bc magazine

Week 5 of the Season saw a HKCC team eager to get back to winning ways against a Tai Po team who had been through similar struggles in recent weeks.

The match began with a constant barrage of attacking pressure from HKCC, with the forward pack having some excellent phases moving up the pitch. The Tai Po midfield was able to hold off the HKCC attack on a number of occasions frustrating the team in white.

After dominating the possession in the opening 20 minutes HKCC finally broke the solid Tai Po defence with Ashely Brooks scoring on her return to the starting line up. HKCC continued to put pressure up the field but Tai Po finally broke into the opposition half to ease some pressure in the closing minutes of a tight first half.

HKCC gathered their thoughts at the break looking to add more points to the possession and trying to find answers for a stubborn Tai Po defence.

It was an excellent opening five minutes for the Tai Po team who worked their up the pitch with some dynamic running and crash balls. However, HKCC managed to absorb the pressure and turned the ball over feeding Tissia Polycarpe, who danced her way through the middle of the Tai Po Defence to make the game 10-0.

Fresh legs began to enter the field and change the balance of the game with Tai Po beginning to get more confidence and putting more pressure on HKCC. Both teams locked horns with neither side giving in. HKCC had throughout the game seen great success from the scrum and after sustaining another 15 minutes of pressure a scrum turnover saw HKCC back on the front foot. A penalty occurred, quickly taken it enabled HKCC to march up the field looking to add another try to seal the match.

It came on the final play of the game with Tissia adding a second try for herself in the corner sealing a 15-0 victory and the second win of the season for the HKCC Ladies.

HKCC enjoyed getting back to winning ways but knew they had been in a tough encounter against a very resilient Tai Po side.

HKCC Women of the Match
Forward: Wawa Li
Back: Diana Li

HKCC 15-0 Tai Po Dragons
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 16:30
HKCC: Joan Yip, Wawa Li, Nobuko Oda, Lauren Petersen, Lainie Man, Wendy Sham, Cheryl Gourley, Lynda Nazer, Ashley Brooks, Tinley Wong, Steph Zhang, Lucy Thomson, Brenda Chan, Zoe Wong, Diana Li, Charlotte Berry, Katie Rowbottom, Margaret Chan, Elane Lau, Christy Ma, Rhonda Wildeman, Jo Harvey, Tissia Polycarpe, Serene Yee
Try: Tissia Polycarpe (2), Ashely Brooks
Head Coach: Alex Tarleton

Two years ago the Tai Po Dragons and HKFC Newedge Ice combined to field a single team for women’s 15-a-side rugby. This season, in a sign of the continued development of women’s rugby in Hong Kong, they fielded separate teams, though the camaraderie between them has never faded. Nevertheless, after two games and two losses, the Ice Ladies were determined to celebrate their first win of the season, even if it was at the expense of their old allies. And that put an extra edge on the game between the two sides that kicked off at 4:30pm on October 19 at the HK Football Club in Happy Valley.

The Ice Ladies got a boost to their confidence within the first five minutes when Royce Chan ran in a try for HKFC. That didn’t stop the Tai Po ladies putting up a strong fight, constantly competing for the ball but the Ice girls kept creating breaches in the Tai Po defensive line. Last week’s game had taught Ice that they needed more strength and aggression at the breakdown, and with that lesson firmly in mind, defending the ball in the ruck and keeping possession became the rule of the game: Daniella Means and Kim Kan scored additional tries and Helen Lee converted for a half time score of 17-0.

Going into the second half, the energy of the Ice team was peaking, and lessons learned in hard training sessions were obviously bearing fruit. But the Tai Po Dragons came back with a vengeance, determined to put some points on the board; which they did with a try. Then, as both teams started to tire, handling errors crept into the game resulting in frequent turnovers and some messy play in the middle of the half. Still, before the final whistle the Ice girls scored three more tries, two for Daniella Means (taking her to a hat trick) and another for Fiona Atkinson.

It might have been a pitched battle on the field but in true sporting spirit at the end of the tussle the two teams gathered to thank each other for a great game and hug old teammates. It was a fitting end to a competitive game of rugby.

HK Football Club
Kim Kan, Amy Kong, Ashley Dawson, Christina McLaughlin, Joelle Touchette, Fiona Atkinson, Diana Han, Allison Lee, Royce Chan, Helen Lee, Marie Gaschignard, Daniella Means, Daisy Miers, Anne McManus, Madeline Adcock, Adriana Garcia, Meghan Hayes, Caroline Lau, Bonita Leung

Tries: Daniella Means (3), Royce Chan, Kim Kan, Fiona Atkinson Conversions: Helen Lee

Tag: Tai Po Dragons

Women’s 15s Match Report HKCC 15-0 Tai Po Dragons – 31 October, 2015

HKFC 32–5 Tai Po Dragons