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Women’s XV Squad for Asian Championship Annouced

Hong Kong Women’s XV will play a home and away series against Japan to settle the 2016 Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) after perennial contenders Kazakhstan withdrew from the competition. The tests will be played before the respective Hong Kong v Japan men’s fixtures with the women opening their campaign at home at 1:30pm this Saturday (7 May) at HK Football Club – entry is free, so head down and cheer on our talented women.

Coach Jo Hull yesterday announced her debut squad of 28 players for the ARC campaign, which will include the two matches versus Japan and a game against Singapore on 14 May. With Kazakhstan’s withdrawal, Hong Kong’s tour of Spain last December – the first and hopefully not last ever tour for the Women’s XV outside of Asia – looks even more vital in hindsight.

Hull agreed that that opportunity will now prove even more useful than initially expected, saying, “I think now is when we’re going to see the pay-off from the Spain Tour. We have pretty much been working non-stop since we came back with the group and the players have had time to reflect on the tour and the physicality and skill level required in the elite women’s game. The last few months have been focusing on implementing what we have been working on since Spain.”

Hull has placed a premium on experience in the squad with 18 of the players coming from the Spain Tour. Of the ten not present in Spain, five come in from the sevens programme in experienced campaigners Christine Gordon, Lai Pou Fan and Lindsay Varty, and up and comers Nam Ka Man and Lee Tsz Ting. Those five join several of their fellow HKSI elite athletes in the ARC squad, with 13 of the 28 players coming from the sevens set-up including captain Natasha Olson-Thorne.

Also returning to the squad after a lengthy recovery from injury is the influential Rose Fong Siu-Lan, a top class player who will be a massive addition to the side. “Rose has been working really hard and it is great to have her back,” said Hull, who previously coached Fong in the United Kingdom. “She is a quality fly-half who can help direct our game on the pitch. Saturday will be her first test match since her injury and I know that she is really looking forward to returning.”

Reflecting the dominance of recent Premiership seasons, the majority of the squad come from Gai Wu Falcons and league title and grand champion winners Valley, with 12 and six players respectively in the final 28. USRC Tigers have six representatives followed by Kowloon and Hong Kong Football Club with two each. Gai Wu No.8 Chow Mei Nam will captain the squad with Valley’s Adrienne Garvey as vice-captain, reprising their roles from Spain.

Hull continued “Our back row is a real strength. Our tight five, while not overly experienced in numbers of caps, has really improved in their fitness and in mastering the unique skillsets required for their positions while our backs are hugely experienced and have some real pace.”

Hull is particularly excited about the new culture developing around the team since the Spain tour. “We’ve seen a huge improvement in the work the team has put into their strength and conditioning, something which has been helped by our access to the facilities at the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi).

“With the recent tests in Spain, this year’s inaugural Super Series competition, the growing competitiveness of the Premiership and the facilities at THEi, I would say that this is the best and most intense build-up the Hong Kong Women’s XV have ever had ahead of a competition. The training centre at THEi is a fantastic resource and has not only enhanced our performance but helped focus the environment within and around the team,” Hull added.

“We target to take two from two against Japan, but we fully respect what they bring to the table and we don’t say that lightly. We haven’t beaten Japan for a long time, although we have come close on recent occasions. We know Japan will be supremely fit and ferocious in the contact area. The key for us is how we match that physicality and how we manage the game beyond the set piece. We want the players to express themselves. The team are getting much better at playing what is in-front of them and playing with innovation and we want them to feed off the occasion and the opportunity to play Japan at home.”

Hong Kong Women’s Squad for the Asia Rugby Championship 2016:
Chow Mei Nam (captain), Adrienne Garvey (vice-captain), Natasha Olson-Thorne, Rose Fong Siu Lan, Colleen Tjosvold, Li Nim Yan, Karen So Hoi Ting,Amelie Seure, Chan Ka Yan, Cheng Ching To, Christine Gordon, Claire Forster, Ku Hoi Ying, Tammy Lau Nga Wun, Winnie Siu Wing Ni, Cheng Tsz Ting, Chong Ka Yan, Mak Ho Yee, Poon Pak Yan, Sharon Tsang Shin Yuen, Lee Tsz Ting, Nam Ka Man,Cheung Shuk Han

Spain 57-0 Hong Kong @ Madrid – 19 December, 2015

Hong Kong Women's Xv in Spain

The Spanish national women’s rugby team beat Hong Kong 57-0 yesterday in Madrid to sweep the first ever series between the two teams. Spain beat Hong Kong 59-12 in the opening match on 15 December.

Despite a score line that was less flattering than the opening encounter, Hong Kong’s performance was much improved in yesterday’s official test match. Unfortunately for the visitors, the Spanish XV also clearly understood the importance of the tie, and upped their intensity to a level unseen in the opening encounter – blitzing Hong Kong with nine unanswered tries on the day.

Spain entertained their home support with an impressive 80 minutes of frenzied physicality in a game that was played at admirable pace by both sides. While Hong Kong’s offense was effectively stymied, defensively it was a much-improved result with all of the team committed to the effort.

In the end, Spain simply proved too big, too fast and too skillful – underscoring the experience gap between the two sides with Spain having played in multiple Women’s Rugby World Cups and over 120 test matches.

Spain brought all of their size, physicality and speed across the line into play on a surprisingly sunny and firm ground for Madrid in December.

The unrelenting onslaught made Hong Kong’s determined defensive display that much more impressive on the day, as did the fact that prime offensive threat Aggie Poon Pak Yan was out due to injury. Poon’s replacement at fullback, Adrienne Garvey, had a solid outing, putting in some memorable tackles to halt the frequent Spanish attacks.

Captain Chow Mei Nam once again led from the front in a superb effort that was cut short in the first half due to injury but it was simply next woman up for Hong Kong throughout the encounter. The team effort was encouraging with some of the team’s most recognisable stars having quiet afternoons.

Spain demonstrated their intent to put Hong Kong to the sword from the opening kick-off when they opted for a scrum on Hong Kong’s 22-metre line despite having a perfectly kickable penalty opportunity. Hong Kong’s scrum and defence held on that occasion – as it did throughout much of the first half – but it was the first of what would ultimately be too many attacking forays for the hosts on the afternoon. Somehow Hong Kong withstood Spain’s frenzied attack for the first 30 minutes, allowing only 12 points to the visitors in an excellent defensive performance.

Despite not having the chance to show much offensively, Hong Kong had sustained periods of possession – demonstrating a vastly improved structure from day one. Most impressive was the fact that these patches of possession invariably came as Hong Kong tried to work the ball from deep in its own half, showing excellent composure while doing so.

Ultimately the size and physical intensity of the Spanish defence proved too strong and the constant pressure lead to some loose passing on occasion that turned over Hong Kong’s possession. With the pace and frequency of Spain’s attack it was always a question of how long Hong Kong could hold and ultimately the levee broke, as Spain crossed over for two more tries in quick succession shortly before halftime, giving the hosts a 24-0 lead at the break.

Spain crossed over for five tries in the second half with flanker Paula Medin collecting a brace and scrumhalf Patricia Garcia adding six conversions and a fine solo try to help Spain reach its total of 57-0.

Considering Spain’s pedigree the team’s improvement was more obvious than the score line indicated. “We improved both individually and collectively from the first game to yesterday, in particular our defence in the tighter channels as well as our overall game structure,” said Hull.

The original idea behind the test series was to gauge Hong Kong’s strength outside of the region and that objective was achieved. While there still remains much to improve on that front, Hong Kong’s performance yesterday bodes well for next season’s Asia Rugby Championship matches against Kazakhstan and Japan.

In fact, Spain were an ideal opponent for Hong Kong, matching the solid tactical skills, pace and ball handling of Japan with the direct physical engagement of Kazakhstan. One senses that the true results of the Spain series are likely only to be seen in next season’s Asia Rugby Women’s Championship in April.

Coach Hull agrees: “Spain has been a huge learning and development opportunity for the team and we will use this as a starting point for the 2016 Asian championships and build from there.

“I’m proud of the players. They showed great character and a real understanding of what is required to play at this level. Whilst we did show some improvement match to match, this week has been useful to highlight what is needed in the longer-term for us to play at this level,” added Hull.

With Hong Kong having marked its first ever test against non-Asian opposition, the squad will no doubt be hungry for the chance to put the lessons learned from Madrid into action in Asia and once again on the world stage.

Hong Kong v Spain
1. Lau Nga Wun, 2. Royce Chan Leong Sze 3. Lee Ka Shun, 4. Cheung Shun Han, 5. Chow Mei Nam (Captain), 6. Melody Li, 7. Christy Cheng Ka Chi, 8. Amelie Seure, 9. Sham Wai Sum, 10. Rebecca Thompson, 11. Cheng Tsz Ting, 12. Colleen Tjosvold, 13. Natasha Olson-Thorne, 14. Lau Sze Wa, 15. Adrienne Garvey,
Substitutes: 16. Winnie Siu, 17. Karen So, 18. Ku Hoi Ying, 19. Claire Forster, 20. Cheng Ching To, 21. Lo Wai Yan, 22. Stephanie Cuvelier, 23. Mak Ho Yee.

Raul Garcia’s photos from the second test match
https://picasaweb.google.com/107614371220763372643/EspanaVsHongKongTestMatch02

Spain 59-12 Hong Kong – First Test, Match Report

As it looks towards the future Hong Kong’s Women’s XVs lost 59-12 to Spain yesterday (15 December) in its first ever test match against a non-Asian opponent. Hong Kong will have a chance at redemption in the second test on Saturday, 19 December, in Madrid.

After the match, Hong Kong Coach Jo Hull said, “It was obviously a tough score line, but going into this series our focus is squarely on us as a team and our individual and collective performance goals. This is how we will measure our success and the goal is clear now in how we improve from the first match to Saturday, and how we adapt to a much faster and more physical game of rugby like we saw from Spain.

“This week is about building for the future, and to do that we need to expose ourselves at this level internationally,” Hull added.

The biggest questions for Hong Kong to answer ahead of Saturday were posed by the Spanish pack, which dealt most of the damage, particularly with ball in hand, as each forward carry saw Spain regularly collecting large chunks of territory. Spain’s support play was also superb, as they repeatedly sucked in the defence before releasing the ball to the backline with numerous gaps to exploit.

Hong Kong’s backs were unable to get much positive play generated until the second half, when they proved that with good ball they can equal the Spanish attack. With the set piece under significant pressure, Hong Kong’s backs were tasked with tackling for most of the match – any ball they did receive usually was attached to a sizable Spanish defender flooding into the backline.

The team’s commitment in defence was solid, although first-up tackling was an issue early in the match. Spain quickly gathered momentum early by using their forwards in space from the ruck and maul. They methodically moved the ball deep into Hong Kong’s territory scoring their first try in the 6^th minute.

More tries followed, most of them scored by the Spanish pack, and Hong Kong was trailing 17-0 by the 15^th minute. Spain added 14 more points in the second quarter to take a 31-0 lead at halftime.

Hong Kong responded well in the second half with Aggie Poon Pak Yan scoring early on. Poon collected the ball from a Spanish miscue on a well-placed high ball, taking cleanly before dashing 40 metres for the try. Adrienne Garvey’s conversion brought the score to 38-7. Poon later left the match injured and her availability for Saturday’s test could be in question.

Natasha Olson-Thorne, made an impact after coming on as a reserve in the second half. Her physical presence rallied the defence as she repeatedly made the solo tackles that had eluded Hong Kong for much of the match. The addition of reserve scrumhalf Chloe Mak Ho Yee was also instrumental in fueling Hong Kong’s improved performance after the break. Mak added pace to the attack and showed good tactical awareness in shifting the point of attack to unbalance the Spanish defence.

In the 70^th minute, Olson-Thorne scored Hong Kong’s second try, a fine solo effort. With the forwards cleanly claiming the ball from an attacking line out, Olson-Thorne entered the line at pace before fending off her opposite number to create a gap in the defence and race away untouched for a long try. Garvey’s conversion was wide leaving Hong Kong on 12 points to Spain’s eventual 59.

Hull singled out the performances of Mak, on her international debut, and reserve prop Jasmine Cheung Shuk Han who also came on in the second half: “It was a great performance from Chloe. She will be one to watch for the future and Jasmine coming on in the second half really helped give us a physical edge as well,” said Hull.

Despite the result, there were many positives and Hull recognised the team’s continued effort on a tough outing, saying:“I’m hugely proud of the team. They showed great character, particularly in the second half when we had more possession and started to build some phases. For many of these players this is a new level of rugby; however we now need to learn, front up and get a much better start on Saturday.”

Hong Kong v Spain
1. Lau Nga Wun, 2. Karen So, 3. Lee Ka Shun, 4. Chow Mei Nam (Captain), 5. Claire Forster, 6. Melody Li, 7. Christy Cheng Ka Chi, 8. Amelie Seure, 9. Sham Wai Sum, 10. Rebecca Thompson, 11. Stephanie Cuvelier, 12. Colleen Tjosvold, 13. Adrienne Garvey, 14. Lau Sze Wa, 15. Poon Pak Yan,
Substitues: 16. Royce Chan Leong Sze, 17. Cheung Shuk Han, 18. Winnie Siu, 19. Cheng Ching To, 20. Lo Wai Yan, 21. Mak Ho Yee, 22. Natasha Olson-Thorne, 23. Cheng Tsz Ting.

Raul Garcia’s photos from the first test
https://picasaweb.google.com/107614371220763372643/AmistosoEspanaHongKongFemenino?feat=embedwebsite

Hong Kong v Spain – First Test, 15 December, 2015

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An historic day for Hong Kong Women’s XV as they take on 10th ranked Spain in the first of two test matches. It’s the first time Hong Kong, currently 21st in the world rankings, have played a team from outside Asia.

The match will hopefully be steamed online – details updated when we have them.

For more on the tour and the Hong Kong squad see our earlier feature http://www.bcmagazine.net/2015/12/02/hong-kong-womens-xv-for-decembers-spain-tour/

Hong Kong Squad, Spain Tour 12-21 December, 2015
Forwards: Karen So Hoi Ting, Amelie Seure, Royce Chan Leong Sze, Cheng Ching To, Christy Cheng Ka Chi, Chow Mei Nam (Captain), Claire Forster, Tammy Lau Nga Wun, Lee Ka Shun, Melody Li Nim Yan, Lo Wai Yan, Jasmine Shuk Han Cheung, Winnie Siu Wing Ni.
Backs: Adrienne Garvey (Vice Captain), Aileen Ryan, Cheng Tsz Ting, Colleen Tjosvold, Kwong Sau Yan, Lau Sze Wa, Mak Ho Yee, Natasha Olson-Thorne, Poon Pak Yan, Sham Wai Sum, Stephanie Cuvelier

Hong Kong Women’s XV for December’s Spain Tour

The Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU) has announced the squad for the upcoming tour (12-21 December) of Spain. The 25-woman strong squad will be the first Hong Kong XV to play a test series overseas against non-Asian opposition when they take the field in Madrid.

Hong Kong will play Spain on Tuesday (15 Dec.) and Saturday (19 Dec.) although both sides are expected to experiment with their selections in the opening match. Currently there’s no information as to whether the games will be watchable in Hong Kong.

The final squad features a core of national team players including those from the sevens squad, who recently returned from participating in the final stage of Olympic qualification for the Rio 2016 Games. Hong Kong finished third overall in the qualification process, securing their spot in an international repechage tournament next year for the sole remaining women’s berth at the 2016 Games in Rio.

“We’ve got a good mix of young players and experienced campaigners such as Christy Cheng and Royce Chan from the sevens set-up, but we were keen to make sure that we selected a squad for the future so there is a balance of experience and potential for the future,” said Hong Kong Women’s XVs coach and HKRU Women’s Performance Manager Jo Hull.

The squad features a concentration of players from the two strongest HKRU Premiership sides, Valley and Gai Wu Falcons. Chow Mei Nam, who plays No.8 and captains Gai Wu Falcons, currently in second on the Women’s Premiership league table, will lead Hong Kong for the first time on the tour.

“Although she has only played twice for the national team – in last season’s Asia Rugby Women’s Championship, she is already a huge leader in everything we do. Over the last three or four months she has proven that she is one to watch for the future. Physically she has the size to compete at this level. She’s a strong ball carrier who we’ll be relying on heavily in the coming games. But she also embodies the team’s values. She is a teacher by day and her work rate is inspirational to the rest of the team,” Hull added.

Valley’s Adrienne Garvey is the vice captain and is one of eight Valley players in the squad. Valley is undefeated in the Women’s Premiership, extending their winning streak to 20 matches across two seasons after winning the double last season without a loss.

Gai Wu are runners-up on the table with a game in hand, and nine of their players have been selected including the ‘Gai Wu Express’, Aggie Poon, the top scorer on the Asian Sevens Series this season. USRC Tigers and Hong Kong Football Club both have three representatives in the final 25 with Kowloon and Tai Po Dragons each having one player represented.

Sevens captain Christy Cheng Ka Chi has been named to the Tour, alongside Poon, Amelie Seure, Natasha Olson-Thorne, Sham Wai Sum, Kwong Sau Yan, Candy Cheng Tsz Ting and Stephanie Cuvelier from the squad that recently competed in Tokyo. Other elite athletes from the rugby sevens programme at the Hong Kong Sports Institute named include Royce Chan, Melody Li Nim Yan, Colleen Tjosvold and Garvey.

Hull and the selectors have tipped four potential new caps including Valley’s Rebecca Thompson who previously represented Hong Kong at age grade level and has recently returned from studying overseas. Hong Kong U20s sevens captain Aileen Ryan of Hong Kong Football Club has also been selected, along with Kowloon’s Mak Ho Yee, another U20s sevens player and National Age Grade representative, rounding out the three new caps in the backline.

“Our four new caps show great potential for the future,” said Hull. “Ryan, Thompson and Ho have come through the Age Grade programme as one of our key aims for the Tour is to groom young players. There are a number of exciting U19 players coming through at the moment and we wanted to ensure that opportunities to progress into senior rugby are provided.”

Jasmine Shuk Han Cheung is the only uncapped player selected in the forwards after having impressed selectors on her return to Hong Kong from studying overseas. “Jasmine brings a strong physical presence to the side. She has been playing in England and adds some valuable experience and knowledge to the team,” added Hull.

Spain finished ninth overall in the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup after being grouped in the same pool with the eventual finalists England and Canada. Spain beat Kazakhstan 18-5 to advance to the ninth place play-off where they dispatched South Africa 36-0. The results indicate the challenge ahead for Hong Kong who lost their most recent test to Kazakhstan 40-0 in Almaty this spring.

“We expect a physical challenge from Spain, but they also have a full-time sevens squad which is obviously going to be a factor. They are good with ball in hand and fast, building out of their sevens capability, so it will be an excellent opportunity for us to gauge where we are,” said Hull.

“Spain are good, but we are focusing more on our own processes rather than our opponents. We have some talented players and can play dynamic rugby. We’re never going to be the biggest or the strongest team on the park, but we have an experienced front row that we will rely on heavily. We also have huge experience in the backline so we want to move the ball around.

“It’s very easy to say ‘we’re building’, but that is our mindset as we look from the next few months to four of five years from now. It’s important for the players to gain experience now.

We’ll be looking to see which combinations work on Tour and will focus on some key performance goals rather than judging success purely on wins and losses. Having said that, we want to show our strengths to the women’s rugby world and a win would be nice,” Hull concluded.

Photo: HK Rugby Union