bc magazine

Pride In The Shirt

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Hong Kong’s historic qualification for the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup “sets a real precedent about the potential we have in Hong Kong,” said coach Jo Hull after watching Japan beat Fiji on Tuesday – completing the line-up for next year’s showpiece in Ireland.

Hull’s side opened the three-team qualifying tournament with a 45-7 win over Oceania qualifiers Fiji, and with Japan beating the Pacific Island nation 55-0, Hong Kong are guaranteed a place at next year’s 12-team tournament alongside the Asian champions Japan.

It marks the first-time any Hong Kong team will feature at a fifteen-a-side World Cup. “It’s huge; it’s hard to put it into words. For Hong Kong women’s rugby, hopefully it is going to be a huge turnaround and encourage youngsters and women to get involved and play in that Hong Kong jersey and take a lot of pride in that,” said Hull after having watched Japan run in eight tries against Fiji at King’s Park.

https://youtu.be/IVknFGHm11U

Jo Hull 9 December, 2016 (https://youtu.be/IVknFGHm11U)

Hong Kong face the Asian champions on Saturday at Hong Kong Football Club to determine the winner of the qualifier and will be looking to avenge their defeats in the Asia Rugby Championship earlier this year.

“We are happy with qualifying for the World Cup, but we are focused on our next task. Japan play the Japan style and are fast and play at a high tempo,” said Hong Kong captain Chow Mei-nam.

“We will look to do our own jobs and play our own style to beat them. We are confident to beat them and be the first team in Asia.”

The winner on Saturday will join hosts Ireland as well as France and Australia in pool C of the tournament which takes place between 9-16 August next year, with those three teams “huge in terms of their skill level” according to Hull.

The runner-up will join 2014 second place finishers Canada, New Zealand and Wales in pool A, which Hull believes “is undoubtedly the most physical pool,” with defending champions England, the USA, Italy and Spain drawn in pool B.

“It will be pretty amazing for these girls. Whoever we play against, it is just about being the best we can be and being in that environment and enjoying it, but most importantly representing Hong Kong and taking pride in that,” added Hull.

“A lot of the girls have played these teams at sevens, but to come together and play them at fifteens will be an amazing experience. We want to do well. We don’t just want to turn up; having earned our place, we want to justify being there.”

Next year will represent a third World Cup appearance for Hull who was assistant coach for Scotland in 2006 before returning four years later as performance manager.

“Going to a World Cup is an experience you will never get in any other walk of your life. It is three weeks of intense pressure, but it is an amazing three weeks, surrounded by amazing athletes and coaches and a really high performance culture. It is about celebrating how far women’s rugby has come,” she said.

“Both my experiences showed how competitive and how far the women’s game has come. To be there you have to be prepared. You have to be ready for the pressure, and you have to be able to perform at the right time.

“We are not getting ahead of ourselves and saying we can go and win the World Cup, but if we are there, we want to give a good account of ourselves for Hong Kong so we get young kids, girls and women saying they want to be there in 2021,” Hull added.

Hong Kong v Japan
Women’s World Cup Qualifier
Date: 4:30pm, 17 December, 2016
Venue: HK Football Club
Tickets: Free

World Cup Qualifier: Hong Kong v Japan

World Cup Qualifier

Women’s Rugby Results – 3 December, 2016

Premiership

City Sparkle 5-64 Valley Black
@ Shek Kip Mei, Kick-off: 18:00

HKFC Ice pstp Kowloon
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 18:00

CWB Phoenix pstp USRC Tigers
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 18:00

National League 1

HKCC 15-32 USRC Tigers
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 16:30

Revolution SRC v Valley Red
@ Tai Hung Tang, Kick-off: 16:30

Tai Po Dragons pstp HK Scottish
@ KG V, Kick-off: 18:00

National League 2

City v Tai Po Dragons
@ Kowloon Tsai, Kick-off: 15:00

Gai Wu Hawks 5-10 HK Fire
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 16:30

CWB Lammergeier 93-0 Uni-Pirates
@ Sandy Bay, Kick-off: 16:30

Police Sirens 36-5 Tin Shui Wai
@ Police Boundary Street, Kick-off: 18:00

Valley Black Beat City Sparkle, 64-5

Valley Black beat City Sparkle, 64-5, in the final Women’s Premiership match of 2016 at Shek Kip Mei. Defending league and Grand Champions Valley made a statement with their numbers – and not just on the scoreboard – as the side pulled out a win despite having eight of its regulars absent on international duty.

Six Valley players are with the national team squad as Hong Kong prepares for next week’s Women’s Rugby World Cup qualifiers, while two were away with the successful Hong Kong U18 Girls Sevens squad that won the Asia Rugby U18s Girls Sevens championship in Dubai.

Despite being light on numbers, Valley was keen to accept the fixture with City, as both sides wanted a run ahead of the winter break. With just 16 regular first team players available, Valley coach James Eliot called upon the club’s National League 1 players and they stepped up in fine fashion.

The team’s established players led the way for the newbies, with winger Laurel Chor and fullback Zoe Smith accounting for three tries each, while captain Olivia Coady collected a brace as the Valley juggernaut rolled on.

“Going in to a game without eight national team players would have probably put a big drain on almost any other club, but we called up the girls from our NL1 side and they really stepped up,” said Elliot.

“I’m so proud of them. We had so many players come into the game today, many of them playing out of position and knowing we needed them to play a huge amount of minutes, and they really came through. Some of the girls played more minutes today than they have all season,” Elliot added.

Today’s influx of players from the lower leagues brings Valley’s total numbers of players appearing in the Premiership to date this season to 34, as Valley adds depth to its growing list of threats.

Elliot credited City for meeting the fixture: “Everyone said we were crazy to want to play with only 16 players, but we didn’t play last week and neither did City and we both wanted to get more games in before the break,” Elliot added.

“And it was a really good game. City put up a great fight. They never let up and played with a lot of heart. The try they scored was a beauty, they ran right through us; there was a lot of good rugby played today by both sides,” Elliot added.

Today’s result returns Valley to the top of the table alongside Gai Wu Falcons, both of whom are on 29 points. Valley, with a game in hand, has the head-to-head advantage after beating Falcons a fortnight ago.

“We do need a break now,” said Elliot, “We’ve been working hard on our aggression around the pitch and in eliminating some communication issues and giving away fewer penalties and will continue to work on those things for when we start again.

“But we can take a lot of confidence from that result. It shows that we are more than just a team, we are a club and that even without our internationals we can still play winning rugby,” Elliot added.

Additional reporting and photo: HKRU

Women’s Rugby Fixtures – 3 December, 2016