Tag: HKsport

Hong Kong v New Zealand Team News

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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.”

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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

Additional reporting and images: HK Rugby

Modern Heroines Set For World Cup Challenge

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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.

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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.

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Additional reporting and images: HKRugby

Sevens Ticket Prices Increase

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After last year forcing children to pay adult prices for their tickets. Those prices have gone up as the Hong Kong Rugby Union announced that tickets will increased by $50/day, approximately 8%.

Not that the general public can buy them anymore, but from 2018 a three-day ticket – except HK rugby are not calling them tickets anymore they’ve been rebranded as “event packages” – costs $1950, up from $1,800 in 2017.

There’s so much guff verbiage and faux justifications within the HKRU release announcing the price increase that you’d swear they’ve been taking lessons from Trump.

The guff includes that fans at the stadium have to pay more so that other people can watch the Sevens for free “HKRU is also expending significant funds to share the excitement of the Sevens with the wider community, with its free admission fan zones in Chater Garden and Lee Gardens”.

I wonder what the sponsors and suppliers who paid HKRU massive sums to have their brands linked to the Sevens and have a presence at those two locations think about that fiction.

The HKRU claims the Sevens are “still excellent value” but there was a lot less actual rugby played at the 2017 Sevens than in years past – so fans of rugby are being shafted twice… paying more for a lot less.

Robbie McRobbie, Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Rugby Union states that “We have an obligation to generate as much revenue as possible from the tournament to support the growth of the game in Hong Kong.”

This from an organisation that is quite probably the richest rugby union in the world and has according to a recent annual return assets of well over $250 million.

The Sevens will still sell out because it’s a unique event and can trade on it’s name and reputation for years to come, but the atmosphere at recent events is not what it used to be and the fans disquiet and sense of being milked increases every year.

What the HKRU and World Rugby fail to understand is that fans do go to watch the rugby. The non-stop run of games throughout the day keeps fan energy high. Now with big gaps in the rugby, the atmosphere and energy sags. We don’t need bands with awful sound systems playing 5 songs. The energy from the rugby drives the Sevens fan experience which powers the rugby… More rugby, more women’s rugby and less of the insipid distractions.

Hong Kong Sevens
Date: 6-8 April 2018
Venue: Hong Kong Stadium
Tickets: $1,950.

Hong Kong Set for Asian Women’s Rugby Championships

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Ahead of their historic first appearance at the Rugby World Cup in Ireland in August, Hong Kong’s women’s rugby team will face Japan in a home and away series to decide the Asia Rugby Championship.

The matches on 8 July in Japan and 15 July at King’s Park are the teams final competitive warm-ups. “These games are a great opportunity as they come so close to the World Cup” said Hong Kong coach Jo Hull.

In announcing her squad for the away match (8 July, kick-off at 11 am HK time) Hull has given National Age Grade graduate Kelsie Bouttle a chance to earn her first cap after a standout season for League and Grand Championship winners Valley. There’s also a return for some of the side’s senior campaigners in centre Adrienne Garvey, who will captain the team in Japan, and flanker Christine Gordon.

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“It is a bit of a different squad,” confirmed Hull, who hailed the team’s, “good mix of experience. It is great to have Rocky [Garvey] and Chrissie [Gordon] back, and we are excited to be able to blood another new cap in Kelsie, along with the first-timers who went to Spain.”

“We are using this opportunity to look at a few different starters and combinations, like Lindsay Varty at scrumhalf and ‘BB’ [Lee Tsz-ting] at ten. We think that could be an exciting combination as both are playing well at the moment.”

“The selection reflects our preparations for the World Cup, which is our only focus at the moment. Everything we’re doing is building towards being ready for the first match against Canada next month,” Hull said.

The match also represents another opportunity for the players who made their Hong Kong debuts against Spain in Valladolid last month – and although the squad’s focus is fully on Dublin in August, Hull is demanding results from her side in the Asian Championships.

“This is international rugby and we are representing Hong Kong, so results matter. We started to close the gap over the week against Spain and now we need to do that against Japan.”

Hong Kong lost it’s last outing against Japan in December’s World Cup Qualifier, 20-8, improving on 39-3 and 30-8 losses in last spring’s Asian Championships.

“This is a big test of our progress for the World Cup,” said Hull. “There has been a clear message to the girls selected about accountability and we’re putting a premium on efficiency and accuracy. Each game is about getting us one step closer to how we want to play on the world stage.”

“While the squad has really come into their own over the past six months, at this stage of the campaign, there are no second chances. The players have to be accountable, plain and simple. They know and accept that.” Hull warned.

Both Hong Kong and Japan advanced from December’s triangular World Cup Qualifier to their first ever World Cups at fifteen-a-side. Since then Japan have also been busy preparing, splitting matches against Wales and Ireland in June.

“Japan have had some good results and they should be proud of themselves. They are a good team and are very disciplined. To put them off their game we need to start fast and get into the mix early on. That fits with our objectives for the Rugby World Cup, to play much faster and be more efficient on the pitch, particularly in the contact area and set piece.”

“We really saw how important those things are in Spain and we will be looking to make improvements from our tour last month,” Hull concluded.

Hong Kong for Women’s Asia Rugby Championship 2017:

1. LAU Nga-wun (Gai Wu), 2. Royce CHAN Leong-sze (HKFC), 3 WONG Yuen-shan (USRC Tigers/EdUHK), 4. CHAN Ka-yan (Gai Wu), 5. TSANG Sin Yan (Kowloon) 6. Christine GORDON (Kowloon), 7. CHAN Tsz-ching (Tai Po Dragons/HKBU), 8. Amelie SEURE (Valley, vice-captain), 9. Lindsay VARTY (USRC Tigers), 10. LEE Tsz-ting (Gai Wu/HKBU), 11. LAU Sze-wa (Valley), 12. Rebecca THOMPSON (Valley), 13. Adrienne GARVEY (Valley, captain), 14. Laurel CHOR Lik-fung (Valley), 15. Aggie POON Pak-yan (Gai Wu), RESERVES: 16. HO Hoi-lam (Gai Wu), 17. CHEUNG Shuk-han (Valley), 18. PUN Wai-yan (Gai Wu/EdUHK), 19. Winnie SIU Wing-ni (USRC Tigers), 20. TSANG Sin-yan (Kowloon), 21. HO Jessica Wai-on (USRC Tigers), 22. Rose HOPEWELL-FONG Siu-lan (HKFC), 23. Kelsie BOUTTLE (Valley/ICHK).

Additional reporting: HK Rugby

Spain 41-18 Hong Kong

Spain beat Hong Kong 41-18 in the one-off Valladolid test as a disastrous start by the visitors saw the hosts establish a matching winning lead in the first quarter and lead 22-0 inside 30 minutes.

“That start was disappointing as we had talked a lot about how we needed to get at them early,” said coach Jo Hull. “We knew Spain would come out of the gate hard and we wanted to strangle them and prevent them from getting any momentum. We weren’t able to achieve that, unfortunately, but we did well to claw our way back into it.”

“Most importantly, we saw significant improvement from game one to two which was our main objective from the tour,” Hull added.

A gritty effort – led by the determined defence of flanker Cheng Ching-to and the inspired attack of winger Aggie Poon Pak-yan, saw Hong Kong claw its way back into the game in a more evenly contested second half.

Poon scored all of Hong Kong’s points, opening her account with a penalty in the 33rd minute to bring the half-time score to 22-3.

In the second half, the match opened up even further, with Spain starting the scoring in the 46th minute with a try to extend their lead to 29-3.

Hong Kong gained in confidence as the match wore on and were rewarded for their resiliency in the 51st minute when Poon, showing her skills, turned the corner on the Spanish defence to dash away for a forty-five metre try.

Poon’s try finished off a perfectly executed planned move that started from a scrum on the far side of the pitch. The ball passed cleanly though five pairs of hands in the back-line before Poon spotted the gap. Poon’s conversion of her own try edged Hong Kong back into the match at 29-10. Minutes later, another Hong Kong foray was rewarded, with a penalty, which Poon slotted to narrow the gap further 29-13.

Spain pushed right back with a barnstorming attack, throwing the ball around with abandon as they went 80 metres before creating a massive overlap on Hong Kong’s try-line to cross over for their sixth score and a 36-13 lead.

Moments later, Spain scored a final, fortuitous try to widen the margin to 41 points, leaving Hong Kong in danger of conceding a bigger loss than the 49-12 Madrid test defeat in 2015.

But Hong Kong re-grouped to marshal a final attack on the Spanish line and Poon stepped up once again, collecting a well-timed pass from fullback Colleen Tjosvold to dash 25 metres dragging three defenders across the line for a second try. Poon’s conversion was unsuccessful leaving the final score at 41-18.

Hull said before the tour that one of the goals of the trip was to expose the squad to more high-intensity matches and Hong Kong certainly experienced that as Spain were relentless in attack.

“Our tactical kicking still wasn’t good enough today,” said Hull. “We let them play too much rugby and we let their nine and ten get too involved. There were periods that we managed their pressure well, but our challenge now is to turn that 50 minutes into 80 minutes. But, overall, it was an improved performance against a much stronger side than the mid-week game.”

“We were more accurate in our attack and we had less handling and unforced errors, despite a big increase in the intensity of the game, so I’m pleased with that,” said Hull.

“This experience will absolutely hold us in good stead. Since we left this group has shown significant improvement and we have capped five new players on tour, which is vital for us in extending our squad ahead of the World Cup,” concluded Hull.

The squad returns to Hong Kong on Monday to prepare for the upcoming Asia Rugby Championship series with Japan in July.

Additional reporting and images: HK Rugby

Six Fest on Day 1 of T20 Blitz

An action packed first day of the 2017 Hong Kong T20 Blitz saw a 31-ball(!) Dwayne Smith hundred, four fifties and an Ashley Caddy hat-trick!

The start of the first game of the tournament was delayed by a heavy shower, but the ground staff worked hard to get the outfield fit for for play as the crowd waited patiently for the cricket to get going, and their wait was well rewarded.

The rain meant the game between the Galaxy Gladiators Lantau and Hung Hom JD Jaguars was reduced to 11 overs a side. While a late start may have dampened spirits of the crowd the JD Jaguars were quick to entertain. The men responsible were Darren Sammy and James Franklin who shared a stand of 102 runs from just 36 balls. Franklin made 58 from 27 deliveries and Sammy 52 from 19 balls. Between them they smacked 11 sixes. Tin Kwong Road is a small ground but many of the shots that Sammy and Franklin were launching over the fence would have been six anywhere in the world.

Bowling first Yorkshire’s Azeem Rafiq kept things tight early on for The Galaxy Gladiators with his clever off-spin, and the Lantau side had reduced the Jaguars to 43-3 after five overs. It looked as if the Jaguars would struggle to set a competitive total. Those concerns were waylaid when Franklin and Sammy embarked on their attack that saw them destroy a strong bowling attack with some fine power hitting.

The Galaxy Gladiators needed someone to match the hitting prowess of Sammy and Franklin, but they could not put together a partnership that would allow them to get close to their target. The best innings from the Lantau side was from Hong Kong international Anshuman Rath who made 45 from 26 balls, including a lovely switch hit six. No one could stay with Rath and the chase fell away. The Hung Hom team won by 27 runs but not before Ash Caddy punctuated an emphatic win with a hat-trick in the last over.

Match two was no less enjoyable. It saw City Kaitak take on the Kowloon Cantons and once again it rained sixes. A poor start from City Kaitak saw them reduced to 23 for three and in danger of losing their way. A 125 run stand between Kyle Coetzer (87) and Chris Jordan (75) saw Kaitak reach 199 for six from their 20 overs, setting a target of exactly 200.

That should have provided the Cantons with a challenge, but Dwayne Smith didn’t see it that way. He hit Nadeem Ahmed for 28 runs from the first over on his way to a century that he made from just 31 balls. He finished 121 not out in an innings which included 13 sixes.

Smith was joined at the crease by Marlon Samuels and between them the two West Indians took their team home. Their partnership was worth 142 runs in 9.4 overs as they dismantled the bowling of Jordan, Rayad Emrit and Aizaz Khan. The Cantons won the game with 33 balls to spare and with eight wickets in hand.

Day two sees HKI United play Hung Hom JD Jaguars at 10am, then Galaxy Gladiators Lantau play City Kaitak at 2pm.

Additional reporting: HK Cricket

 

Hong Kong Beat Ireland by 5 Runs

Hong Kong beat Ireland

Four wickets in 7 balls across the 18th and 19th overs sealed Hong Kong’s win over one of the tournament favourites Ireland. The win also means that Hong Kong have to win one of their two remaining games against the USA and Namibia to qualify for the knock-out stage of the ICC World T20 Qualifier.

Batting first Hong Kong scored 129/8 on a damp night in Dublin. Mark Chapman top scoring with 30 while Anshuman Rath, Nizakat Khan scored 22 and 25 respectively. Tanwir Afzal added a crucial 18 at the end. Despite starting strong with a 43 run partnership between Stirling and Porterfield, Ireland’s chase disintegrated amidst some fine tight bowling with Nizakat Khan and Irfan Ahmed outstanding. Ahmed only conceding 3 runs of the 19th over while taking two wickets to take Man of the Match with figures of 3/11.

Hong Kong beat Ireland