Natixis HKFC will take on SCAA First Pacific Causeway Bay Phoenix in the quarterfinals of the KPMG Premiership Grand Championships tomorrow at Aberdeen (18.00).

After achieving a respectable top-four finish in the league stakes for the second season running, HKFC coach David Wigley believes his side are on target to advance to a semi-finals match-up against league champions Societe Generale Valley.

“At the start of the season our target was to secure fourth place in the league again, and we’re extremely pleased to have achieved that. We’ve been improving through the season, and the last two weeks have seen our systems really coming into place,” said Wigley.

HKFC were a model of consistency in keeping their stranglehold on fourth place this season, but Causeway Bay came on strong in the second half, picking up 15 points on the table since January to close the gap on their nearest rivals to five points ahead of the final league match.

Causeway Bay’s effort came agonizingly short. Although they improved their record to 6-6 after beating Comvita City, they couldn’t secure the bonus point that would have leap-frogged them over Football Club in the standings.

“In our last game, against City, we really wanted the four tries [the bonus point] but they put up a good show, with a strong defence, and we were only able to score twice,” said coach Ocean Chow.

The win saw Causeway Bay finish with a better win-loss record for the league campaign but Football Club, who dropped from a 4-2 record in January to finish at 5-7, claimed fourth on points differential, finishing with 24 points on the table ahead of Causeway Bay on 23.

The two sides split their meetings this season with HKFC claiming a 22-14 win in October while Causeway Bay edged Club 12-5 last month.

Wigley believes that things are falling into place just in time for the big push.

“Every time we play Causeway Bay it’s a war. The two teams are evenly matched, but the squad is in good shape and we will be able to field as strong a squad as we’ve had all season,” said Wigley.

Adding to the toss-up, the battle will be contested on neutral ground with the sides playing at Aberdeen.

“We haven’t played at Aberdeen for two years so it will be interesting to play on grass. The bounce of the ball is different, and it may come down to which team settles best on the surface. Against Causeway Bay, we give it our all. It is like a local derby for us. We met them last year at this stage and came through in what was ultimately a game of attrition,” said Wigley.

Both coaches agree that there isn’t much between the challengers.

“With both sets of forwards going at it hard, this game is usually won or lost in the backs,” said Wigley.

Chow concurred saying, “Football club have strong forwards and a dangerous maul, but I think our backline gives us the advantage. Quick rucking is one of our strengths and we’ve been training for contact attack, which is necessary in a physical game like this. We need to play to our strengths with quick ball and offload.”

Wigley is preparing his team for a similar test: “The threat from their scrum is always tough. If we can neutralize that, we can work to our own strengths. We’ve been working hard on our defence at the ruck and breakdown. We also need to shut down their wingers, who gave us problems last year.”

With excitement mounting ahead of the must-win tie, Ocean Chow believes that the deciding factor may come down to mental more than rugby skills.

“It’s a matter of keeping focus. The mindset is crucial. It’s all about that desire. Saturday will be exciting. It will be close-fought, but we will win,” Chow predicted, as he hopes his Phoenix will be able to rise on one last occasion.

CPM Gai Wu Falcons and Borrelli Walsh USRC Tigers will advance to the semi-finals stages, along with Societe Generale Valley, after City and Kowloon forfeited their matches against the second- and third-ranked league finishers.