bc magazine

Hong Kong Rugby Union and Pieter Schats Plead Not Guilty

The trial of the Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU) and it’s Chairman Pieter Schats on Criminal Defamation reached the plea stage at Eastern Magistrates Court on 22 April, 2016 with the charges in the private prosecution read out to the defendants:

The charges read out were:

Information has been laid THAT YOU, Hong Kong Rugby Union a limited company registered in Hong Kong did on the 25 September, 2015 in Hong Kong deliberately and maliciously published, in the form of the article annexed here, defamatory libel knowing it to be false and factually inaccurate in breach of Section 5 of the Defamation Ordinance, Cap 21 of the Laws of Hong Kong.

The article in the form of a letter written by the Chairman of the Hong Kong Rugby Union on the letterhead of the HK Rugby Union (HKRU) was published to “All of our friends at World and Asia Rugby, Hong Kong Rugby Union Past Chairmen and Vice Presidents, Board of Directors, Hong Kong Rugby Club Chairmen and the Hong Kong Rugby and Sporting Community. It was also published on the HKRU’s website www.hkrugby.com under the title “Note from HKRU Chairman Pieter Schats.”

On or before the 23 September, 2015 the Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU) – the organisation responsible for the running and management of the sport of Rugby Union in Hong Kong – did approve and implement a new rule imposing ethnic Chinese player quotas on teams playing rugby in Hong Kong.

The HKRU on the 23 September, 2015 published on it’s website and caused to be published in the SCMP a news release entitled “Significant changes made to Hong Kong Rugby Union Domestic League structure”. Part of the text of that news release was: The modified Championship Club structure sees that league now highly focused on serving as an entry point and breeding ground for Chinese players, with all teams required to include a minimum of 14 ethnic Chinese players in each match day squad.”

Simon Durrant, the editor and publisher of bc magazine for 21 years wrote an article about the introduction of active racial discrimination, via ethnic quotas, into HK Rugby. According to Chapter 602 The Racial Discrimination Ordinance this is illegal in Hong Kong. The article entitled Active Racial Discrimination in HK Men’s Rugby was published on www.bcmagazine.net on the 24 September, 2015.

The HKRU letter dated 25 September, 2015 in full and specifically but not limited to paragraphs 3,4,5 is defamatory, disparaging and factually untrue. It besmirches and stains the integrity and reputation of Simon Durrant as a journalist and the factual accuracy of his article and in doing so the reputation and integrity of bc magazine – where Simon Durrant often recognised in public as ‘Mr bc’ has been the Owner, Publisher and Editor of bc magazine for over 21 years. Contrary to Section 5 of the Defamation Ordinance, Chapter 21

The HKRU representative Mr Schats pleaded not guilty

Information has been laid THAT YOU, Pieter Lodewijk Schats as Chairman of the Hong Kong Rugby Union on the 25 September, 2015 in Hong Kong deliberately and maliciously published, in the form of the article annexed here, defamatory libel knowing it to be false and factually inaccurate in breach of Section 5 of the Defamation Ordinance, Cap 21 of the Laws of Hong Kong.

The article is in the form of a letter written by Pieter Schats, Chairman of the Hong Kong Rugby Union on the letterhead of the HK Rugby Union was published to “All of our friends at World and Asia Rugby, Hong Kong Rugby Union Past Chairmen and Vice Presidents, Board of Directors, Hong Kong Rugby Club Chairmen and the Hong Kong Rugby and Sporting Community. It was also published on the HKRU’s website www.hkrugby.com under the title “Note from HKRU Chairman Pieter Schats.”

Pieter Schats letter dated 25 September, 2015 in full and specifically but not limited to paragraphs 3,4,5 is defamatory, disparaging and factually untrue. It besmirches and stains the integrity and reputation of Simon Durrant as a journalist and the factual accuracy of his article and in doing so the reputation and integrity of bc magazine – where Simon Durrant often recognised in public as ‘Mr bc’ has been the Owner, Publisher and Editor of bc magazine for over 21 years. Contrary to Section 5 of the Defamation Ordinance, Chapter 21

Mr Pieter Lodewijk Schats pleaded not guilty.

SCMP article Hong Kong rugby to revamp domestic leagues in effort to strengthen national team - with ethnic quota rule intordution highlighted — SCMP article “Hong Kong rugby to revamp domestic leagues in effort to strengthen national team” with ethnic quota rule introduction highlighted.

The cases centre around the Hong Kong Rugby Union’s introduction of Ethnic Quotas to local rugby in September 2015 – as announced by the HKRU in a 23 September news release on their website and also published in the SCMP (linked here) on the 22 and 23 September.

The HKRU website version (linked here) was quickly amended after Simon Durrant’s article (linked here) that ethnic quotas and racial discrimination are illegal in Hong Kong was published on the 24 September.

A day later on the 25 September Mr Schats published a note to the global rugby community (linked here) which according to Mr Durrant is defamatory and factually inaccurate.

Both cases were adjourned for three weeks.

Seru Rabeni Memorial Game

Saturday 16 April 2016 saw a gathering of players, supporters and friends, all wanting to pay their respects to, and celebrate the life of, this great man.

The Memorial started out with a video of tribute highlighting Seru’s rugby career which began in Fiji, and expanded across the globe. Playing in both the Sevens and 15s format, Seru ran on the pitch for his country Fiji, many times. He then went on to play in New Zealand for the Highlanders, in the UK for Leicester Tigers, in France for Stade Rochelais, as a player/coach in the USA for Lindenwood University and finally did service in Hong Kong for both Discovery Bay Pirates and Hong Kong Scottish.

Hong Kong Football Club pitch saw players from HK Scottish, HK Football Club, HK University, DB Pirates, Valley Fort, Typhoons and Kowloon join together to create teams to play in 3 Memorial games. The first game was a Social friendly; played by many who had “much experience over many years” (the two wingers had 116 years between them). Much heavy breathing and hands on hips was witnessed. This was followed by the Ladies 10s which was competitive, even though it was a first ever game for some.

Finally, a Performance game was played between DB Pirates/HK Scottish (“Pirate Islanders”) and a HK Barbarian team. Players gave their all, some crunching tackles and impressive line breaks. Seru would have been proud of both their performances and the camaraderie on the field. The only thing missing was the Big Man’s laughter coming from the pitch.

The HK Barbarians were victorious in the first two, close games but the Pirate Islanders managed to take a well-deserved win in the third.

A good turnout resulted in good sales of memorial shirts as well as playing shirts, with funds raised going towards the Seru Fund. Currently being administered by DB Pirates, monies donated will go towards projects close to Seru’s heart. The Fund will seek to support work going on in Seru’s home village in Fiji and help complete the building of a school. For more information about the fund please contact [email protected]

Some of the Fund is also planned to form part of a scholarship, to identify and bring a Fijian teenager to Hong Kong to school and play rugby, and hopefully give them a springboard to a brighter future.

In life, Seru was able to bring together people from all corners, to play the game he was so passionate about. Thus, it was most fitting that the same could be done after his passing.

Watch the opening tribute and all three games here:
Opening and tribute to Seru Rabeni, DB Pirates vs HK Barbarians (social men’s game)
DB Pirates vs HK Barbarians (ladies 10s’ game)
Pirate Islanders vs HK Barbarians (men’s performance game)

Photos: Sharon McEneff

Seru Rabeni (1978-2016) Memorial Game

Seru played rugby union from his early school days at Ratu Kadavulevu School in Fiji, and first played provincial rugby for Lautoka in 1998-99 while studying at the then Lautoka Teachers College before moving on to Suva in 2000.

He made his Sevens debut for Fiji in Dubai in 1998. He played at both U21 and U23 level for Fiji before making his test debut in May 2000 against Japan in Tokyo during the Epson Cup tournament. He played for Fiji in Hong Kong at the turn of the millennium, often referring back to the Hong Kong Sevens as one of his favourite rugby memories.

In 2001, Seru took up a three-year degree course at the University of Otago New Zealand and the following year played seven games for Otago in the National Provincial Championship before gaining a Super 12 contract with Highlanders for whom he played a dozen games over the 2003 and 2004 season.

He toured New Zealand with Fiji in 2002, and the same year played Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. He featured for the Fiji Sevens side at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Also in 2004 he played in all three games for the Pacific Islanders, scoring a try against New Zealand in Albany.

Shortly after this Seru signed for Leicester Tigers in England and subsequently Leeds Carnegie and Top 14 Stade Rochelais in France.

Seru started all four of Fiji’s pool games in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and played in all of Fiji’s 2007 World Cup matches.

In 2013, Seru spent time coaching college rugby at Lindenwood University in Missouri, prior to moving to Hong Kong, joining Discovery Bay Pirates as head coach and player in 2014, and continuing to study for his MSc in Sports Marketing and Business Management through the University of Central Lancashire.

The Seru Rabeni Fund has been setup to continue Rabeni’s community work in Fiji and will initially be managed by the DB Pirates aims to continue his good work. Monies raised in the funds name will go to building on what Seru started, including the construction of a school, the development of a scholarship programme for young players in bid to have change their lives forever.

Seru Rabeni Playing Career
Fiji: 2000-2011 – 30 caps
Fiji Sevens: 1998-2002 – 13 competitions
Highlanders: 2003-2004 – 11 appearances
Leicester: 2004-2009 – 63 appearances
La Rochelle: 2010-2012 41 appearances
DB Pirates: 2014-2015 – 41 appearances

Seru Rabeni Memorial Game
Date: 16 April, 2016
Venue: HK Football Club
Tickets: Free
Schedule:
14.00 Gates Open
15.00-15.15 Opening and Tribute to Seru Rabeni (including Minute’s Silence and Video Tribute)
15.20-16.25 DB Pirates vs HK Barbarians (social men’s game)
16.35-17.20 DB Pirates vs HK Barbarians (ladies 10s’ game)
17.30-18.55 Pirate Islanders vs HK Barbarians (men’s “performance” game)
19.00-19.10 Closing

Fiji Win HK Sevens

Fiji win the HK Sevens 2016 with a 21-7 win over New Zealand.

South Africa Win HK Women’s Sevens

South Africa held off a fast-finishing France 14-7 to win the Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens Final held at Hong Kong Stadium. Hong Kong lost in the semi-final.

In the process the southern hemisphere women became the first South African team to reign victorious in Hong Kong, with the men yet to lift the crown here despite their perennial strength in the men’s competition.

South Africa looked the best team throughout day two and delivered when it mattered in the final, with Zenay Jordaan and Marithy Pienaar scoring the tries. With a number of senior players out, South Africa coach Renfred Dazel praised the work of his up-and-comers.

“The youngsters pulled something out of hat,” Dazel said. “The girls deserve it.” Dazel acknowledged the efforts of his entire defence and singled out Nadine Roos for her brilliant work after a day of cut-throat matches. “This morning we started in a must-win situation against France and we beat them. The outstanding players were the youngster Nadine Roos and Marithy Pienaar.”

South Africa had earlier defeated Japan 19-10 in an entertaining semi-final after grinding out a 7-5 win over the previously undefeated France to lock in their semi-final berth.

Hong Kong came agonisingly close to making it to the final, pushing France all the way and creating a number of opportunities in a 5-0 semi-final loss. Stalwarts Aggie Poon Pak-yan and Natasha Olson-Thorne led the way, with a particularly gutsy effort from Olson-Thorne in the final minutes nearly leading to a try.

“I’m disappointed we lost but I’m happy the girls gave everything,” coach Anna Richards said. “We needed to be a bit more patient in that first half, but I’d rather have an endeavour than them not trying.” Richards was proud of the way her charges handled themselves, but rued an early mistake that cost a try. “It’s a two-day tournament and if you’re slightly off, it’s a cruel game,” Richards said. “14 minutes. You make one mistake and it’s very hard to get back from that.”

Hong Kong went on to finish the tournament in fourth place, losing the third versus fourth play-off 10-5 against Japan. Earlier in the day, Hong Kong staved off a physical Japan side to book their semi-final berth, fighting back from 7-0 down to snare a gutsy 14-7 win in their final pool match. Poon continued her brilliant tournament with the opening try, before Nam Ka-man put the home side in the lead in the second half. “We didn’t start very well but I suppose that shows we are actually improving because we kept our composure,” Richards said. “We went down early and our defence kept us in it. We didn’t touch the ball for long periods but we maintained our composure.”

China won the Plate final 7-5 over Kazakhstan to cap a much improved second day, while Kenya ran out easy winners in the Bowl, defeating Sri Lanka 29-0.

Penguins Win HK Tens in Sudden-Death Overtime

In a rematch of the 2013 final, the Penguins again prevailed beating Samurai 5-0 to win the Hong Kong Tens with the first score of the match after a brutally draining Cup Final moved into a second period of sudden-death extra-time.

After over 30 minutes of scoreless 10-a-side action, Waikato flanker Josh Tyrell picked up a loose ball following a lineout near the Samurai line and powered over in the second five-minute period of extra-time, following two 12-minute halves where both teams cancelled each other out.

In the 2013 final Penguins won with a late end-to-end try, the historic UK-based touring club prevailed again and prolonged the heartbreak for Samurai, who have now lost in three finals in 10 appearances at the HKFC 10s.

Scott Waldrom, who was capped by the All Blacks, co-coached the third seeds with long-time Penguin playmaker Willie Walker, who moved into a coaching role after competing in last year’s HKFC 10s.

“I’m just really proud of the boys,” Waldrom said. “We went from one metre from our own goal line to come all the way down the other end to score in some pretty tough conditions. There will be some pretty tired boys out there.

“It was such a stalemate because you had two very similar teams. We both had some good front-rowers, some solid locks and some good bench, so it was much of a much and that’s probably why the game went on so long.”

Walker added: “Antonio [Kiri Kiri], our captain, came off and said that was the hardest game he had ever played, with two extra-times, and he’s probably right. We had 14 players after we lost a couple. They also lost a couple. Both teams were battling out there and it was a good, tough final.”

Antonio Kiri Kiri, a contracted New Zealand Sevens player, co-captained the Penguins with former All Blacks Sevens player Kylem O’Donnell and admitted he was physically and emotionally drained after a final that left most players on their knees.

“I’m pretty blown away. I’m a bit lost for words. It was one of those games where it was down to who would be the first to make a mistake and they lost their own line-out. I’m just happy it wasn’t us,” said Kiri Kiri, who made his Sevens World Series debut in South Africa last December.

“I’ve never played a game like that before, a double extra-time. I’m not used to that. I’m buggered. It has been a tough two days, but I’m sure I’ll find some energy later on. The co-captains and co-coaches seemed to work. Kylem’s an outstanding player and was a real leader on the pitch.”

Kiri Kiri agreed with Waldrom that the two teams were evenly matched in many ways. “The Samurai boys matched us physically and we felt it out there. We’ve sort of had our way with other teams, but with them, they gave it back. Hats off to those guys. They were pretty outstanding athletes.”

With 2015 Super Bowl champion Nate Ebner in their ranks, the fourth-seeded Samurai upset top seeds Dragons 12-0 in the semi-final, while Penguins beat YCAC 29-14, the quartet underlining their reputation as the tournament’s current ‘big four’.

Former New Zealand Sevens player Zar Lawrence led 12th seeds A-Trade Overseas Old Boys to victory in the second-tier Plate final, beating Scottish Exiles 17-10.

Fifth seeds Club Pyrenees won the Bowl in their ninth straight year at the HKFC 10s, beating Gavekal 22-5, while hosts HKFC won the Shield by beating debutants Gladiators from China 28-19.

HK Sevens

Dear bc readers

As editor, I apologise that our Sevens coverage hasn’t been as comprehensive as in past years. Especially as during the last domestic rugby season bc magazine averaged around three articles per week on local rugby.

The reason is, and I’ll quote the HK Rugby Union’ s PR mandarin Sean Moore “I will continue to omit you from my press release distribution and invitation to rugby union events”. “I believe that my decision is defensible based on the negative spin consistently applied to those efforts”

Negative spin – that means for bc magazine to get press releases and notification of rugby events and media accreditation to matches for our rugby photograher we must write sycophantic “HKRU is wonderful” advertorials.

bc magazine exposed the HKRU’s introduction of ethnic quotas and active racism to local rugby via a new rule announced last September. The rule was quickly amended after bc’s article was published and a defamatory and factually inaccurate cover-up campaign mounted against myself and bc by the HKRU and it’s Chairman Pieter Schats.

It should also be stated here that World Rugby the sports global governing body refused to condemn the HKRU’s introduction of racism to local sport when asked in September to comment on the new rule. So much for rugby’s stated core values of integrity and respect. Perhaps World Rugby could explain how racism ‘builds character’?

The HKRU thinks bc shouldn’t criticise them for scrapping children’s tickets for the general public at this year’s event. Local children who get inspired by watching rugby at the Sevens are the future player pool of the national side, the dream and the desire to represent your country infront of 40,000 screaming fans starts from watching in the stands.

The blatant sexually discriminatory bias of the HKRU’s website where 90% plus of the coverage is about men’s rugby is shameful given the vibrant and surging growth of the game amongst women locally in recent years. As I write this www.hkrugby.com has no mention of day 1 of the HK Women’s Rugby Sevens. The day’s match results are nowhere to be found.

The HKRU’s response to me writing and exposing the truth – throwing it’s toys out of the pram like a spoilt child and blocking my accreditation as a photographer to cover the Sevens and deleting bc magazine from the HKRU’s media mailing list.

Actively introducing racism to local rugby, price gouging children, sexually discriminatory coverage… The HKRU has far deeper and more institutionalised problems than ‘negative spin’.

For the first time in over 20 years I won’t be slaving over a computer screen till 5am finishing articles and editing photos. Hope you enjoy the rugby, I will!

Go Hong Kong!

HK Women’s Rugby 7s @ King’s Park – 7 April, 2016

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2016/HK-Womens-Rugby-7s-Kings-Park/i-86wHbX3

A wonderful day’s rugby at the 2016 Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens. King’s Park again hosted day 1 and bc was there. Read bc report of the day’s action here
Click on any photo for the full gallery

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2016/HK-Womens-Rugby-7s-Kings-Park/i-VvNgLgQ

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2016/HK-Womens-Rugby-7s-Kings-Park/i-2d8KNLT

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2016/HK-Womens-Rugby-7s-Kings-Park/i-dnMFpPH

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2016/HK-Womens-Rugby-7s-Kings-Park/i-vJBfw2s

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2016/HK-Womens-Rugby-7s-Kings-Park/i-MChJSwW

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2016/HK-Womens-Rugby-7s-Kings-Park/i-ScPdfJ3