The Old Mutual International Men’s Premiership resumes after a week’s break and round four sees some mouth-watering match-ups, with old foes Natixis HKFC and Herbert Smith Freehills HKCC locking horns in the match of the round.

They get underway at 6.00pm at Football Club, while Societe Generale Valley and Bloomberg HK Scottish start the action at 3.00pm at Happy Valley. The third game sees Borrelli Walsh USRC Tigers tackle a Kowloon side in desperate need of a win at 4.30pm at King’s Park.

While HKFC have had a dream start to the season and sit undefeated on top of the ladder, it has been quite the opposite for Brett Wilkinson and HKCC, who are winless at the bottom. It hasn’t been all doom and gloom for the Cricketers, however, with a couple of narrow losses including a three-point defeat to Valley two weeks ago, and Wilkinson hopes with a couple of tweaks a win will come.

“I don’t think we’re far off. Going back to the Valley game, we made 27 basic handling mistakes and a few glitches in defence. If we tighten that up we are going to be a different team,” he said.

No 8 Ben Davey comes back into contention for selection this week after recovering from a thumb injury, while it is touch and go whether Robbie MacDonald and Liam Slatem will be ready. After a significant list overhaul during the summer, Wilkinson can see his squad starting to gel as the recruits find their niche.

“There’s a good buzz and vibe between the players. As guys get to know the new guys, the culture gets better,” he said.

The loser of the Kowloon-Tigers clash will fall even further off the pace and ‘Loon coach James Scaysbrook says his charges are eager to atone for their last-start loss to Scottish.

“After a week’s break and a disappointing performance last time out we’re looking forward to get back into it. We’ve had a bit of a look at them with a couple of rounds gone already and we know they are a really competitive team.

“We won’t be able to relax at any stage, they’ve got a couple of exciting outside backs as well and we will have to be really on it for the whole 80 minutes.”

A number of those who represented Hong Kong in the Asia Rugby Sevens Series are expected to return to Premiership action this weekend, with Kowloon set to benefit from the addition of playmaker Jack Neville.

“Jack will give us a good lead in attack and he will be able to give us good individual one-off moments which the rest of the team will hopefully thrive on,” Scaysbrook said.

Scottish coach Craig Hammond is looking forward to taking on Valley on their home ground and is confident his side can adapt to the tight confines of Happy Valley. He is hopeful of taking in close to a full-strength squad, with Jack Parfitt making his case for a return after overcoming a medial ligament injury sustained in the pre-season.

“It’s good to be in a position where it’s harder to select a team, rather than scraping the barrel like at times in the past,” Hammond said. “We’re looking forward to it. It’s going to be a great challenge.”

While the sevens players are returning, Hammond also expects those fighting for a spot in November’s 15-a-side Cup of Nations tournament to take it up a notch, making for an exciting three-week block of matches.

Kane Boucaut is one player who is returning after starring in the Asian series and he will also be staking a claim for a 15s berth, with Hammond expecting him to slot back in nicely after adding a few strings to his bow in the condensed format.

“He can shift and he can play like a back,” Hammond said. “He’s strong and he adds another element with his carries.”