HKFC A TEAM

There were only four teams in the Cup division as Valley dropped down to the Plate and so each game counted.

First up was USRC – HKFC are normally slow starters, but the boys were well up for it and got out of the starting gate quickly. Tries from Owen Chow, Xavier Cox (3), Charlie Charlwood, Callum Hulme (2), Ben Luvisotto, Andrew McQuhae, James ‘Jamie’ Donald and Anthony Wickens secured a resounding 11-0 victory.

Sandy Bay were next and an early try from Andrew McQuhae settled the nerves of the players. Then came the best try of the day as Callum Hulme and Oscar Backelandtcombined down the left before being stopped close to the line, leaving an easy pick up and go from Andrew McQuhae for his second try. Noa Lane then ripped the ball out in the tackle and cantered over for a try. HKFC were dominating possession and territory but could not add to the score and it finished 3-0.

The last game was versus Sai Kung Stingrays. They were also undefeated on the day and after a tense 0-0 tie in the last round, they are the biggest threat in the competition to HKFC. It was another tense affair with Sai Kung having largely the better of the territory, but some stout defence from HKFC meant they rarely troubled the try line. As the game wore on, we started to threaten but couldn't break them down. Another 0-0 tie meant we edged this round over Sai Kung on points difference, but the key rival for this year’s cup is clear to all the boys.

HKFC B TEAM

HKFC came into this round as the team to beat in the Plate division following our 100% record last time out. The competition would be tough with Valley’s first team dropping down to this division. First up was DB Pirates who had some big units in their team. HKFC more than matched them physically and used our pace out wide to seal an impressive victory to start things off. Tries from Jimmy Page, Jairo Wong and James Guest saw us home 3-1.

Next up was our other strong competition – a well drilled Flying Kukris team. This was a tougher match and again the boys were strong enough to come through with tries from Zach Chin, Jairo Wong and Riku Takafukusealing a 3-2 win.

Next was Sandy Bay and the boys now had a lot of confidence from two hard fought wins. Sandy Bay gave a good account of themselves but tries from Jairo Wong, Jimmy Page, Rory Elkins and Zach Chin gave us a comprehensive 4-0 bonus point victory.

The next game was Shatin Shapei. The boys started off really strongly and raced out to a 4-0 lead with tries from James March, Riku Takafuku, James Guest and our very own try machine Jairo Wong. However, the referee started to ping us for repeated offside and Shatin Shapei worked their way back in with two tries and the boys held on to win 4-2.

Last up was Valley. Always a tough game and an important one for any HKFC team to win. There was very little doubt about the outcome of this one with Rory Elkins, running roughshod over the Valley defence to help himself to 4 tries. This haul was supplemented by tries from James March, Zach Chin and Jimmy Page to round off an impressive 7-0 victory.

After two rounds, HKFC have a 100% record and are surely the team everyone is looking to beat.

HKFC C TEAM

The Sevens (C) team were first up against HATS, an amalgamated team from 4 rugby clubs. We were slow off the blocks with an immediate try by HATS. However, HKFC hit back and from a loose ruck Sam Lawrenson and Isaac Seah set up Brayden Cheung who then scored a try. This fired them up and the boys continued with 3 more tries from Brayden Cheung, Isaac Seah and Ian Chong.

The second match with Monkey was more one sided. This was the Monkey's first team. Brayden Cheung continued his try scoring form from the first game. This was a 1-8 loss, but a brave effort from some of our players who only played rugby for 3 months.

The last game was against Sai Kung who we drew with in the last round. Sai Kung had two players stepping down from their A team and started strong with two tries. The HKFC boys did a good job with Ian Chong and Isaac Seah making some tough tackles before Brayden scored another try. Ian Chong then picked up a loose ball and scored another to make it 2-2. However, the Sai Kung boys then stepped it up, scoring three more tries in the final minutes to end with a 2-5 loss for HKFC.

Overall, the C team did a fantastic job given that they had only one substitute with Sam Lawrenson as skipper encouraging all the boys and leading by example with some amazing tackles and passes.

Paul McSheaffrey and CY Seah