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Women’s Rugby Grand Championship Final Results – 10 March, 2018

Premiership Grand Final

Gai Wu Falcons 31-10 Valley Black
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 16:30

Gai Wu Falcons
Hoi Lam Ho, Nga Wun Lau, Ka Wai Lam, Debby, Ka Yin Wong, Yee Ching Chan, Wai Yan Pun, Christy Cheng Ka Chi, Ka Yan Chan, Wai Sum Sham, Tsz Ting Lee, Pak Yan Poon, Aggie, Greer Muir, Tsz Ting Cheng, Ka Yan Chong, Abigail Chan
Reserves: Ka Shun Lee, Chin Yee Wu, Hiu Ki Yip, Sharon Shin Yuen Tsang, Tsz Yung Ching, Suet Ying Wong, Wing See Chiu, Melody Blessing Li Nim Yan
Tries: Lee Tsz-ting (2), Chong Ka-yan, Nga Wun Lau, Sham Wai-sum
Conversions: Lee Tsz-ting (3)

Valley Black
KK Wong, Karen So, Jasmine Cheung, Ching To Cheng, Deena Ravi Thinakaran, Suzanne Sittko, Caitlin Spencer, Aroha Savage, Colleen Tjosvold, Bella Milo, Jessica Eden, Tanya Young, Zoë Smith, Nadia Cuvilier, Jade Birkby
Reserves: Akanisi Au Yeung, Li Lai Mang, Becky, Sonia Vashi, Wing Yan Leung, Kelsie Bouttle, Kim Senogles, Laurel Chor, Yuen Yin Lo
Tries: Nadia Cuvilier (2)

National League 1 Grand Final

Revolution SRC 10-7 HK Scottish Kukris
@ KG V, Kick-off: 16:30

Revolution SRC
Jacqueline Oi Ying Chau, Wai Ching Siu, Ho Yan Ho, Helene Hopman, In Kwan Lam, Tsz Ki Lau, Choi Fung Cheung, Wing Ying Chan, Yuen Shan Poon, Ting Ting Chu, Wing Yiu Ho, Stephanie Chor Ki Chan, Yuet Yi Yam, Tsz Ching Wong, Ka Yan Chan
Reserve: Ka Yee Yim, Wai King Shek, Ching Laam Shou, Hin Kiu Tsang, Sin Ting Lau, Tess Yeung, Tsz Ning Tsang, Wing Yan Wong

HK Scottish Kukris + Discovery Bay
Marianna Bigazzi, Yuen Chan, Gloria Chan, Laura Horsfall, Oi Yan, Crystal Lee, Wun Lo Chung, Pui Yau Chan, Myron Ng, Yik Sheung Andie Ma, Karis Cheung, Man Ling Hui, Sze Ting Li, Fung Yuen Ting, Vera Hei Ting Lau, Hau Yi Chung
Reserve: Hoi Tung Jim, Jia Choi Wan, Taro Yau, Yik Lam Lau, Celina Malunes, Chan Po Ki, Holly On-ting Yuen, Ket Robinson

National League 2 Grand Final

CWB Lammergeier 15-10 Police Sirens
@ KG V, Kick-off: 16:30

CWB Lammergeier
Cheung Yik Sze,Lydia, Tin Yan, Dora Chim, Wing Sze, Winnie On, Pak Wai Ling, Lin Yin, Liu Kit Ying, Ka Wing Ng, Tse Man Sze, Cookie, Ho Ting ‘Hoty’ Chan, Suet Ying Lo, Mo Tsz Ching, Stephanie Chan, Lau Sin Tung, Chan Ka Wai, Siu Man Nga
Reserve: Kitty Kan, Michelle Lam, Wong Man Yan, Ka Ki Cheung, Kara Jones, Kong ‘Koko’ Yin Ting, Li Man Yi, Suet Ni Pak, Tsang Yuen Ying, Wong Sze Man

Police Sirens
Edna Hiu-Tung, Edwina Ng, Idy, Yik Yan Chan, Man Yan Li, Yo, Kwan Yi Lee, Hoi Yan Li, Sue Yik-chi, Ade Lai-nga Wong, Sin Man Ng, Haysan Shiu Man Yip, Wai Yin Joker Lo, Wing Tan Yau, Chan Po Tung, Pui Pui Man, Van, Sze Wan Chan, Ching Man ‘Dee’ Wong
Reserve: Lan Fong Queenie Yip, Ngan Shan Shan, Ching Man Tung, Ling Shan Lam, Sze Ting Choi, Tsang Wai Ming, Yuki Lee

Images: hkru, revolution src, CWB Lammergeier

Gai Wu Dominate Valley to Win Grand Championship!

Gai Wu Falcons added the Grand Championship to their league title beating Valley Black 31-10 in the Premiership Grand Final. The victory gave the Falcons their first Premiership league and championship double since the 2012/13 season.

Gai Wu scored five tries and defended resolutely to nullify Valley’s potent attack.  The Falcons led 12-0 at the break  with fly half BB Lee Tsz-ting scoring 16 points with a try in each half and three conversions.

The final – featuring 11 of the Hong Kong national team that played at the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup – was a fairly evenly contested early on with both sides having chances on, but the defences held strong.

The first score came for the Falcons after Valley centre Tanya Young was sin-binned in the 26th minute. The one woman advantage was the little difference that Gai Wu’s forwards needed as they took full advantage of the extra space to drive deep into Valley’s half.

Valley’s first up defence held strong, forcing a ruck in the far corner, but a clever shift of play by Gai Wu scrumhalf Sham Wai-sum put fly-half Lee into a seam behind the Valley defence. The Hong Kong no.10 showed a clean pair of heels to sprint the last few metres and dive over the line for the game’s first try. Lee converted her own score to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead.

The three-time defending league and grand champions Valley conceded a crucial penalty shortly shortly after returning to full strength as they were pinged for going straight to ground at the ruck. Lee’s penalty attempt fell short, but the Valley defence bobbled the take, knocking the ball on beneath their posts to give Gai Wu an attacking scrum five metres from the Valley line.

No.8 Angela Chan Ka-yan did well to corral the ball at the back of the scrum and the Falcons carried the ball for three phases before scoring in the corner, with Sham scoring the try to extend Gai Wu’s lead to 12-0 after Lee missed the conversion.

Valley found themselves in the unfamiliar position of trailing at the start the second half and their discombobulation continued when play resumed as Falcons wing Aggie Poon Pak-yan ventured off her line to devastating effect on several occasions, while the direct running lines of centre Greer Muir kept the Valley defence off balance.

In the 43rd minute Poon timed her run off the opposite wing perfectly to enter the line between Sham and Lee and used her pace to turn a half-gap in the defence into a long meandering run that brought the Falcons close to Valley’s line.

Poon offloaded the ball in contact to her supporting forwards, who executed some probing attacks around the fringes of the ruck before Hong Kong prop Tammy Lau crashed over the line, extending Gai Wu’s advantage to 19 points after Lee’s conversion.

Lee collected her brace in the 58th minute after the Falcons backed themselves twice in opting for scrums rather than two kickable penalties. The Falcons pack was up to the challenge at scrum-time and Gai Wu found space along the left-hand side again, with Lee popping up deep with the ball to score her second try in the corner. Lee’s conversion was unsuccessful, but Gai Wu held a commanding 24-0 lead with twenty minutes remaining.

Valley wing Nadia Cuvelier scored the first of her two second half tries in the 62nd minute when she finished off a 70-metre break started by centre Zoe Smith to put Valley on the board at 24-5.

But before Valley could build any momentum, winger Chong Ka-yan flashed some individual brilliance and pace for the Falcons, selling a beautiful dummy deep in her own half to create space for an 80 metre solo try as Gai Wu extended their lead to 31-5.

Cuvelier replied with her second of the game in the 78th minute, but it would prove nothing more than consolation for Valley who saw their Grand Championship and league winning streak ended by Falcons this season.

Falcons coach “Sailo” Lai Yiu-pang hailed his side’s collective effort, saying, “What made me most proud today was the effort we put in as a team. We put our bodies on the line and you can see from the scoreline how effective we were.”

“I was surprised by the margin at the end. Like everyone, I expected a closer game, but I think our determination made the difference. We played better as a team,” said Lai.

Women’s Premiership Grand Championship Final:
Gai Wu Falcons 31-10 Valley Black

Gai Wu Falcons
Hoi Lam Ho, Nga Wun Lau, Ka Wai Lam, Debby, Ka Yin Wong, Yee Ching Chan, Wai Yan Pun, Christy Cheng Ka Chi, Ka Yan Chan, Wai Sum Sham, Tsz Ting Lee, Pak Yan Poon, Aggie, Greer Muir, Tsz Ting Cheng, Ka Yan Chong, Abigail Chan
Reserves: Ka Shun Lee, Chin Yee Wu, Hiu Ki Yip, Sharon Shin Yuen Tsang, Tsz Yung Ching, Suet Ying Wong, Wing See Chiu, Melody Blessing Li Nim Yan
Tries: Lee Tsz-ting (2), Chong Ka-yan, Nga Wun Lau, Sham Wai-sum
Conversions: Lee Tsz-ting (3)

Valley Black
KK Wong, Karen So, Jasmine Cheung, Ching To Cheng, Deena Ravi Thinakaran, Suzanne Sittko, Caitlin Spencer, Aroha Savage, Colleen Tjosvold, Bella Milo, Jessica Eden, Tanya Young, Zoë Smith, Nadia Cuvilier, Jade Birkby
Reserves: Akanisi Au Yeung, Li Lai Mang, Becky, Sonia Vashi, Wing Yan Leung, Kelsie Bouttle, Kim Senogles, Laurel Chor, Yuen Yin Lo
Tries: Nadia Cuvilier (2)

Additional reporting and images: hkru

One Cup To Rule Them All

Gai Wu Falcons and Valley Black have contested the past five Premiership Grand Championship Finals. Can Gai Wu add the Cup to their league title or will Valley’s reign as Grand Champions continue…

Kicking off at King’s Park at 4.30pm, this clash has an extra layer of spice with Gai Wu defeating Valley 22-15 last time they met to bring an end to the Black’s three year 51-game winning streak.

“Finally I have a full strength squad to select from this week so it will bring me a bit of a headache at selection,” Gai Wu coach “Sailo” Lai Yiu-pang said. “The set piece is going to be a big area, if we can secure the set piece, especially the scrums, and put pressure on them, then we will have more opportunity to create a platform for ourselves. If we fail to secure that platform in defence there will be more challenges.”

Gai Wu breezed past Tai Po 63-0 in the semi-finals while Valley outlasted a gallant Tigers side 17-10 and Lai knows his team will need to be on the ball throughout this weekend.

“The two teams will be throwing everything at it, I expect it to be a close game and a big battle,” he said. “We have to be able to play 80 minutes of rugby, they have some experienced players – Bella [Milo] and Aroha [Savage] can turn every opportunity into points.”

“We can’t let up and we have to defend well. The reason we beat them last time is because we defended really well, we shut them down early so they didn’t have too much front-foot ball and then we put pressure on them and forced them to make turnovers.”

Chong Ka-yan and Lee Ka-shun will be among the key players for the Falcons as they look to end Valley’s run of three consecutive grand championship wins.

For Valley coach Milo, it’s about building on the basics. “We’re excited and nervous at the same time,” she said. “We have got to get our set piece right and put a bit of pressure on their key players. Our biggest work this week has been our defence. We didn’t really slow down their breakdown last time we played so they had faster ball and we were just a bit too slow to get out wide.”

“We’ve just focussed on ourselves and how we can get better from last week’s semi-final, we didn’t start too well. We have been talking about how we can control our game, ” added Milo.

Grand Championship Finals 2018

Additional reporting and image: hkru

Women’s Rugby Grand Championship Finals – 10 March, 2018

Valley Black and Gai Wu Falcons Win!

Valley Black had to work hard to overcome a resilient USRC Tigers side in their 17-10 Women’s Premiership Grand Championships Semi-final victory.  While Gai Wu Falcons posted a comfortable 11-try, 63-0 win over Tai Po Dragons. The results set up an intriguing, if familiar, final next weekend as Gai Wu look for a league and cup double.

The Tigers began the match making good use of their possession and Charlotte Myrans stroked them to early three-point lead with a well-taken penalty from the right wing.

USRC kept the pressure on and were rewarded with another penalty which fed into a series of ruck phases followed by some fast hands out to the right wing where Natasha Olson-Thorne  scored in the corner. Another lengthy kick from Myrans added the extras for an early 10-0 Tigers lead.

Valley picked up some momentum in the second quarter with three points from the boot of Zoe Smith. Valley continued to attack and forced a lineout on the Tigers 22. Flanker Aroha Savage gathered the ball and powered her way over the line, Smith’s conversion tied the score 10-10 at the break.

In the second half, Valley held the lion’s share of possession, but were kept out by a solid Tigers defensive line. On 50 minutes, Savage picked the ball from the base of a scrum on the Tigers’ five-metre line and went over for her second try. Smith converted to give Valley a 7 point lead, which they defended until the final whistle. 

Valley’s player-coach Bella Milo was pleased to get through a tricky match “It was a tough game,” she said. “Tigers defended well and made us work all the way. The first half showed we hadn’t had game time for the last few weeks. Then we found our groove and made the points to get us back in it before the break.”

“In the second half we built on the momentum we made. Our forwards played really well.  They were dominant in our scrum, and in our lineout. We’ll take the win but it was hard one,” she added.

Milo continued “We’ve got a short turnaround. Now it’s back to the drawing board to get ready for next week’s match. I’m only hoping that we can go through and keep up what we were doing right today.”

Tigers’ coach Fan Shun Kei saw the match as one that got away, but nonetheless declared himself pleased with his side’s accomplishments this season. “We made a very positive start and controlled the first part of the first half.  We were getting the ball out wide quickly and that’s why they struggled. Natasha played a very important role, maintaining the momentum. Later our forwards were playing more kick and go, taking easy options instead of going wide.” sais Fan. 

“In the second half, when we had the ball, we were too rushed. Every time we got the ball, we’d make a mistake and gift it back to Valley. Under their pressure we didn’t use the ball efficiently.” Philosophical but quietly determined, Fan believes his side have a lot more to give.

“We defended very well all through – it was such a big difference to previous games and exactly the foundation I wanted. I was very pleased, especially with Maelle [Picut] and Lara [Schats],” Fan said. “The game could have been ours if we’d stuck to the plan. Valley kept it alive on our mistakes.”

“So in the end it was another learning experience.  We lifted our game, and we made them fight for 80 minutes. It was one of our best games this season, and you could say we were unlucky, but our players can take a lot of positives from this game,” he smiled. “Hopefully next year we can come back faster and stronger.”

Click here for all the weekend’s women’s rugby results.

Additional reporting and image: hkru

Women’s Rugby Grand Championship Results – 3 March, 2018

Premiership

Gai Wu Falcons 63-0 Tai Po Dragons
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 16:30

Valley Black 17-10 USRC Tigers
@ Happy Valley, Kick-off: 16:30

National League 1

Gai Wu Fawkes 0-15 HK Scottish Kukris
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 15:00

Valley Red 5-22 Revolution SRC
@ KG V, Kick-off: 18:00

National League 2

Police Sirens 29-14 HKFC Fire
@ Police Boundary Street, Kick-off: 18:00

CWB Lammergeier 10-0 Kowloon
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 18:00

Images: hkru, scaa

It’s Grand Championship Semi-Finals Weekend

Valley Black continue their defence of the Women’s Premiership Grand Championship with a semi-final against USRC Tigers. In the other semi-final, league champions Gai Wu Falcons take on Tai Po Dragons.

Bella Milo, Valley’s player-coach, is keen to see her side playing again, after a long break, but is clearly hopeful that her charges are on track for yet another appearance in the final.

“It’s the most exciting time of the year, the Grand Championships are the big test – the pinnacle of club rugby. We’re all a little bit nervous and excited at the same time. Going into this match with Tigers with so little recent match time is not ideal, but we’ve had a couple of good training sessions that have given us a little bit of confidence,” she said.

“Our last game against Tigers was high quality and high scoring, and we’re expecting something similar this time. That was a fast running game, and likely this will be too, so whoever has the most ball will probably win. We held on to possession well then, and if we repeat that we can make it through to the final,”notes Milo.

Milo and her team have done their homework on Tigers, and pinpointed Lara Schats as a threat they need shut down. Tigers don’t always have great continuity, she says, and is confident if her side hold up their level of play, they will make another final appearance.

With Shan Pong and Stephanie Cuvelier away, Kelsie Bouttle at school in Australia, and Rebecca Thomson out with a fractured cheekbone sustained in training – all in addition to several players missing since Christmas, and  Valley’s second team also in semi-final action this weekend – Milo will have slim bench of only four forwards and one back.

The Tigers go into the match buoyed by last week’s solid quarter-final win over Causeway Bay Phoenix, and while coach Fan Shun Kei is in no doubt that Valley will provide stiffer opposition, he takes confidence from the encounters between the two sides earlier in the season.

“We played them twice this year, and did quite well. Our attack is looking really good this year, we just need to keep on doing in attack what we did in that last game, when we have the ball. We’ll use our speed out wide, and try to force penalties by putting them under pressure,” said Fan.

“It will be a bonus if we can get into the final. Valley are strong and skillful, with special threats in Bella and Aroha Savage. Gai Wu have beaten Valley, so we know they can be undone. So our focus has to be on defence and tackling. I want our players to believe in themselves and go firmly into one-on-one tackles, a bit more aggressive,” he added.

Like Valley, Tigers have to work with some absences from their ideal squad, including veteran Lindsay Varty and captain Jessica Ho. Fan has called on the services of second-team flanker Maylynn Ng, who has featured before but never started, aiming to strengthen ball carrying and defending. Lai Pou Fan will move to No. 9 from her usual full back.

Additional reporting and images: HKRU

Women’s Rugby Grand Championship Semi-final Fixtures – 3 March, 2018