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Match Report: HK Scottish Kukris 5-44 Tai Po Dragons @ KG V – 15 October, 2016

It was a balmy evening at the KGV ground as HK Scottish Kukris and Tai Po Dragons met for the first time in National League 1, with the Dragons having previously played in the Premiership. The game started evenly matched, with the Kukris putting Dragons under pressure. But just as the Kukris game-plan was about to yield results, the Dragons turned over the ball and counterattacked. The Kukris were slow to respond and the Dragons scored and converted 7-0. Kukris immediately replied with a good team effort, and Fung Yuen-ting went over in the corner. The conversion was unsuccessful 7-5.

The Kukris had a great chance to take the lead. The ball was worked out to Hui Man-ling on the left wing, who kicked it clear of the defence and gave chase. But as she headed for the try line under the posts, she was unable to gather the bouncing ball and knocked-on. The Kukris seemed overly disheartened by the missed oppourtunity. First they gave away a soft try. Then the Dragons scored twice more, by forcing their way through the Kukris’ defence, with two or more tacklers needed to stop each Dragon. Their conversions were unsuccessful, but the halftime score was 22-5 to Dragons.

The second half resumed in similar fashion. The physical Dragons continued to challenge the Kukris defence, and doubled their score; four more tries, with the first converted. However, just as the Dragons appeared to have total control, the Kukris fought back. The ball was won, retained, and then carried forward. Now the Dragons were under pressure, not that the outcome of the game was in doubt. First the Kukris moved into the Dragon’s half, then beyond the 22, and finally had the ball touched down. But the referee called them back for a scrum. And even though it was now the Dragons who were conceding penalties, the Kukris could not manage to score any more points.

Final score 44-5 for Tai Po Dragons. A well deserved win for a very strong Tai Po team, who now go top of the league with maximum points from two games, and impressive figures of 68 Points For, 5 Against.

Next week Tai Po Dragons take on Gai Wu, while Hong Kong Scottish continue at KGV for another 6 PM kick-off against Hong Kong Cricket Club.

HK Scottish Kukris
Neon Chau, Po-Ki Chan, Tung-Hoi Jim, Crystal Lee, Oi-Yan, Emily So, Myron Ng, Nieve Heskin, Kathy Yip, Karis Cheng, Hau-Yi Chung, Yuen-Ting Fung, Andie Ma, Ket Robinson, Man-Ling Hui, Lo-Ho Yau,
Substitutes: Yumi Fan Sau-Yi, Tiffany Tse, Nicola Yau
Tries: Yuen-Ting Fung

Premiership Round-up: HKFC Ice beat Kowloon in Dramatic Fashion

Kowloon Ladies lost a thriller as they nearly upended the Premiership form-book in round three – falling just short in a 22-17 loss to HKFC Ice. In other Premiership action, Valley Black outclassed City Sparkle 51-0, while USRC Tigers beat CWB Phoenix 32-0 at Kings Park.

HKFC scored twice as Stephanie “SSY“ Siu and Jamie Bourk both crossed the try-line before Kowloon put it’s first points on the board with an unconverted try by Chloe Mak Ho Yee. Ice scored a third try through Sophie Short just before the hooter to take a comfortable 17-5 lead at half time.

Kowloon fought back with two tries in the second half the last coming in the 75th minute to pull level at 17-17. Despite a rash of six injuries in the second half, it was Ice who used the clock best as Crystal Wray scored in the dying seconds to secure the 22-17 win.

“We lost in the last minute because we lacked a bit of control late. We didn’t have to rush things as much as we did, but the performance in the second half was exactly what I was looking for,” said Kowloon coach Jonathan Ho.

“Scoring in the first half gave us some belief and the second half was a huge improvement. Just a tiny bit more and the game could have been ours. We can now look ahead confidently to Tigers next week,” Ho added.

“It was a tough day at the office and we were glad to come through,” said HKFC coach David Wigley. “We expect every game to be tough and today shows why. At half time we thought we were in a comfortable position: our lineouts were going well, and even though our scrums were problematic in places, we felt well ahead. We let them start the second half better and fair play to them, they turned the screw quite well. We had six injuries in the second half so we had to do a lot of adjusting. We were successful in reshaping and that was pleasing to see.”

Valley Black ran out easy winners against City Sparkle, improving their record to 3-0 on the season. Valley led 26-0 at halftime and closely mirrored that strike rate in the second half, a remarkable output considering they spent stretches with 13 on the pitch after having two players sin-binned for repeat infringements.

“It was a good game and a good result. It was quite difficult and feisty in places,” said Valley coach James Elliot. “They were a bit physical and our girls couldn’t get the fast ball that they wanted.”

USRC Tigers beat CWB Phoenix 34-0 but coach Liu Kwok-leung seemed pleased to have come through with any type of win at all:

“It was a very hard game. In the first half we played great and everything was going according to plan. In the second half we got some injuries, and had to bring on some younger players. That was when we lost our concentration. We lost momentum and focus, and made a lot of errors. They put us under pressure, but we worked hard in defence,” said Liu

It was another tough blow for Phoenix, who have faced the stiffest schedule in the early going – meeting last season’s top three in succession to start the year.

“In the end, we were very strong in our attack, but the players were not ready,” said a disappointed Causeway Bay coach Ocean Chow.

“We weren’t mentally ready in the first half. We raised our game and created some opportunities to score in the second, but we failed to follow through. We didn’t play as well as we did last week against Gai Wu. If we had, then the scores would have been closer, or it could have even been a win.”

Additional reporting: HKRU

Women’s Rugby Results – 15 October, 2016

Premiership

City Sparkle 0-53 Valley Black
@ Shek Kip Mei, Kick-off: 18:00
Premiership round-up

HKFC Ice 22-17 Kowloon
@ Kings Park, Kick-off: 18:00
Premiership round-up, match report

CWB Phoenix 0-32 USRC Tigers
@ Kings Park, Kick-off: 19:30
Premiership round-up

National League 1

HKCC 10-36 USRC Tigers
@ Happy Valley, Kick-off: 15:00

Tai Po Dragons 44-5 HK Scottish Kukris
@ KGV, Kick-off: 18:00
Match report

Revolution SRC 40-5 Valley Red
@ Kings Park, Kick-off: 18:00

National League 2

Uni-Pirates 0-31 Tai Po Dragons
@ KG V, Kick-off: 16:30

Tin Shui Wai 10-14 HKFC Fire
@ Tin Shui Wai, Kick-off: 16:30

CWB Lammergeier 5-29 Police
@ Police Boundary Street, Kick-off: 18:00

Kowloon 17-7 Gai Wu Hawks
@ Kings Park, Kick-off: 19:30

Photo: Phoebe Leung

Hong Kong Women Superb on Day 1 in Sri Lanka

https://youtu.be/BMEpKM0FOiQ

China vs Hong Kong (Women) (https://youtu.be/BMEpKM0FOiQ)

Hong Kong’s Women’s Seven topped Pool C at the end of Day 1 of the Columbo Sevens – edging Sri Lanka, 17-12, and blanking Singapore, 26-0, before a superb 19-12 win over China. The women had a slow start against Sri Lanka but did well to claim a win in a match played under the punishing noonday sun.

The result was not as convincing as coach Anna Richards would have liked, particularly with the next match against a Singapore side that has posed problems for Hong Kong in the series. But Hong Kong left no doubt in their second outing as they outmuscled and outran their opponents in a 26-0 whitewash. Hong Kong saved its best for last, producing a peerless performance in a 19-12 win over China to claim the top spot in the pool.

Natasha Olson-Thorne, who continues to stake her claim as one of the top players in Asia of any gender, provided the only scoring in the first half as the gritty centre demolished China’s defence with a huge fend en route to an individual try that put Hong Kong ahead 7-0 after Tjosvold’s conversion.

China drew level late in the half, but Hong Kong resumed service in the second half, taking the ball deep into Chinese territory after China flubbed the second half kick-off. Sensing that China was flagging, Hong Kong upped its intensity further as Adrienne Garvey, Olson-Thorne and Tjosvold put on a master class of support play to peg China on its own try-line. Patience over the ball paid off as Hong Kong mounted wave after wave of attacks sapping the defence.

China eventually regained possession but only momentarily as Nam Ka-man, who was influential throughout the day, levelled the ball carrier. Cindy Yuen Lok-yee collected the loose ball to score from in close. Tjosvold’s conversion gave Hong Kong a 14-7 lead with three minutes remaining. Another Chinese error at the re-start handed the put-in at the scrum to Hong Kong who won ball cleanly. Lindsay Varty immediately raised the stakes with a quick attack, carrying deep before offloading to Ivy Kwong Sau-yan who added Hong Kong’s third try in the 19-7 win.

The reward for topping the pool for the first time this season was bittersweet however, as Hong Kong will now meet series co-leaders Japan, who were unceremoniously beaten by an inspired Thailand seven, in tomorrow’s cup semi final (15.59 Hong Kong time).

“It’s been an interesting day. We struggled a bit in our first game, but played a lot better in the second. But I was really happy with our performance against China, especially our composure. We handled the pressure very well. We were able to keep calm and control the game a bit more and that was the key,” Richards said.

Richards was unfazed that the reward for the day’s graft was to face Japan: “That will be a really good test for us. We know what Japan are like. We will need more of what we showed today against China. We need to control what we can control, stay composed and work hard on defence,” said Richards.

Women’s Rugby Fixtures – 15 October, 2016

Match Report: HKCC Ladies 7-31 Gai Wu Fawkes – 8 October 2016

After a promising start to the season against the ever strong Valley Reds, the HKCC Ladies were invigorated and ready to welcome Gai Wu to their home ground at Aberdeen last Saturday with their rugby heads on. The atmosphere was buzzing and home support was strong, including HKCC’s newest little supporting member, baby Tahi (prop in training).

The Ladies kicked off to a good start, both sides battling hard to keep possession of the ball. Some good defence from the Ladies saw them gain the ball despite Gai Wu winning the first lineout, however Gai Wu’s fast and low rucking saw them break out to the wing scoring a try 7 minutes in with a successful conversion.

Never fazed, the Ladies pushed on to form a good try line defence following another lineout lost to Gai Wu. Despite HKCC’s best efforts, Gai Wu’s centre popped through the defensive line in true firework fashion to score another try minutes later. Some cheeky behaviour from Gai Wu culminated in the referee issuing a yellow card for a dangerously high tackle.

Good scrummaging saw an energised HKCC win back the ball from Gai Wu following a knock on, a forceful maul from the forwards saw Maddy Witt score HKCC’s first try. Half-time score 12-7 to Gai Wu.

The second half saw some great runs from ‘Kamakazi’ Nobby and HKCC’s newest recruit, outside centre Isobel O’Connor. Endurance and stamina were put to the test as it became obvious that HKCC’s were tired and numerous penalties were awarded to Gai Wu.

HKCC soldiered on with a fierce determination, however slow reactions to a Gai Wu penalty left the defence wide open, allowing the Fawkes t0 score another try. Not willing to admit defeat, HKCC persisted in their attempts to force Gai Wu out of their territory, and despite a last concerted effort, a final maul on the try line saw Gai Wu score their final try with a smooth conversion.

Perhaps the familiarity of the Aberdeen turf put the Ladies in their comfort zone, giving a chance for Gai Wu to show the Ladies their worth.

HKCC Ladies
Forwards: Nobuko Oda, Wawa Li, Jo Harvey, Lauren Petersen, Carolyn Champion, Maddy Witt, Kikinay Kemp, Terri Lau, Kassie Chapel, Mhairi McLaughlin, Kon Chan
Backs: Lynda Nazer, Tinley Wong, Margaret Chan, Josie Jolley, Steph Zhang, Allison Mak, Brenda Chan, Serene Yee, Elane Lau, Christy Ma, Isobel O’Connor
Tries: Maddy Witt
Coach: Martin Kibble

Hong Kong Women Seek Improvement at Columbo Sevens

After a disappointing first two tournaments in the Asia Womens Rugby Sevens 2016 where Hong Kong finished third in both, Hong Kong women’s sevens coach Anna Richards and her squad head to the Columbo Sevens seeking their first wins of the season over Japan and China who won in Hong Kong and Korea respectively.

Hong Kong are pooled behind China and ahead of a rapidly improving Singapore side and Sri Lanka in Pool C. Japan top Pool D along with Thailand, South Korea and India on their season debut.

Richards has selected an unchanged squad from the last outing. “We played pretty well in Korea so we didn’t see the need to make changes,” said Richards, who noted that attacking wing Aggie Poon Pak-yan is still sidelined by injury and will miss her second tournament of the series.

Hong Kong’s chances to move higher in the rankings would require either China or Japan, who have swapped the titles and runners-up spots over the first two legs, to fall outside of the top four, while Hong Kong would have to at least reach the final this weekend.

“It doesn’t seem likely due to the consistency of China and Japan this season,” said Richards. “We would have to reach the final while one of the others would have to have a steep fall. We are more focused on our own performance and consolidating our third placed finish.”

Instead, Richards will be looking for a breakout performance against first China in the pool stages. “We would like to perform better against China. From what we are hearing they will have a totally different team in Sri Lanka compared to what we have seen so far, with players being drawn from a new province. Who knows what will turn up but most of the provincial sides in China are pretty similar and we are expecting that they will again be very competitive,” said Richards.

“We want to consolidate our third place finish and also to play better than we have done so far. Training has been going well and the girls have put a lot of work into this weekend so now we just need to perform,” Richards added.

The tournament is being live streamed at www.asiarugby.com

Hong Kong: Cheng Ka-Chi, Christy (captain); Natasha Olson-Thorne (vice Captain); Nam Ka-Man; Candy Cheng Tsz-Ting; Amelie Seure; Sham Wai-Sum; Colleen Tjosvold; Kwong Sau-Yan; Lindsay Varty; Chong Ka-Yan, Adrienne Garvey, Yuen Lok-Yee.

Additional reporting and image: HKRU

Match Report: Uni-Pirates 15-68 Gai Wu @ Happy Valley – 8 October, 2016

The Uni-Pirates continued their magical voyage with their second National League 2 game against Gai Wu Hawks in Happy Valley. The team suffered a blow before kick-off with winger Pricila Wang fracturing her finger in the warm-up. Gai Wu requested to have uncontested scrums during the match as they didn’t have enough scrum trained forwards – a frustrating situation for the Uni-Pirates who had a clear advantage in forward pack weight, but safety first.

Gai Wu took advantage of an uncontested scrum in the Uni-Pirates twenty-two to create their first try, scored by their fly half. A second quickly followed as the Hawks scored from a quickly taken penalty close to the Uni-Pirates try line. The Uni-Pirates played their way into the game using their forward strength and a ten-minute period of possession deep in the Hawks’s half finally paid off with a penalty five metres from the Gai Wu line. The Uni-Pirates forwards worked hard and drove hooker Kon Chan over the try-line for their first try of the season. Gai Wu used a long restart kick to pin the Uni-Pirates deep in their own half. Unable to clear the danger, Gai Wu scored a third try and then a fourth just before the half time. Half-time 30-5.

Gai Wu’s backs were pushing the Uni-Pirates defence hard and scored another try early in the second-half. Down, but not out the Uni-Pirates responded with some powerful forward play which was almost rewarded when Estelle touched the ball down, only to have the referee disallow the try for a knock-on. The uncontested scrums really favoured Gai Wu whose backs scored another long distance try. With fatigue setting-in for the Uni-Pirates, Debby was shown a yellow card for a high tackle. Gai Wu took full advantage of the extra woman scoring three tries.

An exchange of tries then followed as the Uni-Pirates strong forwards put together over 10 phases of play which finally released full-back Gloria Law who scored with a nimble pick-up before darting over the line. The Hawks responded, taking advantage of a line-out fumble to score another converted try. Back though came the Uni-Pirates as scrum-half Estelle Barbaroux continued her scoring streak taking a quick penalty near midfield and breaking through seven defenders to score close to posts. Looking for bonus point the Uni-Pirates pushed hard in the final minutes in an attempt to score a fourth try. Another line-out fumble though saw Gai Wu steal the ball and score another try in the games closing minutes. Final score 68-15.

Although the score looks lop-sided the young and in-experienced Uni-Pirates – a combination team of the University Unicorns and the DB Pirates – learnt a lot of lessons and scored some confidence boosting tries to show that there’s more to come as season progresses.

Uni-Pirates:
Forwards: Debby Cheung, Monica Aoko Ariwi, Florence Li, Imogen Dean, Joyce Leung, Kon Chan, Amoy Hugh-Pennie, Lai Ka Yan, Meg McGrath, Renee McCreadie, Julie Buddle
Backs: Sombo Sisay, Estelle Barbaroux (Captain), Cheng Hiu Yi, Bonbon Jan, Gloria Law, Sienna Stubbs, Celine Malunes, Keren Shahar Gafni, Liza Avelino
Tries: Kon Chan, Gloria Law, Estelle Barbaroux