There are those who will just look at the score and assume that Hong Kong got thrashed, but that is far from the whole story. The Black Ferns are bigger, stronger, faster and in Portia Woodman have a former Rugby 7s Player of the Year and scorer of 142 tries. Hong Kong’s backline are not the only players to have only seen the back of Woodman’s shirt as sprints past to score.
Yes it was a second heavy defeat, but that disguises a strong hard working committed performance by Hong Kong, typified by Jessica Ho’s try saving tackle in the in-goal area. Natasha Olson-Thorne’s darting runs and resolute tackling and Chong Ka-yan almost grabbing an intercept try which would have been fine reward for her performance.
Coach Jo Hull was obviously disappointed with the enormity of the margin, but wasn’t surprised by just how good the Black Ferns were.
“We played against world-beaters and when they got the ball in in their hands and moved it wide, we just couldn’t stop them,” Hull said. “Credit to them, they came on and played the game they wanted to play, but at the same time, I was proud of our girls.”
On the scoreboard it was all Black Ferns from the word go, with Carla Hohepa crossing within the first minute of the match to set the ball rolling for her side, who are ranked second in the world and, along with England and Canada, are among the favourites for the tournament.
New Zealand raced to a 57-0 lead by the half-time break, with Portia Woodman scoring two first-half tries before exploding in the second half to finish with eight. Kendra Cocksedge was on target from the tee and converted 13 of her side’s 19 tries, while Theresa Fitzpatrick scored two tries, but it wasn’t all negative for Hong Kong.
“I think that we caused them a few problems at the breakdown and we survived the scrum, which was a big one for us,” Hull said. “We did a lot of our basic jobs OK, but you can’t play against a world-class team like that without making mistakes.”
“We held the ball for three or four phases and then they forced an error with their physicality. But we enjoyed it out there and I think the crowd were with us again and that’s given us so much encouragement and energy, it’s been great.”
For a period after half-time Hong Kong held their own against their all-conquering opponents and kept them scoreless while creating some attacking opportunities of their own.
“I think again Ka-yan was good, she’s a little pocket rocket, she just keeps getting up,” Hull said. “She’s a professional rugby player and that’s what her job is and I expect her to be able to do that.”
“I think Royce did a good job today at hooker, she was relentless and at times I think Kelsie did well again with her ball carrying and defensively. Tash gave us some good go-forward and gain-line, which was good.”
With the score at 69-0 at the 59-minute mark after Hong Kong had slowed the Black Ferns’ scoring but as their exertions told and the team tired. New Zealand went on a spree that netted eight tries in the final 21 minutes with five of the eight scored by Woodman alone.
After playing two of the top three sides in the world, Hull is hoping that, along with strengthening their defence, Hong Kong can start to express themselves a bit more with ball in hand. ‘We haven’t done much attacking and when we do have the ball we need to look after it,” she said.
While the scoreboard was worse, this was much improved team performance with Jo Hull and the forwards (mostly) solving their power / weight disadvantage in the scrums with quick feeds and pick-ups by the number 8. Hong Kong still don’t look like troubling the scoreboard… but hopefully they can change that against Wales on Thursday.
No report on this match would be complete without mention of the massive band of travelling Hong Kong fans who loudly kept cheering the team on throughout. And the respect shown by New Zealand who clapped and sang Hong Kong off the pitch at the end of the game. Respect!
The action continues at Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 on Sunday with teams eager to build on opening day wins or bounce back and get the victories to keep themselves in the hunt for semi-final places given that only the three pool winners are guaranteed to keep their title hopes alive.
The Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 kicked off with more tries and points scored on opening day than ever before as England, New Zealand, Canada, USA, France and hosts Ireland all tasted victory.
The tournament is capturing the imagination of fans in Ireland and around the world with fans from 196 countries and territories visiting the official website, rwcwomens.com an increase of 550 per cent on WRWC 2014.
Sunday’s action gets underway at 12:00 local time (GMT+1) with the Pool A encounter between New Zealand and Hong Kong at Billings Park here’s a preview of that match and the rest of the day 2 action.
Pool A: New Zealand v Hong Kong
New Zealand captain Fiao’o Faamausili will draw level with Anna Richards and Emma Jensen as her country’s most-capped player when she wears the jersey for the 49th time against Hong Kong.
The hooker is one of only five players retained from the 44-12 win over Wales as coach Glenn Moore looks to keep his squad fresh ahead of the challenges to come. Half-backs Kendra Cocksedge and Victoria Subritzky-Nafatali continue their partnership with sevens stars Sarah Goss and Portia Woodman (pictured) the others, although Goss moves across the back-row.
“The four-day match turnaround puts a lot of pressure on players and we want to ensure they are in the best possible shape for the entire tournament,” explained Moore.
“This is an important game for us. There were certain things we were really pleased about in our match against Wales, but there were also a couple of areas we were disappointed in. We need to improve on those and further build in the areas we did well in. Everyone is looking forward to getting out there again and doing New Zealand proud.”
Hong Kong coach Jo Hull expects New Zealand to be “at another level” and “tougher” than a Canadian side that beat her charges 98-0 on day one, so she knows that their tackling must approve to ensure they don’t give the Black Ferns the space and chance to build momentum.
Only four players will back-up from that opening loss, including captain Chow Mei Nam and centre Natasha Olson-Thorne, with veteran forwards Royce Chan and Christine Gordon coming in along with promising teenager centre Kelsie Bouttle.
“We’re feeling positive and excited to play New Zealand. We’ve had two tests against non-Asian opponents in our history and now we’re playing the second and third ranked teams in the world within the space of a week. For the 23rd ranked team in the world it’s a huge honour and a real positive for us,” insisted Hull.
“There’s a lot of pride in the locker room over our spirited performance against Canada, but we aren’t satisfied with how we played. We take heart from our performance, but we know we still have a lot to improve on. Mentally we’re in a good place. We’re not okay with losing 98-0 and personal accountability in our performance is hugely important and has to improve. That’s the challenge for us over the next few days.
“Some real positives are emerging. We showed warrior toughness against Canada, but it’s not good enough to leave it at that. We have to back that up now. We need a better performance than last week and against another world-class team.”
Pool A: Canada v Wales
Canada, unlike their main Pool A rivals New Zealand, have elected to retain virtually the same starting line-up from the record 98-0 defeat of Hong Kong for this meeting with Wales, the only change sees try-scorer Elissa Alarie move from full-back to the left wing with Julianne Zussman filling the vacated 15 jersey. The player to drop out of the squad is Frédérique Rajotte.
The Welsh match will bring up a personal milestone for captain Kelly Russell as she becomes the third Canadian to reach 50 test caps, following in the footsteps of two legends of Canadian rugby in Gillian Florence – a veteran of five World Cups – and Maria Gallo, who presented the team with their jerseys ahead of the Hong Kong match.
“It was a good start. I think the score reflected that we played as a team and we had a great flow,” admitted Magali Harvey, Canada’s five-try scorer against Hong Kong. “That was our first game and every game from now on are going to get harder. It was very exciting to see that we were able to keep going for 80 minutes, that said we are also aware that we are in a tough pool. We just want to put all the odds on our side, so the more points we score the better it is for us and the harder it is for teams to catch up to us.
“I think Wales will be more of a technical team (than Hong Kong) and a bigger team too so it is going to be more of a physical game and we have to bring it to them so they know we are not messing around either.”
Wales coach Rowland Phillips, meanwhile, has made two changes from the side beaten 44-12 by New Zealand on the same Billings Park pitch with Sian Moore given the nod at scrum-half this time and Jess Kavanagh-Williams named on the wing for her first taste of World Cup action. Replacement hooker Morfudd Ifans is in line to make her debut, while experienced back-row Shona Powell-Hughes takes her place on the bench after recovering from injury suffered in a warm-up match.
“We’ll be looking to cut out the unforced errors against Canada, who are a well-organised, strong and very athletic side,” said Phillips. “We’ve spoken a lot about taking positives out of the game against New Zealand, and that’s something we’ve been working on in the build-up to tomorrow’s match.
“We’re lucky as coaches to be overseeing a highly motivated group of players. Almost as soon as we came off the pitch on Wednesday, we started looking at what we needed to do to challenge what is clearly a very good Canada side. That preparation – which has included a lot of hard work on the training pitch – means we’ll take to the field full of confidence tomorrow.”
Pool B: England v Italy
England coach Simon Middleton had always planned to ring the changes and give everyone a run-out across the opening match days and so only five players are retained from the 56-5 win over Spain for the defending champions’ second meeting with Italy this year.
The Red Roses were pushed hard by a determined Italy in the Six Nations with Amy Wilson-Hardy among their try-scorers that February day and the winger comes in for her World Cup debut in place of Kay Wilson, who takes a well-earned rest after her four-try haul against Spain.
Danielle Waterman and Rachael Burford keep their places in the backline and are joined in the starting line-up by England’s two other players in their fourth tournament in prop Rochelle Clark and second-row Tamara Taylor. Emily Scarratt assumes the captaincy with Sarah Hunter starting on the bench against the Azzurre.
“We have options available to us in terms of selection and running different combinations. We want to take full advantage of the depth, talent and experience in the squad. Our aim is to continually build and improve on performance, the team have recovered well and have been working hard over the past two days to ensure we are fully prepared for the next challenge,” said Middleton.
“We are expecting a tough and physical encounter. Italy have caused us plenty of problems in the past and are an incredibly talented side.”
Italy coach Andrea Di Giandomenico has largely kept his backline intact with the talented Beatrice Rigoni’s selection at inside-centre in place of Sofia Stefan the only change. He has, though, rung the changes in his forward pack, one of which was enforced after hooker Lucia Cammarano suffered a double leg fracture during their 24-12 loss to 1991 champions USA on day one.
Melissa Bettoni moves from tight-head to hooker to replace her in a new look front-row with Marta Ferrari and Lucia Gai, while Valeria Fedrighi comes into the second-row for her first start and Ilaria Arrighetti takes her place in a re-jigged back-row.
Captain Sara Barattin and Manuela Furlan were among Italy’s try scorers in that Six Nations meeting and will be eager for the Azzurre to give the defending champions plenty of food for thought in this meeting as they look to bounce back from that day one loss.
“Facing England is always challenging,” admitted Barattin. “They made a great start in the first game against Spain and are here to defend the title. In the last two matches against them in the Six Nations, we played well and put them in trouble. We will give 100 per cent to follow our game plan.”
Pool B: USA v Spain
USA coach Pete Steinberg is very aware of the threat Spain pose with many of their players switching between sevens and 15s on a regular basis and knows his players must put them under pressure defensively if they are to continue their perfect record against Las Leonas, having won both previous World Cup meetings, 28-16 in 1998 and 23-5 four years later.
“One of the things I feel like we can be really good at is line speed,” explained Steinberg. “Spain loves to move the ball, so we really need to put them under some defensive pressure. Line speed and really getting after the contest at the tackle area will be the big things on defence.”
“Our structure wasn’t quite right (against Italy), so we weren’t able to source the rucks when it got wide the way we wanted to. We’ll have to make sure our structure is right, but we’re pretty happy with where we are.”
Steinberg has made only three changes to his starting line-up, Sam Pankey coming in at hooker and Abby Gustaitis, a try-scorer against Italy, getting the nod in the second-row. The other change comes at inside-centre where USA Sevens captain Alev Kelter is rewarded for her performance off the bench with a place alongside Nicole Heavirland in a backline with a strong sevens flavour.
His Spain counterpart Jose Antonio Barrio has also freshened up his squad with a number of changes, some of them positional for this meeting between the sides ranked seventh and eighth in the World Rugby Women’s Rankings.
Isabel Rico and Rocio Garcia bring plenty of experience into the forward pack, while Uribarri Barrutieta and Vanesa Rial come in for their first WRWC 2017 start in the backline.
Pool C: Ireland v Japan
The two teams will know what to expect from each other having played two trial matches at UCD back in June with Ireland coming away with narrow 24-22 and 24-15 victories over a side that has since been crowned Asian champions once again.
Ireland will know they must win by a more comfortable margin to bolster their semi-final hopes, having been the only one of the six victorious teams on day one not to collect a bonus point following a narrow 19-17 win over Australia.
Two of the try-scorers in that match, Sophie Spence and Ciara Griffin, come into the starting line-up for this match among a number of changes up front, while Nicole Cronin will make her test debut, partnering the experienced Nora Stapleton at half-back. Hannah Tyrrell switches to the wing to make way for Mairead Coyne at full-back, while Katie Fitzhenry will line-up alongside Sene Naoupu in the centres.
“We had a really tough encounter with Australia on Sunday evening in the opening game, and while we came away with the win, there a number of areas that we’ve focused on over the past two days that we will need to improve on for tomorrow’s test with Japan,” admitted Tierney.
“We know that the Japanese are going to throw everything at us tomorrow evening. They’re very fit, they like to move the ball wide and they are very quick to the breakdown.
“We’ve made a number of changes to the side from the Australia game with a view to giving some players a rest from what was a very physical game, but we also want to give the other members of the squad the opportunity to show what they can do against a fast and agile Japanese team.”
Japan, meanwhile, have been dealt a huge blow with the loss of their talisman number eight Mateitoga Bogidraumainadave (pictured), who fractured her leg in the loss to France on Wednesday and has been replaced in the tournament squad by hooker Chihiro Kobayashi.
This tournament-ending injury and the three-match suspension for centre Makiko Tomita following her red card in that defeat are the only changes coach Goshi Arimizu has made to his starting line-up for this meeting with hosts Ireland.
Maki Takano is given the unenviable task of replacing Bogidraumainadave at number eight, with Riho Kurogi coming in for Tomita at inside-centre.
Pool C: France v Australia
Fresh from a 72-14 win over Japan on day one, France coach Samuel Cherouk has rung the changes for their meeting with Australia, a side ranked two places below them in the World Rugby Women’s Rankings coming into the tournament.
With Gaëlle Mignot dropping down to the bench, centre Elodie Poublan takes over as captain for what will be her 67th test outing for Les Bleues and will have Carla Neisen as her centre partner with hat-trick scorer Caroline Ladagnous named as a replacement.
Flanker Romane Menager, who impressed with two long-range run-ins against Japan, continues in the back-row with Safi N’Diaye and Marjorie Mayans, who comes into the starting line-up. Two others retaining their place are half-backs Yanna Rivoalen and Caroline Drouin.
Australia coach Paul Verrell, though, is eager to build combinations and has therefore kept his changes to just one in his starting line-up, Sarah Riordan coming in to partner Olympic gold medallist Sharni Williams in the centres with Kayla Sauvao dropping to the bench.
“Our forwards competed well against an experienced Irish pack and they’ll face a similar challenge this Sunday against the French,” said Verrell.
“Our backline showed they can be very dangerous with the ball in hand, but we need them to continue to build as we lead into the match against the French. The addition of Sarah Riordan will provide us with another strong ball running option in the midfield.
“The team proved to themselves what they’re capable of in that match against the Irish and now we need them to continue to perform at that level, whilst also looking to grow and develop as a collective unit.”
As Hong Kong prepare to stare down the Haka challenge, coach Jo Hull has made several changes to the squad for the match against New Zealand who are ranked second in the World. Royce Chan Leong-sze starts at hooker and Christine Gordon at no.8 in an effort to prevent the Black Ferns from establishing too much momentum in the forwards.
Changes in the backline see ‘BB’ Lee Tsz-ting start at fly-half with Kelsie Bouttle getting her first start at centre and Lau Sze-wa coming in at full-back. The changes are a part of Hull’s strategy to manage the load of the Rugby World Cup.
“We have four games just as hard as Canada, so the selection reflects the need to use all of the squad to manage that. Part of it is managing the player requirement, but also getting selection right for New Zealand,” said Hull.
“We’ve gone with the team that we think gives us the best chance to halt their momentum. Defensively, we have some strong players on the pitch and are asking our stalwarts to get amongst them. At the same time, we’ve gone with BB [Lee Tsz-ting] at 10 because she gives us a nice attacking option. If we have ball in hand we want to play some attractive rugby,” added Hull.
Hong Kong will have to dig deep to fend off a New Zealand team that although slow out of the blocks easily defeated Wales 44-12 win.
“Our tackling must improve. We have got to get them to ground quickly and stop them from building any momentum. We gave Canada too much time with the ball. You can only hold out so long defensively if you are letting your opponents generate all of the momentum.”
“Canada had big, world-class athletes and you can’t give them space with the ball. It will be more of the same against New Zealand and I actually expect them to be tougher than Canada. They will have found their stride after that first game against Wales.”
“New Zealand are a seasoned side, so I’m expecting them to be at another level. They are more clinical than Canada. We forced 11 errors against Canada. New Zealand won’t allow that,” said Hull.
Hull’s side are aware of the challenge but eager to front up again on the world stage. “We’re feeling positive and excited to play New Zealand. We’ve had two tests against non-Asian opponents in our history and now we’re playing the 2nd and 3rd ranked teams in the world within the space of a week. For the 23rd ranked team in the world it’s a huge honour and a real positive for us.”
“There’s a lot of pride in the locker room over our spirited performance against Canada, but we aren’t satisfied with how we played. We take heart from our performance, but we know we still have a lot to improve on.”
“Mentally we’re in a good place. We’re not okay with losing 98-0 and personal accountability in our performance is hugely important and has to improve. That’s the challenge for us over the next few days.”
Hull said her team is thrilled by the experience of being at the World Cup and has been buoyed by strong support from a large contingent of travelling fans as well as the neutrals inside the stadium.
“It’s been incredible. The team has been touched by the support we’ve received. Support from the crowd really lifted our performance against Canada. Even at 70 minutes, we were attacking, lifted by the crowd, through what was a rough 80 minutes. We need that to continue over the coming days.”
“Some real positives are emerging. We showed warrior toughness against Canada, but it’s not good enough to leave it at that. We have to back that up now. We need a better performance than last week and against another world-class team,” Hull added.
Hong Kong Squad versus New Zealand:
Forwards: 1. LAU Nga-wun, Tammy; 2. CHAN Leong-sze, Royce; 3 WONG Yuen-shan; 4. CHOW Mei-nam (captain); 5. TSANG Sin-yan; 6. Amelie SEURE; 7. Winnie SIU; 8. Christine GORDON. Backs: 9. Jessica HO Wai-on; 10. LEE Tsz-ting 11. CHONG Ka-yan; 12. Kelsie BOUTTLE; 13. Natasha OLSON-THORNE; 14. Laurel CHOR Lik-fung; 15. LAU Sze-wah.Reserves: 16. HO Hoi-lam; 17. LEE Ka-shun; 18. PUN Wai-yan; 19. CHENG Ka-chi, Christy; 20. CHAN Ka-yan; 21. Lindsay VARTY; 22. Rose HOPEWELL-FONG Siu-lan; 23. Colleen TJOSVOLD
What a wonderful sight to see Hong Kong running onto the pitch at a World Cup. The stadium reverberating to the sound of “Hong Kong! Hong Kong!” from a packed crowd.
As for the match, it was always going to be this way, unlike in football minnows rarely if ever beat the top ranked teams – Canada are third in the world with almost double the ranking points of Hong Kong. But the only way you can improve is to play better teams and while they didn’t score Hong Kong certainly had their moments.
The score 98-0 score does and doesn’t reflect the match. Hong Kong one speedster, Canada several and in the scrum size really does tell. Canada are a big fit side and played some beautiful rugby – hitting the line at full speed on numerous occasions and powerful forward runs.
But credit to Jo Hull’s side, Hong Kong have improved they’ve cut out a lot of the individual errors and swarmed the breakdown forcing several turnovers. And even as the scoreboard ticked over the team refused to lie down enjoying some fine periods of possession especially in the second-half.
“We actually fought for the entire game, we asked them to play like warriors and they did. It’s the reality of where we are, we’re at a World Cup, we’re trying our hardest and I’m proud of them,” Hull said. “We made some silly mistakes, which we will obviously look at, and it’s hard to play when you don’t have the ball.”
Hong Kong battled hard on defence in the opening stages but it took just four minutes for centre Andrea Burk to open the scoring for Canada.
Tries to fullback Elissa Alarie, winger Magali Harvey and skipper Kelly Russell followed as Canada pushed their lead 24-0 by the end of the first quarter. There was plenty more to come before the break, with Harvey scoring twice more and Russell and Burk landing first-half doubles for a half-time score of 46-0.
Canada continued to score freely after the break with Alarie, Amanda Thornborough and Alex Tessier all scoring as Hong Kong fell behind 65-0 after 50 minutes.
A 51st-minute yellow card to winger Chong Ka-yan – who collided with her opponent in the air – didn’t help Hong Kong’s cause, however Canada’s Olivia DeMerchant found herself in the bin soon after and Hong Kong’s most promising attacking thrusts took place then.
It amounted to nothing, though, and Harvey’s fourth try and one to replacement Brittany Waters kept the scoreboard ticking over for Canada. Tries to Russell, Thornborough and a fifth to Harvey completed the rout, with Hull refusing to get caught up in the result.
“A 98-point margin is always a surprise, no coach is going to be happy with that. But I’m not going to dwell on that, it’s a number, fair play to Canada, they were excellent, they were clinical, they’ve got very athletic ball carriers and they deserved that win today.”
“Our players will take a lot of heart from it and I hope the crowd felt it as well, the fact that the crowd were behind us at every 10-minute mark today shows the character that we played with,” said Hull.
Hull was pleased with the impact of her subs, in particular 18-year-old centre Kelsie Bouttle, and also praised the work of tireless winger Chong Ka-yan.
“She showed that resilience today. I wanted to get her with the ball in hand a little bit more, but she showed she’s a class player and I was pleased with her today,” Hull said of Chong.
“Kelsie made an impact when she came on and I think our front row did their job today even though our scrum was going backwards. In terms of physicality, when we had a one-on-one opportunity I think we managed but once they got momentum, we were in a bit of trouble.”
Canada were quick to pounce, twice intercepting the ball and streaking away to the try line. “They’re very fast and have very hot line speed,” Hull said. “That’s what quality sides do, they look at where they can take those little one percenters and today they took them.
“There were periods where we turned them over, we turned them over at the breakdown a couple of times and we forced some mistakes. They’re wins for us and I think we did match them in some areas, but it is difficult to play with your scrum going backwards.”
The relentless pressure of the Canadians took its toll on Hong Kong, with winger Aggie Poon Pak-yan one player nursing an injury ahead of Sunday’s clash with New Zealand.
The long wait is almost over as Hong Kong prepare to make history. Here’s the team sheet for Hong Kong’s first ever game at the Rugby World Cup.
Captain Chow Mei Nam had this to say “It is the first time to be here and be in a World Cup. The Hong Kong team is ready for it. We want to take that challenge and see where we are.”
Hong Kong are in Pool A at the Women’s Rugby World Cup, here’s a preview of the teams they’ll face:
Canada
Best finish: Runners-up (2014) Worst finish: Seventh (2012) Women’s Rugby World Cup record: Played 33 / Won 17 / Lost 14 / Drawn 2 Women’s Rugby World Cup points scored: 724 Most capped player in squad: Kelly Russell, 48 caps Website:www.rugbycanada.ca
Did you know…? Canada became the fourth nation to contest a Women’s Rugby World Cup final in 2014, going down 21-9 to England in Paris.
Coach: Francois Ratier Captain: Kelly Russell
One to watch: Elissa Alarie
Described by her coach as a “game-changer” and a team-mate as “the magician” because of the x-factor she brings to the Canadian backline, Alarie is one of 18 members of the 2017 squad who reached the WRWC 2014 final in France. On that day in the French capital injuries meant she started at scrum-half and, while she was a livewire in the unfamiliar position, she’s far more at home out on the wing – just ask New Zealand flyer Portia Woodman who had the job of stopping her when the Pool A rivals met in the International Women’s Rugby Series in June! A try-scorer in that 28-16 defeat to the Black Ferns, Alarie has played sevens and 15s for Canada and will be looking to put her pace and quick feet to good use over the next three weeks in Dublin and Belfast.
Squad: Elissa Alarie (Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC), Emily Belchos (Westshore RFC), Tyson Beukeboom (Aurora Barbarians) Latoya Blackwood (Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC), Andrea Burk (Capilano RFC) Olivia DeMerchant (Woodstock Wildmen), Jacey Grusnick (Aurora Barbarians), Chelsea Guthrie (Stratchona Druids), Magali Harvey (Club de Rugby de Quebec), Lori Josephson (Aurora Barbarians), Brittany Kassil (Guelph Redcoats), Jane Kirby (Highland Fergus Rugby Club), Kayla Mack (Saskatoon Wild Oats), Carolyn McEwen (Burnaby Lake RFC), DaLeaka Menin (Calgary Hornets), Barbara Mervin (Westshore RFC), Brianna Miller (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC), Chelsey Minter (Westshore RFC), Cindy Nelles (Belleville Bulldogs), Karen Paquin (Club de Rugby de Quebec), Frederique Rajotte (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC), Laura Russell (Toronto Nomads), Kelly Russell (captain, Toronto Nomads), Kristy Sargent (Leprechaun Tigers), Alex Tessier (Montreal Barbarians), Amanda Thornborough (Westshore RFC), Brittany Waters (Meraloma Athletic Club), Julianne Zussman (Castaway Wanderers).
Hong Kong
Tournament debut Most capped player in squad: Chow Mei Nam Website: www.hkrugby.com
Did you know…? Hong Kong are the only squad at WRWC 2017 with a female coach in Jo Hull. Incidentally their sevens coach is also female in Anna Richards, a four-time Women’s Rugby World Cup winner with New Zealand.
Coach: Jo Hull Captain: Chow Mei Nam
One to watch: Kelsie Bouttle
To say that the last few months have been a whirlwind for the centre is a massive understatement. Fresh from her first season of senior rugby with Valley, she joined the Hong Kong training squad in May and subsequently made her test debut in the 58-0 loss to Japan in the opening of the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship last month, impressing coach Jo Hull enough to keep her place for the return match and then make the 28-strong squad for Hong Kong’s debut on the Women’s Rugby World Cup stage. The 18-year-old is a product of the national age-grade programme and the experiences she is able to gather from WRWC 2017 will only benefit the next generation when she shares them with her team-mates on her return.
Forwards:Chow Mei-Nam (Captain); Chan Ka-Yan; Chan Leong-Sze, Royce; Chan Tsz-Ching, Agnes; Cheng Ka-Chi, Christy; Cheung Shuk-Han, Jasmine; Christine Gordon; Lau Nga-Wun, Tammy; Lee Ka-Shun; Pun Wai-Yan; Amelie Seure; Siu Wing-Ni, Winnie; So Hoi-Ting, Karen; Tsang Sin-Yan; Wong Yuen-Shan.
Backs:Adrienne Garvey (Vice Captain); Chong Ka-Yan; Chor Lik-Fung, Laurel; Kelsie Bouttle; Ho Wai-On, Jessica; Rose Hopewell-Fong Siu-Lan; Lau Sze-Wa; Lee Tsz-Ting; Mak Ho-Yee, Chloe; Natasha Olson-Thorne; Poon Pak-Yan, Aggie; Colleen Tjosvold; Lindsay Varty.
New Zealand
Nickname: Black Ferns Best finish: Champions (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010) Worst finish: Fifth (2014) Women’s Rugby World Cup record: Played 27 / Won 25 / Lost 2 Women’s Rugby World Cup points scored: 1,227 Most capped player in squad: Fiao’o Faamausili, 47 caps Website:www.allblacks.com
Did you know…? The Black Ferns won 20 Women’s Rugby World Cup matches in a row after losing to 7-0 to USA in the 1991 semi-finals … until Ireland shocked them with a 17-14 win in the pool stages in 2014.
Coach: Glenn Moore Captain: Fiao’o Faamausili
One to watch: Kendra Cocksedge
Don’t be fooled by her diminutive stature as the Black Ferns’ number nine is one of the best players in the world, blessed with the vision to spot a gap in the defence and the quick feet to dart through it and race away to score herself or put a team-mate away. Named the World Rugby Women’s Player of the Year in 2015, the 29-year-old has been at her sniping best this year, scoring four tries in the International Women’s Rugby Series in June, including a brace against Pool A rivals Canada in a 28-16 win. The most experienced member of the New Zealand backline, her half-back partnership with Kelly Brazier will be key to unleash the dangerous outside backs as the Black Ferns bit to win a fifth title.
Best finish: Fourth (1994) Worst finish: 11th (1998) Women’s Rugby World Cup record: Played 24 / Won 9 / Lost 14 / Drawn 1 Women’s Rugby World Cup points scored: 485 Most capped player in squad: Elen Evans, 68 caps Website:www.wru.co.uk
Did you know…? On the day the Welsh squad was announced, its youngest member Lleucu George won a bronze medal in rugby sevens at the Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas.
Coach: Rowland Phillips Captain: Carys Phillips
One to watch: Keira Bevan
The scrum-half had barely been playing the game six months when the last World Cup took place in 2014, but before that year had ended she’d already played for Wales in sevens. Her test debut swiftly followed, two months shy of her 18th birthday, against England in February 2015 in Wales’ historic 13-0 victory and before the Six Nations had finished she’d a first start under her belt against the Italians. The 20-year-old has made the scrum-half spot her own over the last couple of years with her energetic displays in Welsh team building for the future and has 14 caps to her name.
Forwards: Alisha Butchers (Scarlets); Mel Clay (Ospreys); Amy Evans (Ospreys); Lleucu George (Scarlets); Cerys Hale (Dragons); Sioned Harries (Scarlets); Morfudd Ifans (Scarlets); Kelsey Jones (Ospreys); Siwan Lillicrap (Ospreys); Carys Phillips (captain, Ospreys); Shona Powell-Hughes (Ospreys); Gwenllian Pyrs (Scarlets); Rebecca Rowe (Dragons); Rachel Taylor (Scarlets); Caryl Thomas (Scarlets); Megan York (Dragons).
Backs: Keira Bevan (Ospreys); Elen Evans (Scarlets); Jodie Evans (Scarlets); Rebecca De Filippo (Dragons); Dyddgu Hywel (Scarlets); Hannah Jones (Scarlets); Jasmine Joyce (Scarlets); Sian Moore (Dragons); Jess Kavanagh-Williams (Scarlets); Gemma Rowland (Dragons); Elinor Snowsill (Dragons); Robyn Wilkins (Ospreys).
Additional reporting: World Rugby Images: copyright their respective owners
As the start of the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup looms large, bc takes a stroll down memory lane to the seven previous editions of the Cup for a feel of the historical stage Hong Kong are about to grace.
Hong Kong will become the 19th nation to grace the showpiece of the women’s game, while only defending champions England, USA, France and Canada can lay claim to being part of every edition.
Ireland 2017 will be the eighth chapter in a Women’s Rugby World Cup story that began in Wales in April 1991 when USA were crowned the inaugural champions after defeating England 19-6 defeat in the final.
The 2014 Cup was broadcast to a record 167 countries and the 2017 tournament is expected to have an even greater reach and be the most competitive tournament to date.
Women’s Rugby World Cup 1991
Twelve teams took part in the inaugural tournament. Hosts Wales, Canada, England, France, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, USA and the USSR with the teams split into four pools of three.
England, France, New Zealand and USA progressed to the semi-finals, but it was there that the challenges of Les Bleues and the Black Ferns ended.
England led 6-3 at the break in the final at Cardiff Arms Park after Gill Burns converted a penalty try, but nothing could stop USA from claiming the country’s first – and last – major trophy since the men’s team
won Olympic gold in 1924, as they reeled off 16 points without reply.
Host nation: Wales
Dates: 6-14 April, 1991
Pool 1 – New Zealand, Canada, Wales
Pool 2 – France, Sweden, Japan
Pool 3 – USA, Netherlands, USSR
Pool 4 – England, Spain, Italy
Semi-finals
New Zealand 0-7 USA
England 13-0 France
Final
USA 19-6 England
Women’s Rugby World Cup 1994
To avoid clashing with the men’s Rugby World Cup as the inaugural tournament had done in 1991, the second edition of the women’s event came just three years later in Edinburgh with Kazakhstan, Ireland and hosts Scotland making their debuts.
Amsterdam had been due to host, but when the Dutch pulled out Scotland stepped in with just three months to go and even fielded a Scottish Students side to compensate for Spain’s withdrawal and keep the 12-team line-up.
It was evident from early on that the 1991 finalists were again the teams to beat as USA and England duly cruised to another title decider. This time, however, England exacted revenge in a hugely entertaining contest, winning 38-23 with flanker Gill Burns, centre Jacquie Edwards and full-back Jane Mitchell scoring tries and captain Karen Almond kicking 13 points
Host nation: Scotland
Dates: 11-24 April, 1994
Pool A – USA, Sweden, Japan
Pool B – England, Scotland, Russia
Pool C – France, Ireland, Scottish Students
Pool D – Canada, Wales, Kazakhstan
Semi-finals
USA 56-15 Wales
England 18-6 France
Final
England 38-23 USA
Women’s Rugby World Cup 1998
Four years after originally intended, Amsterdam did host a 16-team tournament which saw first appearances for Germany and Australia and the returns of New Zealand and Spain after missing the 1994 event.
New Zealand, led by their inspirational hooker Farah Palmer, quickly emerged as the biggest threat to previous winners USA and England as the trio were joined in the last four by Canada.
Defending champions England had been ruthless in the pool stages, as had the Black Ferns with a record 134-6 defeat of Germany, to produce the semi-final everyone wanted to see. It was a one-sided affair, though, with the 44-11 win a sign of the domination New Zealand were beginning.
USA swept aside Canada equally impressively in the other semi-final but had no answer in the title decider, Vanessa Cootes scoring four of New Zealand’s eight tries in a 44-12 victory to ensure a third champion in as many tournaments.
Host nation: Netherlands
Dates: 1-16 May, 1998
Pool A – England, Canada, Netherlands, Sweden
Pool B – USA, Spain, Wales, Russia
Pool C – New Zealand, Scotland, Italy, Germany
Pool D – France, Australia, Kazakhstan, Ireland
Semi-finals
USA 46-6 Canada
England 11-44 New Zealand
Final
New Zealand 44-12 USA
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2002
Spain were the next hosts of a tournament that would set new standards of excellence in terms of skill and fitness. Samoa enjoyed a dream debut with a 22-0 win over Ireland, but England and New Zealand appeared destined for the final.
The Olympic Stadium in Barcelona provided a fitting backdrop for a final screened live in the middle of the night in New Zealand. The 8,000 crowd in the stands were treated to a blend of tactical awareness, gritty forward play and attacking rugby as the Black Ferns successfully defended their crown with a 19-9 victory, Monique Hirovanaa and Cheryl Waaka scoring the tries in the title decider.
Host nation: Spain
Dates: 12-26 May, 2002
Pool A – New Zealand, Australia, Wales, Germany
Pool B – France, USA, Kazakhstan, Netherlands
Pool C – England, Spain, Italy, Japan
Pool D – Canada, Scotland, Samoa, Ireland
Semi-finals
New Zealand 30-0 France
Canada 10-53 England
Final
England 9-19 New Zealand
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2006
WRWC 2006 broke new ground as the first tournament held outside of Europe, South Africa making their debut in Canada as the bar was raised once more by the 12 teams. It was the usual suspects in the semi-finals, though, with France and Canada unable to prevent another New Zealand-England final.
New Zealand’s backs had taken women’s rugby onto a new level with the triumvirate of Amiria Marsh, Stephanie Mortimer and Claire Richardson in particular impressive throughout. The final was another close affair, only settled when Marsh scored in the dying minutes for a 25-17 win to give Black Ferns captain Palmer the perfect send-off.
Pool A – New Zealand, Spain, Kazakhstan
Pool B – England, Australia, Ireland
Pool C – France, USA, South Africa
Pool D – Canada, Scotland, Samoa
Semi-finals
New Zealand 40-10 France
Canada 6-10 England
Final
England 17-25 New Zealand
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2010
England welcomed the world in 2010 and invested heavily in preparations, hoping to avoid a third successive final loss to New Zealand. There were some upsets along the way with Ireland beating USA and South Africa edging Wales, while Australia made the semi-finals for the first time.
The final, played before a packed Twickenham Stoop, was a nail-biting affair and one that went right down to the wire. New Zealand had three yellow cards, but with one converted try apiece it was Kelly Brazier’s penalty that proved the difference and secured a fourth successive crown.
Host nation: England
Dates: 20 August to 5 September, 2010
Pool A – New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Wales
Pool B – England, Ireland, USA, Kazakhstan
Pool C – France, Canada, Scotland, Sweden
Semi-finals
New Zealand 45-7 France
England 15-0 Australia
Final
New Zealand 13-10 England
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014
The last edition of the Women’s Rugby World Cup was played in the French capital and saw one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s history as Ireland ended New Zealand’s 20-match unbeaten run on the WRWC stage with a 17-14 victory, one which meant the Black Ferns missed out on the semi-finals for the first time.
Ireland joined hosts France, England and Canada in the semi-finals with a first-time finalist guaranteed. Canada became only the fourth side to reach the final after a wonder try from Magali Harvey against hosts France, but it was England who were crowned champions, 20 years on from their last triumph, after a 21-9 win. Full-back Danielle Waterman scored the opening try with Emily Scarratt kicking three penalties before the centre converted her own try five minutes from time to seal the win.
Host nation: France
Dates: 27 July-19 August, 2014
Pool A – England, Canada, Spain, Samoa
Pool B – Ireland, New Zealand, USA, Kazakhstan
Pool C – France, Australia, Wales, South Africa
Semi-finals
Ireland 7-40 England
France 16-18 Canada
The 9th December 2016 will live long in local rugby history, on a sensational night at King’s Park Hong Kong’s women rugby players beat Fiji 45-7 to effectively secure a place at the Women’s Rugby World Cup. Today after seven grueling months of training the 28, mostly amateur players, who will make that trip to Ireland to compete in the World Cup next month were announced.
The Hong Kong squad will depart on 4 August – head to airport to cheer them off – for Dublin, where they will play 2013 runners-up Canada (7 August), four-time champions New Zealand (13 August) and Wales (17 August), before heading to Belfast for the semi-finals, final and the placing matches.
“We are going to use every woman in the squad in Ireland, and that is a key to our larger goal and mission: to ensure that our first World Cup appearance isn’t our last,” said national coach Jo Hull.
“Qualification for the World Cup is a good start, but our objectives transcend wins and losses,” continued Hull “We also want to change the perception of the women’s game in Hong Kong and to show how tough you have to be, how dedicated and how resilient you have to be – rather than giving in or walking away when it gets tough.”
The squad features a healthy mix of experience and potential, as Hull looks to leverage the Rugby World Cup as a transformative event for the women’s game locally – where it’s been under-funded and often viewed by the male dominated HKRU hierarchy as an irrelevance.
“We have gone with our experience and some of our more physical players that can withstand the challenge of a World Cup, but we are really excited to see the number of young players who have raised their hands during the campaign,” Hull added, singling out emerging players like scrumhalf Chloe Mak, flyhalf Lee Tsz-ting, flanker Agnes Chan and 18-year old centre Kelsie Bouttle.
“These players have really come into their own and are improving every game. We have rewarded that potential and it is a fantastic opportunity for them to shine,” said Hull.
Lock Chow Mei-nam captain’s the squad and the 29-year old physical education teacher is relishing the opportunity ahead for both herself and her side.
“My ambition is to be a world-class lock and the World Cup will provide a stage for me to try and achieve that. By the end of the tournament, I want the other teams to know about Hong Kong Rugby and respect us. That’s my main goal, earning that respect on the pitch.” Chow vowed.
Chow is joined by a core of experienced campaigners, particularly in the forwards, where former captain Royce Chan selection offers her a fitting highlight for Chan’s 13 years of endeavour in support of the women’s game.
Amelie Seure, Christy Cheng Ka-chi and Christine Gordon offer experience in the pack, alongside relative newcomers in flanker Agnes Chan and lock Chan Ka-yan.
“We have gone with some players that we know can get us out of trouble in a game,” confirmed Hull. “For a World Cup you need that balance, you have to have a team. It isn’t just about the players, the combinations have to work, on and off the pitch, to carry the team through those three weeks.”
“We have also given opportunities to some X-factor players. If they get things right, players like Agnes [Chan], Kelsie [Bouttle] and Rosie [Rose Hopewell-Fong] can help us break down defences. These players also help us have a multi-functional squad, with players that are comfortable playing in more than one position.”
“We are confident that we have that strength in depth we are going to need to take on three world-class teams in the space of two weeks,” Hull concluded.
The backline is anchored by vice captain and centre Adrienne Garvey, as well as experienced fly-half/fullback Rose Hopewell-Fong and sevens squad members Natasha Olson-Thorne (centre/wing), Aggie Poon Pak-yan and Colleen Tjosvold in the back three.
The emerging players among the backs are young scrumhalves 22-year old Chloe Mak, Ho-yee and 25-year old Jessica Ho Wai-on, while Lindsay Varty adds experience at the pivot. 21-year old ‘BB’ Lee Tsz-ting has been included at fly-half and will hope to add to her eight caps.
The youngest player in the squad is 18-year old centre Kelsie Bouttle who impressed in her first season of Premiership rugby and won her first cap last month.
“It’s been an eye opener for me to be involved and a great motivator to develop my rugby. The World Cup will be an incredible experience,” said Bouttle. “It’s good to be included because I am still young and hopefully have a long way to go in my rugby, so I will be in a position to share that experience and transfer my knowledge to other young players.”
While several of the squad are full-time athletes from the HKRU sevens programme at the HK Sports Institute, the majority are amateurs, who have put it massive amounts of time throughout the campaign to train.
“These are not professional players, but they train professionally,” said Hull. “They are doctors, teachers, social workers and students, and they deserve praise and respect for the commitment they have shown.”
This is Hull’s third World Cup “The opportunity to bring my own squad to the World Cup is a tremendous honour, especially with this group of players. I feel a lot of responsibility because of it.
“I’m looking forward to that buzz and excitement that surrounds a World Cup. I know from my own experience that this will be the most amazing three weeks of their sporting lives and to be able to lead them through that is a privilege,” said Hull.
HKRU Squad for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017:
Forwards: CHOW Mei-nam (captain); CHAN Ka-yan; CHAN Leong-sze, Royce; CHAN Tsz-ching, Agnes; CHENG Ka-chi, Christy; CHEUNG Shuk-Han, Jasmine; Christine GORDON; LAU Nga-wun, Tammy; LEE Ka-shun; PUN Wai-yan; Amelie SEURE; SIU Wing-ni, Winnie; SO Hoi-ting, Karen; TSANG Sin-yan; WONG Yuen-shan.
Backs: Adrienne GARVEY (vice captain); CHONG Ka-yan; CHOR Lik-fung, Laurel; Kelsie BOUTTLE; HO Wai-on, Jessica; Rose HOPEWELL-FONG Siu-lan; LAU Sze-wa; LEE Tsz-ting; MAK Ho-yee, Chloe; Natasha OLSON-THORNE; POON Pak-yan, Aggie; Colleen TJOSVOLD; Lindsay VARTY.
