phillips has made six changes from the side beaten 52-0 by Canada on Tuesday, two of them positional with Elinor Snowsill dropping back from fly-half to full-back to allow Robyn Wilkins to make her first tournament start at 10, while Elen Evans switches wings with Jasmine Joyce coming back into the starting 15.

Keira Bevan gets the nod to start at scrum-half, while Siwan Lillicrap comes. With an eye on the future, Phillips has selected three teenagers on the bench, including centre India Berbillion who is in line to make her international debut after being called up on the eve of the tournament for the injured Rebecca De Filippo.

“There’s huge motivation among this team to finish the tournament on a high,” said Phillips. “We’ve seen a lot of development among the squad, which is gratifying as we look ahead to next year’s Women’s Six Nations and the next Women’s Rugby World Cup.

“We can take inspiration from our first two performances in the pool stage where we troubled two of the best sides in the world in New Zealand and Canada. Equally, we’ll learn important lessons from our second meeting with Canada where a lot of things didn’t go right for us.”

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Ninth Place Play-off: Italy v Spain

The second all-European match on the final day, this is the second time that Spain and Italy have met at Ireland 2017 with Las Leonas running out 22-8 winners in their Pool B encounter on 17 August.

Spain, the higher of the two nations in the World Rugby Women’s Rankings in eighth, will be eager to repeat that result against the country that replaced them in the Six Nations in 2007 so that the women’s competition mirrored the men’s.

“We did not only need victory (against Italy in the pool stages), but also we needed to play our rugby,” admitted Patricia Garcia, who switches from fly-half to outside centre for the encounter at Queen’s University. “Against England and USA we were not able to play, so we needed to have a great match against Italy even if the result was not fantastic. It was good for the confidence of the team and to be able to set up everything we have been working on.

“We beat them in pool stage, but it doesn’t mean we will win again, because they have played very well against Japan. We won against Hong Kong, but we did not play our best rugby. It’s going to be a very different match.”

Spain’s starting 15 is similar to that from the pool match with Italy, Marina Bravo moving to fly-half with Maria Ahis filling the vacated 12 jersey with Amaia Erbina coming onto the right wing. This shows a number of changes from the side which overcame Hong Kong 31-7 on Tuesday, among them the return of captain Aroa Gonzalez who started on the bench that day.

Italy coach Andrea Di Giandomenico has made six changes to his starting line-up, three of them positional, from their 22-0 defeat of Japan earlier this week. Flavia Severin is joined by Valeria Fedrighi in the second-row after Alice Trevisan was ruled out with concussion, while Elisa Giordano moves to openside flanker to accommodate the return of veteran Silvia Gaudino at number eight.

In the backline, Beatrice Rigoni moves from inside-centre back to the fly-half position she occupied in the loss to Spain with Paola Zangirolami filling the void in what will be her last time in the Azzurre jersey.

“We will not treat the match as a rematch,” insisted Di Giandomenico. “It will be crucial to focus only on ourselves. We know what are our potential is and playing at 100 per cent we can put anyone in trouble. Victory against Japan has given us confidence and we want to close the World Cup in the best way possible.”

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Eleventh Place Play-off: Hong Kong v Japan

These two nations know each other very well, Japan having emphatically won their two most recent encounters in the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship in July.

Japan will end a 15-year wait for their second World Cup victory if they can make it three wins this year against the side they also beat 20-8 in the Asia/Oceania qualifying tournament last December.

For Hong Kong, the carrot is even bigger in a first ever World Cup win and coach Jo Hull is eager for her squad to show how far her squad has progressed since losing 58-0 and 60-19 in that Asian competition.

“We are going into this game like it is our World Cup final,” said Hull, who has made a number of changes to her starting 15 for this battle for Asian pride.

“This World Cup we have had an opportunity to measure ourselves against the best in the world and now we have an opportunity to measure ourselves once again against one of the best teams in Asia. Playing Japan gives us a real chance to measure how much we have improved and whether we can come out of the World Cup as the top team in Asia. And that’s a real test of our character, so in that respect it’s great to play against them.

“We massively underperformed against Japan the last time out and now we have a chance to set that straight and the girls are very excited about that opportunity. Japan won’t be underestimating us. They know that we have improved massively over the World Cup and they have as well. Japan has had some really impressive performances against Ireland, Australia and France. They have shown what we have known for a long while; they’re young, talented and play at pace.”

Prop Lau Nga Wun, hooker Royce Chan and number eight Christine Gordon come into the forward pack, while teenager Kelsie Bouttle joins Natasha Olson-Thorne in the centre, necessitating a move back to full-back for Adrienne Garvey, the first Hong Kong player to score any points on the WRWC stage. The only other change see Kwong Sau Yan take her place on the right wing.

For Japan, captain Seina Saito moves from hooker to loose-head prop and is one of four Sakura 15 players to have played every minute of their WRWC 2017 campaign, the others being second-row Ayano Sakurai, flanker Sayaka Suzuki and centre Iroha Nagata. The three other changes see Misaki Suzuki start at hooker with Aoi Mimura coming into the second row and Makiko Tomita returning to action having served her three-match suspension following her red card in the opening loss to France.

Photos: World Rugby, Dan Sheridan, Bryan Keane, Billy Stickland

WRWC: Hong Kong v Japan Match Preview

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Hong Kong look to end their debut at the Women’s Rugby World Cup on a high note with victory against familiar foes Japan, kick-off 7pm Hong Kong time.

The team as a unit and individually all 28 players in Hull’s squad have improved match by match. “We are going into this game like it is our World Cup final,” said Hull from Ireland. “This World Cup we have had an opportunity to measure ourselves against the best in the world and now we have an opportunity to measure ourselves once again against one of the best teams in Asia.”

“Playing Japan gives us a real chance to measure how much we have improved and whether we can come out of the World Cup as the top team in Asia. And that’s a real test of our character, so in that respect it’s great to play against them,” Hull added.

Japan beat Hong Kong heavily across both legs of the Women’s Asia Rugby Championship in July in what was both sides’ final warm-ups for the World Cup. That presents an ideal opportunity for Hull and the squad to benchmark their growth over the past three weeks.

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Hull is asking her squad to give one last massive effort in their fifth game in three weeks at the World Cup. “After Spain, we have made some changes to get some fresh legs back into the squad, including bringing Royce [Chan] and Chrissy [Christine Gordon] in to give us some go-forward.”

“We need an even bigger performance out of the girls at the breakdown than against Spain and we have to be clinical, particularly in eliminating our own errors and improving our tackling,” said Hull.

Hull believes her side is now battle-hardened and that their experience in Ireland has drawn them even closer together. “The girls have been great. It has been a big three weeks for us. They are calm and focused but I can sense a bit more excitement about this game and maybe a bit of emotion as well as it is our last match and the experience here has really been incredible.”

“They want to play, but most of all they want to get that first win together and for each other. They realize there is no second chance now, there is no next game and that is fueling them,” Hull added.

As coach she has been working to hone and channel that energy. “We are not losing our focus. Everything is about consistency. We need to be consistent and clinical. If we make a mistake, Japan will be underneath the posts, so we have got to execute to get the result that they have been working so hard for,” Hull added.

Up front Hull has made three changes with hooker Royce Chan, Hong Kong’s most capped women’s international entering the World Cup, joined by Lau Nga-wun and the ever-reliable Lee Ka-shun in the starting front row. Hull has also retained the lock pairing of Captain Chow Mei-nam and Chan Ka-yan and flankers Christy Cheng Ka-chi and Chan Tsz-chang with Gordon the only change to the back row.

Hull has also kept faith in her starting halfback duo from the Spain test, with scrumhalf Chloe Mak Ho-yee and Rose Hopewell-Fong looking to inject pace into the attack. Emerging star Kelsie Bouttle will join Natasha Olson-Thorne in a hard tackling centre pairing, while Chong Ka-yan continues to own the no 11 sweater on the left wing. The versatile Adrienne Garvey returns to fullback after starting at centre against Spain, with Ivy Kwong Sau-yan getting the start on the right wing.

Winnie Siu, Karen So and Pun Wai-yan will provide the front row depth once again, with Seure rounding out the forwards reserves. Young halfbacks Jessica Ho Wai-on and Lee Tsz-ting will cover nine and ten while Colleen Tjosvold will support the back three.

Images: World Rugby, HK Rugby,
Additional reporting: HKrugby