4 time Women’s Champions Valley Black were out to put a stop to Gai Wu’s winning streak while Gai Wu were out to prove that last year’s win wasn’t a fluke.
The conditions at Happy Valley were perfect for a fast attacking game with Wesley Feausi, Gai Wu’s influential coach looking for consistency from his team in play, game time and results. From the kick-off both forward packs showed they wanted to attack, whether in tight or lingering out wide. Gai Wu spent a lot of the first half on the back foot with some strong team defence as Valley enjoyed a lot of first half possession and displayed good ball retention. Strong attacking bursts from Valley’s Olivia Coady and Sarah Nash asked tough questions of Gai Wu’s tight defensive unit who held firm. When Gai Wu did receive clean ball from the forwards, they were able to score simply by going through the hands with Rainbow Leung crossing the line for the first try of the game. Valley got back in the game via a penalty after continuous Gai Wu infringements in the ruck. Half-time score 5-3 Gai Wu.
After the break, both teams were anxious to be the first to score, and early in the second half following a mis-directed kick, Gai Wu’s Rainbow pounced onto the loose ball and ran around 2 would-be defenders to score untouched making the score 10-3. Numerous attacks by the Valley backrow were met with staunch Gai Wu tackling. A mis-judged catch after a kick from Aggie Poon saw the ball make its way to Rainbow again, who after a clever draw and pass from prop Shun Lee, completed her hat-trick untouched and under the posts making the score 17-3. Feeling the pace Gai Wu missed a few tackles in the last 5 minutes, allowing Valley a consolation try. A great game of rugby and a superb advert for the quality of the women’s game in Hong Kong.
Gai Wu:
Tammy Lau (vc), Mang Li, Shun Lee, Yung Ching, Belsy Yuen, Sharon Tsang, Sum Sum, Melody Li, Kwan Tang, Emmy Chan, Rainbow Leung, Jay Ho (c), Candy Cheng, Aggie Poon, GMA Lau, Sharon Lui, BB Lee, Sum Chan, Kayan Chong
Tries: Rainbow Leung (3), Conversions: Aggie Poon
