Natixis HKFC Ice beat SCAA First Pacific Causeway Bay Phoenix 32-5 while Borrelli Walsh USRC Tigers and CPM Gai Wu Falcons advanced by walkover to complete the semi-final pairings in the HKRU KPMG Grand Championship.

HKFC will face undefeated league champions Societe Generale Valley while Falcons will play Tigers in next weekend’s semi-finals.

“I’m very happy with the result. Football Club versus Causeway Bay is one of the closest match-ups in the Premiership and it was a lot tougher than the scoreline suggests,” said coach David Wigley who was pleased with his side’s efforts on a day when everything went right for the Sports Road outfit.

“We started very well, at last. We’ve often started slowly this season, and it was a good time to put that right. We got a couple of tries early and that set us on track,” Wigley noted.

Two early first-half tries saw HKFC take a healthy lead with Jamie Bourk, celebrating her 19th birthday and her last game before departing Hong Kong for university overseas, putting HKFC on the scoreboard almost out of the blocks. A second try soon followed, coming off a driving maul as HKFC’s forwards handed a stiff challenge to their opposing pack. A similar move built around a driving maul at the close of the half added more points.

With both coaches predicting the backlines would be the difference makers ahead of the game, the match ran counter to form, developing as a physical battle between two accomplished forward packs.

“It wasn’t so much of a backline affair as I’d expected. All our players did well, but it was the forwards who carried the day. If anything, our backline could have used their possession better,” Wigley said.

“Our forwards took it to their forwards and beat them. It was the first time this season that our forwards have outscored the backs. We got in their faces and tried to stop the ball getting out to their wings and it seemed to work,” added Wigley.

Football Club kept up the pressure in the second half with Stephanie Sin scoring a 60th minute try, capping a well developed backline movement, before hooker Royce Chan Leong-sze added a try.

The prolific attack was matched with some dogged defence from HKFC.

“Our defence worked well. Causeway Bay always attacks around the fringes but we were prepared for that and effectively neutralised their offensives.

HKFC’s hard-fought win ushered their closest competitors throughout the league season out of the Grand Championship stakes, but the challenge now gets stratospherically harder with the route to the final going through Happy Valley.

HKFC will throw everything into their battle to hand Valley its first loss in 40 matches next weekend but Wigley knows it will be tough.

“Unfortunately, a few of our girls will be away for the game against Valley but hopefully we can put up a good fight. We haven’t put in a good shift against them this season and we really want to show what we can do,” Wigley asserted.

HKFC will have that chance with plenty of eyes watching next week as the race for the Grand Championship title hots up.