Coach Darren Cartlidge put last week’s disappointing loss against HK Scottish to good effect with the Leighton Asia HKCC Babes as they took on Revolution Ladies at King George V field this week, firing up his team who took to the field inspired and ran in two tries in the first ten minutes. Player of the game Emily Tuck snagged the first, followed by a delightful jinxing run from Lucy Thompson playing out of position at number 12 who broke through two lines of defence to get her debut try after a great inside pass.
Revolution proved they weren’t there just to make up the numbers, and hit back almost immediately, whipping the ball out to the left wing and punching through the HKCC defence from 30 yards out. It was shaping up to be a real end-to-end running game, using every inch of the fantastic new pitch installed earlier this year at KGV. Revolution sought to capitalise on the strategy that brought their first try –moving the ball out wide and making ground on the wings, but the Babes were resolute in defence, with some spectacular tackling in particular from the diminutive Christy Ma, on the left wing, and flanker Tam Suet Yee.
In possession, Babes made good use of their physical domination, gaining ground at the breakdown, with scrum half Lynda Nazer having her best game in a white shirt to date marshalling the forwards. Before half time, this approach reaped results, a driving maul at lineout, recycled through two phases of forward play, resulting in a second try for Tuck who, playing at number 8, seemed to be everywhere at once. Fly half Julia Mason added the extra 2 points.
In the second half, the tough physical side started to take its toll, as Captain Anna Holmes joined Tam Suet Yee injured on the sidelines (fingers crossed on speedy recoveries for both), but the Babes were able to call on strong reserves from the bench and some positional shuffling, with Joanie Yip moving into the front row and Wendy Sham taking a position on the flank. Revolution couldn’t keep up with the power of the Babes pack, and the referee moved to uncontested scrums. This shifted the balance of the game slightly, resulting in a second try from Revolution, who used positional kicking to smart effect in working up the field.
At 3 tries to 2, the game was set for a nervy final few minutes – especially as the referee curtailed the second half to only 20 minutes to compensate for delays in earlier fixtures. Supporters of both teams were increasingly vocal from the sidelines. But the Babes kept their composure, and from a tap and go penalty 15 yards out the backs made a series of smartly timed passes out to find the overlap for winger Rosie Hui, who dived over the line to score her first try of the season. It was, according to Anna Holmes, the game in a nutshell, “We’ve been working hard at ironing out the small mistakes – using set plays wisely, taking the time to build phases of play and concentrating on getting the ball securely to hands, at pace”. Julia Mason expertly converted from out on the left with the final touch of the game to cap a well-deserved 24-12win.
Next Saturday, HKCC Babes take on Comvita City Ladies, 16:30 @ So Kon Po
HKCC Babes
Eva Rona, Cheryl Gourley, Anna Holmes, Rhonda Wildeman, Sarah Higgins, Suet Yee (Mon) Tam, Zoe Wong, Emily Tuck, Lynda Nazer, Julia Mason, Christy Ma, Lucy Thomson, Tinley Wong, Serene Yee, Apple Ng.
Substitutes: Joanna Harvey, Lainie Man, Wendy Sham, Katie Rowbottom, Joe Yip, Joan Yip, Rosanne Hui
Tries: Emily Tuck (2), Lucy Thomson, Rosie Hui