Completing its 14^th season, the ANZ International Touch Championship this year took place at King’s Park on the weekend of 2^nd-4^th August 2019.

This year’s competition included seven of the best local teams in Hong Kong, alongside seven overseas teams from Singapore, China and Philippines. The 14^th edition of the ANZ International Touch Championship was one for the history books, as it was the first time a women’s category was introduced, alongside a mixed category in the tournament. There were four trophies up for grabs in the mixed category, which aided a more competitive atmosphere for the tournament. The Manila Pirates demonstrated an impressive performance against the Guangxi Geckos in a thrilling encounter during the Shield Final, which saw them win 6-3. The Bowl Final proved to be a tasty encounter between two sides from Singapore. However, it was the Fun Panda’s that bagged themselves the bragging rights back home as they showed their dominance in an emphatic win. It was a familiar sight for local powerhouse T8 as they once again showed their resilience and domination to clinch the Plate in a comfortable win. And finally, the Cup Final was a tight affair between Todaks (SIN) and local side Raven. Both teams proved why they deserved to be in the final with end-to-end skills, yet it was Todaks that went home with the trophy, sealing the deal by a single try.

The women’s category structure was different to others. It consisted of two round-robin games to determine the champion. It was a great day for women’s rugby, with remarkable performances from all teams. Pillar Sports Phoenix just fell short on sealing top-spot, whilst the Hong Kong Select Team went on to clinch the cup in the first ever women’s category.

'Special thanks to Peter McNeven, Suzanne Salter and Chris Harapa who all hosted introductory and intermediate touch coaching courses, in addition to a level two refereeing course. Unfortunately, the advanced coaching workshop was cancelled due to a Typhoon 8. To add to the exceptional day, we had four referees upgraded to level two and twenty-two participants go through both of the coaching courses.

A warm thanks to everyone who made the event possible and we look forward to 2020!