Tag: HKCC

We don’t get to see much high quality women’s rugby in Hong Kong, live or on television, so as a local rugby player it was fascinating to watch how play developed in the England v Wales Six Nation’s match.

As part of my watching brief bc magazine asked me to look for areas where we can improve locally. At the 2017 Rugby World Cup, much was made of the number of missed conversion and penalty kicks – and this applies to many teams locally. On the strength of England v Wales, it is an area which can benefit from close attention.

England’s Daley-McLean’s grubber kick through for Burford’s try was only one of a number of perfectly executed footballing moments, both from hand and place kicking. Elinor Snowsill on the Wales’ team had no opportunities to kick for goal, but she looked comfortable kicking out of hand.

Some of the most intelligent play came in preparation for receiving kicks; in the 36th minute Daley-McLean anticipated a long kick out to touch, and placed herself perfectly to bat it back into field at full stretch, giving England a fresh attacking platform.

There were also a number of charge downs: two of the England number 10’s kicks were tipped off course and a third charged down behind her, leading to one of Wales’ few try scoring opportunities before England recovered.

Look to improve kicking and catching skills:

– practice your catching stance. Getting the body in the right position is half the challenge; and it’s a basic skill.

– practice after main training is finished. Find a partner who will kick to you, and put you under pressure when catching, especially when you’re already tired.

– There’s no need be scared of the ball – it will bounce off you!

Image: courtesy of England women’s rugby