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Woman’s 10s Match Report: DB Pirates 22-5 University Unicorns – 31 October, 2015

A Halloween special for the third round of Ladies 10s Development games as Discovery Bay Pirates took on University Unicorns on Saturday the 31st. For the Pirates this saw them coming up against one of their favourite teams from last year University. It is always a privilege to play against such a great group of ladies who are just as passionate about developing and growing ladies rugby. The Pirates reserve bench was also helped out by Tin Sui Wai, showing what the development league is all about, meeting other new players and playing as much rugby as we can!

Some great rucking and tackles from University held Pirates back until Paula Andrea pushed through to score a try close to the post allowing her to convert her own 5 pointer. Many more tackles, some great line outs and scrums later Sienna Stubbs was able to secure Pirates second try. University were incredibly patient, working hard to secure the ball and ultimately were rewarded just on half time with a try.

After some motivational instruction at half time, the Pirates started the second half looking to push on and win their first game of the season. The match turned on a sensational 90 meter run from Lou Lou (Louise Shepherd) who ran the length of the pitch, fending off several University players to score her first ever rugby try! Final try of the day by Vanessa Kima sealed off the game and Pirates first win of the season.

Thanks to University for a great game of rugby and to the ladies of TSW who reserved for us. Looking forward to the next game and wishing University and TSW the best of luck as we progress through the season.

db-pirates-Tryscorers-2015.10.31 — Try scorers (l-r): Vanessa Kima, Paula Andrea, Louise ‘LouLou’ Shepherd, Sienna Stubbs

Discovery Bay Pirates Ladies team are still looking for any players from around Discovery Bay and Lantau interested in joining the team. Any players between 17 up looking to join the sisterhood please contact [email protected] no experience required, just passion to learn and play!

DB Pirates 22-5 University Unicorns
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 14:15
DB Pirates: Meg McGrath, Jackie Philbrick Douglas, Catherine Osburn, Sienna Stubbs, Rebecca Tomasis, Gloria Lau, Gina Yueh (debut), Louise Shepherd, Paula Andrea (Captain), Vanessa, Special thanks to the Subs from TSW: Lee Ka Yu, Tsang hoi Lee, Lam Kit Yam, Cheung Yu Tung, Chan Lam
Try: Paula Andrea, Sienna Stubbs, Louise Shepherd, Vanessa Kima, Conversion: Paula Andrea
Coach: Steve Kean, Assistant Coach: Shonagh Ryan, Manager: Renee McCreadie

Match Report: HKCC 5-29 City – 24 October, 2015

Round 4 concluded an emotional week for HKCC with the passing of player Tom Nelson and with only 1 victory the HKCC Ladies knew they needed to play their best to win against an undefeated City.

After a minute silence HKCC Ladies kicked off and the ball bounced along the dusty pitch straight into the possession of City, who didn’t waste any time before launching an attack. City drew in the HKCC forwards before passing it out wide to the backs. The City fullback danced her way through the defence and quickly popped it off to the winger who comfortably ran round HKCC’s fullback and placed the ball under the posts. The try was easily converted and within minutes of starting City had set the precedent for the rest of the half.

Another HKCC kick off and much to their dismay similar phases took place with the City backs tearing through the HKCC defence and scoring another try. HKCC picked themselves up and kicked back into the City half. After some hard hitting tackles and scrapping in clouds of dust, HKCC won the ball and began their first serious attack of the game. Yet after too few phases HKCC again lost possession and with a big boot City cleared their lines, putting the HKCC fullback under pressure.

City mercilessly pummeled the HKCC defence and it was not long before another breakthrough ensued. This time much to HKCC’s relief, excellent pressure from scrumhalf Emma Chung led to City knocking the ball on over the try line. HKCC were awarded a scrum which led to a good pick up and hand off from number 8 Lynda Nazer, gaining much needed ground. Nevertheless momentum dropped, City regained possession and once again relied on their backs to successfully score a try in the far right corner.

HKCC kicked off and charged into the City half ready to wrestle for possession. After some phases of play with HKCC absorbing the hits, Comvita booted the ball to clear the lines, but this time the ball was effortlessly picked up by Tissia Polycarpe who ran it out of her own half. The HKCC scrums were working well and turned the ball over more than once yet it was not enough to get HKCC points on the board. City struck twice again before the half time whistle blew, ending the half at 29-0.

After motivational words from coach Alex Tarleton and a reassessment of the game, the HKCC Ladies knew they could do better and were eager to demonstrate this.

City kicked off giving HKCC possession and a chance to attack. With new energy and some strong running, particularly from second row Lauren Petersen who needed at least two City players tackling her to be tamed, HKCC clawed their way up the pitch. Before long and for the first time in the match, HKCC had City pinned against their own try line. Foul play from Comvita led to two yellow cards, something that HKCC were happy to take advantage of. A penalty gave HKCC forwards the ball but unable to break through they passed it out wide to the backs. Winger Yana Dimitrova took this opportunity and skillfully scored a HKCC try in the far right corner.

HKCC received the kick and attempted to move up into the City half but the two teams seemed stuck in a stalemate, tirelessly fighting back and forth but neither giving ground. The fulltime whistle blew leaving the result at 29-5.

Contrary to their usual solid defence, the first half consisted of too many missed tackles and sloppy defending from HKCC, which City’s fast paced backs confidently exploited. The second half however was a completely different game, with HKCC keeping City’s attack at bay and working tirelessly to gain a well-earned 5 points, the only points scored in the second half. The HKCC Ladies look forward to proving themselves in the upcoming fixture against Tai Po Dragons.

HKCC Ladies
Forward of the Match: Joan Yip
Back of the Match: Tissia Polycarpe

HKCC 5-29. Comvita City
HKCC: Joanna Harvey, Joan Yip, Nobuko Oda, Lauren Petersen, Isabella Rivers, Wendy Sham, Cheryl Gourley, Lynda Nazer, Emma Chung, Tinley Wong, Yana Dimitrova, Lucy Thomson, Tissia Polycarpe, Zoe Wong, Diana Li
Substitues: Kassie Chapel, Katie Rowbottom, Wawa Li, Angie Ng, Charlotte Berry, Christy Ma, Elane Lau, Hoi Yi Li, Lainie Man
Try: Yana Dimitrova

Premiership Match Report: HKFC Ice 0-51 Valley Black – 24 October, 2015

It was a highly anticipated game on Saturday for HKFC Ice, as they took on defending champions Valley Black. Near perfect weather conditions and a home advantage were unable to settle those nerves, and Valley showed they meant business with a try in the second minute of the game. A great run by Valley resulted in another try and HKFC Ice knew they were going to have to put up a big fight. Strong scrummaging and some formidable tackles by Grace Hood and Jamie Bourk were not enough to hold off their dynamic opponents, resulting in two further tries. With minutes to go until half time, Aileen Ryan was yellow carded for a deliberate offside after a 22 drop out and it wasn’t looking good for the home team.

As the second half kicked off, it was still a battle between the pros and the newly promoted Ice. Despite several dropped passes, Valley scored once again leaving HKFC Ice well behind. With Aileen Ryan back on, HKFC Ice displayed some strong defensive moves, and tackles by Nicole Pang and Aysha Fiaz managed to slow down the rampant Valley Black attack. There were three more tries from Valley and then it was all over. HKFC Ice put up a valiant fight against the seasoned Valley Black and will surely use this experience to come back stronger than ever. Coach David Wigley said that he was proud of the performance that HKFC Ice put in against the defending Premiership champions Valley Black.

HKFC Ice 0-51 Valley Black
@ HK Football Club, Kick-off: 18:00
HKFC Ice: Denise Chan, Shonagh Ryan, Kim Kan, Zuzanna Osinska, Martina Colombo, Jamie Bourk, Iris Chan, Daisy Miers, Sophie Short, Aileen Ryan, Casey Gallagher, Nicole Pang, Grace Hood, Natalia Lech, Emma Shields
Substitutes: Carol Hung, Amy Kong, Aysha Fiaz, Madeline Adcock, Kim Lam, Stephanie Siu, Caroline Lau

Match Report: Valley Red 17-10 HKCC – 17 October, 2015

Week 3 saw HKCC travel to Happy Valley to play the undefeated Valley Red Ladies. HKCC were eager to get back on the pitch and brush off the frustrations of the previous week’s last second defeat to HK Scottish.

Straight from the kick off HKCC pushed up into the Valley twenty-two putting the Red’s defence under heavy pressure. Valley managed to keep calm and were able to clear their lines well. The first half saw both sides creating good opportunities in the backs and strong rucking and scrummaging from both forward packs.

In a closely contested first half HKCC seemed to be on the front foot with their line-out improving vastly from previous weeks and their scrum looking increasingly confident. Hard work from the forwards led to good clean ball for the backs and Izzy Rivers, (switching from second row to centre this week) took advantage, crashing through the Reds defence and scoring the first try of the match. Unable to convert HKCC went into the closing minutes of the half 5-0 up. Yet shortly after Valley retaliated, with their excellent centre breaking through HKCC defence, leveling the game, 5-5 at the halftime break.

The second half saw a fantastic battle between both sides, with each attack being held at bay by the opposition’s solid defence. HKCC showed some great structure, whilst Valley showed a wide range of skills, particularly from the centre, whose huge boot eased the pressure off Valley on a number of occasions.

hkcc2 HKCC’s scrum continued to dominate in the second half and the cracks in the Valley’s defence started to show. HKCC pieced at least 10 phases together and with superb work, particularly from the back-row, Lynda Nazer crashed over the line, to score a well-deserved second try.

Leading in to the final 15, after putting in a great shift on attack HKCC began to tire and Valley took the opportunity to creep up the field. After a clever chip and chase from the ever-present Valley centre, try scorer Nazer held the player back leading to a Red’s penalty and a yellow card shown. Valley used the extra woman to their advantage, charging through the HKCC line to level the score at 10 all.

Similar to last week’s match, HKCC were able to come out with points against one of the favourites for the league but for a second time in a row were unable to secure a victory. In the closing seconds of the game, having used the forwards to work their way up the pitch, Valley quickly spread it out to the backs who confidently scored a try under the posts. The conversion flew over and the referee blew the whistle for full time.

Both teams came off the pitch knowing they had been in a battle, Valley went and celebrated a well earned win while HKCC sat somber and reflected once again on what could of been.

But after the tears had stopped and some wise words from the coach (if I do say so myself) the HKCC Ladies picked themselves up and realised again what an achievement it was. Even missing out in the closing stages it showed again that HKCC are no pushovers and will be fighting to secure better results in the upcoming weeks.

Only 3 games in and so far it has been a roller coaster. Bring on next week!

Women of the Match:
HKCC: Lauren Petersen
Valley: Kicking Centre (Unsure of her name)

Valley Red 17-10 HKCC
@ Happy Valley, Kick-off: 18:00
HKCC Ladies: Jo Harvey, Wawa Li, Joan Yip, Lauren Petersen, Nobuko Oda, Lainie Man, Cheryl Gourley, Lynda Nazer, Emma Chung, Lucy Thomson, Christy Ma, Izzy Rivers, Tissia Polycarpe, Steph Zhang, Diana Li
Substitutes: Katie Rowbottom, Angie Ng, Mhairi McLoughlin, Charlotte Berry, Kassie Chapel, Elane Lau
Try: Izzy Rivers, Lynda Nazer

Photo: Panda Man

Match Report: Valley Black 54-5 Kowloon – 17 October, 2015

After a bye last week, the Valley Black Ladies were eager to get back on the pitch at KGV and were looking for their second win of the season against Kowloon.

It was a strong game for Valley right from the start, with ten tries coming in from all over the park. Bella (4), Karen (2), Jen, Deena, Jess, Jaz and Frenchie all got over the line for Valley. Kowloon struggled to compete with our forwards in scrums and lineouts, which gave Valley playmakers Bella and Colleen plenty of opportunity to create some plays.

Deserved MVPs Becky and Jess displayed strong athleticism, challenging the Kowloon ladies in both attack and defence throughout the entire 80-minutes. It was a solid win from the ladies, and a great platform to build from for the rest of the season.

Valley Black Ladies are looking forward to the challenge of playing against a strong HKFC side this coming Saturday, 6pm at the Football Club.

Match Report: DB Pirates 0-20 Revolution

The second round of the Ladies 10s league kicked off under vastly different weather conditions to the first and for the Pirates a squad of 11 took the pitch featuring four rugby debutants: Jackie Philbrick Douglas, Catherine Osburn, Gloria Lau and Louise Shepherd. A nervous start, thus was to be expected as many of the ladies tried to find their way around the rules and the game, and figuring out that ‘match day fitness’ is a very real thing.

The first half saw the Revolution cross the line three times with no conversions putting them up 15-0. The Pirates spirit was not to be deterred though!

Half time came with some words of encouragement, the nerves were gone and it was now time to prove what we were made of. A wonderful kick and chase from Shannon Tjon ignited the fire and got the Pirates very close to the line, however they were unable to convert good field position in points. More was to follow, an amazing line break from debutant Jackie Douglas had all of the sideline spectators up and cheering. The Revolution crossed the line only once in the second half, although a lung busting 70 meter chase down and fantastic tackle by Sienna Stubbs almost prevented that.

An inspiring game by our debutants, all coming off the field with massive smiles. An overwhelming sense of achievement and Pirate Spirit…. Take what you can…. Leave nothing behind!

Discovery Bay Pirates Ladies team are still looking for any players from around Discovery Bay and Lantau interested in joining the team. Any ladies 17and up looking to join the sisterhood please contact [email protected], no experience required – just passion to learn and play!

DB Ladies 0 – Revolution 20
Tai Hung Tang, kick-off 16:30

DB Pirates: Meg McGrath, Jackie Philbrick Douglas (debut), Catherine Osburn (debut), Sienna Stubbs, Rebecca Tomasis, Gloria Lau (debut), Oorja Goel, Louise Shepherd (debut), Paula Andrea (Captain), Shannon Tjon, Substitute: Kon Chan

Match Report: Valley Red Ladies 17-10 HKCC

It’s round 3 of the Womens NL1 and the Valley Red Ladies take on Hong Kong Cricket Club at Happy Valley

The HKCC Ladies soon made it apparent that they were in it to win it after last week’s literally last kick of the match defeat to Scottish Kukris. The undefeated Valley Red Ladies, who won their last game 42-10, were full of confidence that they could make it three wins out of three. Anita Vogel reports on a fantastic game.

An initial intense and powerful surge by HKCC, saw the Valley Red Ladies pushed back into their 22, but the Red’s managed to defend the line and exerting some pressure won the ball back and worked their way to the half way line. A see-sawing half saw both sides attack and stoutly defend their lines until Valley conceded a penalty deep in their own half. This time the hard working HKCC ladies took advantage to score the opening try.

From the restart, the Valley Ladies regained possession, working through several phases of the ball to probe deeply into HKCC’s half. The Valley forwards then combined for a classic pick and go as captain Ci Wong evened out the scores.

For the spectators on the sideline this was an exciting match between two evenly matched opponents with both sides working tirelessly to exploit any slight advantage or mistake. A great kick and chase from Valley speedster Zoe Schmidt, almost saw Valley break the deadlock, but it was HKCC who won the forward power struggle and scored their second try to lead 10-5 at half-time.

Re-energised after the break Valley attacked again and after a string of penalties and a yellow card for HKCC, Red’s Aggie Au Yeung and the forward pack battled their way to the HKCC try line and the score was tied at 10-10.

The last 20 minutes saw the fiercely contested match swing slightly one way then the other as both sides fought back and forth with only small errors allowing a glimpse of a chance of a break through. HKCC had most of the possession, but stout defense from the Reds was not allowing much gain and tiring out the HKCC attack.

With 5 minutes to go it was still anybody’s game, a penalty and a quick tap from captain Ci Wong saw Valley to the 5m line. Their two previous tries came from aggressive pick and go play and with HKCC looking for that, Valley put the ball out wide to Lewis Wong, who scored the game’s final try between the posts, which made it easy for Kay Wong to convert.

Valley Red 17-10 HKCC
@ Happy Valley, Kick-off: 18:00

Match Report: Valley Reds 42-10 Taipo Dragons

Week 2 of the Womens NL1 saw Valley Reds take on Taipo Dragons at Shek Kip Mei Park. The Dragons opening up with a great run from their nifty fly-half who scored under the posts 10 minutes into the game. Valley answered back with a great chip and chase from new player Zoe Smith who showed speed and skill to regather her kick ahead and put Valley on the board at 5 all.

With both teams fighting for territory and possession, Taipo Dragon’s fly-half again showed skill and pace to cut through the Reds defence before dotting down for another 5 points. 10 – 5 to Taipo Dragons after 20 minutes.

The Reds looked to answer back, with a few penalties going their way, Captain KK Wong showed her experience taking a quick tap and go to score in the corner, bringing the game to 10 all.

Valley now confident and stringing together some good phases saw them end the half on top with a great scrum leading to Reds front row Anita Vogel notch a 5 pointer with a classic forwards pick and go scoring on the white line. Half time score 17 – 10

The second half saw some great play from both teams, the Dragons coming out strong but Valley continued to gain the upper hand, with the Red’s backline running some good patterns to get the ball out to Zoe Smith who ran in another two tries to complete her hat-trick, 27 – 10.

Valley’s healthy lead offered a chance for those on the bench and reserve lock Aryana Gant and midfielder Suzzana Stikko both took advantage scoring a try each. Young winger Sophie Lai completed the scoring with try in the corner after a solid scrum.

Strong performances from experienced senior player Julie Savoie who gained forward of the match and in form center Zoe Smith providing easy choice as backs player of the day.

Valley Reds 42-10 Taipo Dragons
@ Shek Kip Mei
Valley Reds: Anita Vogel, Shermaine Choi, Natalie Chan, Kim Senogles, Clarant Ho, Teagan Lo, Jessica Knight, KK Wong, Carman Law, K Wong, Sophie Lai, Lewis Wong, Zoe Smith, Michelle Kim, Tarryn Lo,
Substitutes: Anna Hyrske, Phoebe Fok, Aggie Au Yeung, Aryana Gant, Emily Russell, Suzanne Stikko, Julie Savoie
Try: Zoe Smith (3), Anita Vogel, KK Wong, Aryana Gant, Suzzanne Stikko, Sophie Lai. Conversions: Kay Wong