Natixis Hong Kong Football Club fell to SCAA First Pacific Causeway Bay Phoenix, 15-12, in tonight’s KPMG Premiership Game of the Week.  

The rest of the Premiership slate saw a series of one-way affairs with Societe Generale Valley beating Transact24 Tai Po Dragons 72-0; defending double champions Gai Wu Falcons beating Kerry Hotel Kowloon, 50-0, and Borrelli Walsh USRC Tigers beating Plastic Free Seas City Sparkle 68-0.

Today’s results place Valley and Falcons at the top of the table with their perfect records intact and accompanied by two bonus points, while Phoenix are a step off the pace, also undefeated but with only one bonus point after Football Club stymied them this weekend.

Playing without eight first choice players, HKFC managed to hold Causeway Bay to a 5-all tie at halftime.  Hau Sin-man scored her second try in two weeks to give Phoenix the slim bumper in the 15^th minute, but that margin was erased on the stroke of half-time when Football Club’s Elizabeth Musgrove scored her third try in two games to level the scores at the break, 5-5.

Causeway Bay struck early on after the resumption of play with Tsang Ching-man scoring.  Phoenix sat on that 10-5 lead for the next half hour, before extending the margin to 15-15 in the 70^th minute with No.8 Martini Ip Ka-ling scoring.

Musgrove, who plays sevens for Scotland, threatened more of her magic with her second try in the 76^th minute, (after scoring in the 80^th minute in week one), bringing Football Club to within three points after the conversion from Cheung Ka-ki.  But time ran out on Club’s comeback attempt and Causeway Bay picked up their second win from two chances.

Coach Chris Lin is pleased with Causeway Bay’s start to the year and credited his side’s cohesion as an advantage over Club tonight.

“I think we were a bit more focused than they were tonight. We were able to follow our game plan and put what we have been doing in training onto the pitch.”

Lin credited his forwards, in particular prop Chin Po-po, for their efforts in the win.

“Our forwards are one of our strengths this season. They are a bit skillful and are showing some good aggression in both attack and defence,” Lin added.

Of Ching, Lin said, “She is our pack leader and played very well today in the set piece, both in the scrum and in putting the ball into the lineout. Even though Football Club have a bigger pack than us, her technique was good and really helped give us an advantage.”

Neutralizing Club’s forwards helped to level the playing field for Causeway Bay, whose backline stepped up to the challenge tonight at Sports Road.

Phoenix have bolstered their numbers with several new players on loan from some of Hong Kong’s non-Premiership teams this season, and are aiming to be in the top four places on the league table after round one when the Premiership will split into two grades, the Premiership and Premiership A.

Player-coach Bella Milo scored four tries today to lead all scorers in week two, while Zoe Smith, Caitlin Spencer and Yuen Yin-lo all collected braces in Valley’s 11-try win over Dragons.