PUBLISHED ON 13 NOV 2025
Hong Kong Women's 7s battled to a 5th place finish at the National Games at Kai Tak Stadium (12-14 November).
Results and match reaction from each day are shown below, and fans can also check out the event photo gallery here.
Pools (Women)
- C1 Jiangsu, C2 Hebei, C3 Anhui, C4 Beijing
- D1 Shandong, D2 Sichuan, D3 Shanghai, D4 Hong Kong
Wednesday 12 November
- 1:30PM, Match 2, Shandong 31-12 Hong Kong Women, Pool D
- 5PM, Match 9, Sichuan 19-12 Hong Kong Women, Pool D
Thursday 13 November
- 1PM, Match 17, Shanghai 14-27 Hong Kong Women, Pool D
- 5PM, Hong Kong Women 36-7 Hebei, 5th Place Semi-Final
Friday 14 November 2025
- 6:30PM Hong Kong Women 24-7 Shanghai, 5th Place Final
- 9:40PM, Presentation Ceremony
Results and Reaction - Day Three
5th Place Final - Hong Kong Women 24-7 Shanghai
Julia Mibuy Mba Oyana received the kick-off in the 5th Place Final, carrying hard into the first tackle and making a statement for the girls who would go on to dominate possession and territory in the opening minutes. First Maggie Au Yeung was smothered and then Mba Oyana ankle tapped as Hong Kong threatened to break through, spreading the ball from left to right. Pressure intensified before Chong Ka Yan and then Natasha Olson-Thorne played quick offloads to put Mba Oyana into space. She was able to fend off the last defender and score in the corner - her 7th of in the five-game tournament, with the conversion missing.
From the kick-off Shanghai gathered well, then moved the ball nicely inside the Hong Kong half, but the girls held strong winning a penalty for an illegal entry at the ruck. Hong Kong opted for the scrum, building phases and probing the Shanghai defense. In the end Nam Ka Man managed to draw in two defenders with Ka Yan hitting a great line to break the defence and go under the posts, with Jessica Ho converting.
From a deep restart Chloe Chan did extremely well to tackle the Shanghai receiver into touch and give Hong Kong a lineout. From there, the home side continued to build the phases and Melody Li made a clean break into the opposition 22. Unfortunately Chan knocked on in the tackle attempting an offload, but from there a sloppy pass from Shaghai’s scrum half saw her fly half knock the ball on. Hong Kong spread the ball from the scrum and Li, who scored a brace in the final game yesterday, used some good footwork to beat the defense and slide in for a third try of the half, and a commanding 17-0 half-time lead.
To start the second half Shanghai received the ball deep and attempted to catch Hong Kong cold with a quick kick over the top, but knocked the ball on in the process and gifted Hong Kong the scrum just 5 metres from the opposition try line. Ka Yan worked the ball to Sabay Lynam who ended up tackled just inches from the try line. In the end, Hong Kong gave away the penalty for holding on, and Shanghai were able to tap and play from their own 22.
The girls kept Shanghai pinned back in their own 22 for a period, meaning they eventually chose to kick for territory. Jessica Eden recovered the ball and ran into the upcoming defenders, then gave a spectacular offload to Ho who was able to run it in under the post. She converted her own try for a 24-0 lead with just five minutes remaining.
From the restart Shanghai again struggled to get out of their own 22, resorting to a grubber kick which Ka Yan did well to recover, but Shanghai did battle back to win possession and score a converted try for what would be the last points of the match.
The final play saw Hong Kong defending a lineout, which Chan disrupted to turn briefly win possession back, before Shanghai's final attack was thwarted by a fantastic Mba Oyana tackle, winning a penalty for holding on and wrapping up the 5th place finish for Hong Kong.
Winger Jessica Eden, reflected on the move that led to Jessica Ho's try: “Obviously when they kicked it through my first thought was to just get back and get on that ball. As I ran the ball back I could see I had drawn in three defenders, then I heard Jess really screaming and wanting that pop up pass. I was able to connect well and she just put her head down and got in to score, showing really good composure.”
Talking about the performance as a whole she added: "I think we really got ourselves in the right mindset tonight, we wanted to come out and win the game well, and I think we showed great energy on field. We're happy with how we ended up performing at the end, but obviously disappointed that we didn't quite get to go into those Semi-Finals last night.
Ho spoke about how special a Friday night try at Kai Tak felt: “I've not scored here before, and I don't score many tries so that one was very special to do it infront of my family and friends. There was lots of cheering, particularly in the South Stand, and I used to spend a lot of time there rather than on the pitch, so that felt good!”
Results and Reaction - Day Two
5th Place Semi-Final - Hong Kong Women 36-7 Hebei
Hong Kong Women were looking to bounce back from the disappointment of missing out on a medal and put in a strong performance against Hebei, as they now chase a 5th place finish overall.
The opposition were the first to score under the posts, however, running nearly the length of the field and converting. But those were the final points that Hong Kong would concede in the match.
The girls started well from the restart and put together some phases before Chloe Chan scored out wide, but the conversion was missed.
A superb set of runs and deft passes from her teammates gave Chong Ka Yan the easiest of finishes and converted scores to take the lead 12-7 once the TMO checked the score was legitimate.
The women scored a third try, which was converted after a powerful solo run from Melody Li. Then were denied another before the break from a forward pass which meant the lead was 19-7 at the hooter.
Li grabbed her second try after the break to extend the lead 26-7 with a converted score. The team fought for every inch, and Julia Mibuy Mba Oyana scored another try after several punching runs up the middle from the team. Mba Oyana closed out the game with another well-worked try for a full-time score and a win of 36-7.
Chong Ka Yan said after the match, “Even though we missed out on the medal match by one points differential, we want to show we can play accurately and well on our home ground. It was great to hear the fans today supporting us - they cheered on everything, and it was a two-way connection with our fans.”
Co-captain Natasha Olson-Thorne said the key work-ons were valuing the possession. “We can finish with three wins on the trot, which is important, and we really need to make sure we stay connected tomorrow. We knew the opposition would be tough, and they are skilful teams here. We knew we had to bounce back, but we had two good wins today. We will go out tomorrow and show who we are to our fans and play hard for them and for each other.”
Pool Match 3 - Shanghai 14-27 Hong Kong Women
Hong Kong Women received the kick off in the must-win match, but Shanghai put the girls under pressure and won the ball to score first under the posts within 90 seconds to lead 7-0.
Hong Kong did better with the kick off and won successive penalties before reliable strike weapon Chong Ka Yan ran in a beautiful unconverted try off the base of a scrum from the half way line.
The girls showed good line speed and defensive pressure, and won a penalty in the opposition's 22m. However, the players got in each other's way and were ruled to be obstructive. Although we had them pinned back for most of the half, Shanghai had good ball retention.
Well past the nine-minute mark, the girls pushed hard for a score and again won penalties, but weren't clinical with the ball in hand, and were behind at the break.
Hong Kong kept up the good pressure and still had them contained to start the second half, but needed points. Fantastic quick hands saw the ball reach top scorer Julia Mibuy Mba Oyana, who dotted down, and the girls led 10-7 with six minutes left.
Shanghai, against the run of play, scored from the restart and converted to lead 14-10.
Hong Kong created a chance from within our own 22m as Sabay Lynam broke free and the umpteenth penalty was met with the quick tap from Chong Ka Yan, who ran down the touchline to score her second, but it was unconverted for the smallest of leads 15-14.
Jess Eden did well to keep the ball alive as we attacked, and Chloe Chan scored an uncovered try from another penalty and quick-tap with a minute left.
The girls won a penalty from the restart and called for a scrum. Mba Oyana beat her defender to secure a 5th try, and this time under the posts, which we converted for a huge 27-14 win.
An excellent team effort when it mattered most.
Oyana Mba said post-game that the night before was tense for the team, and everyone took time to reflect. “We had one thing in mind, and that was to win the game. I am happy the result was in our favour. Rugby is growing and rising in China. Everyone should give the game a go as it's a great sport to try, and once you do, you will never go back.”
Unfortunately, after Shandong beat Sichuan 17-5 in the following match, Hong Kong Women missed out on a 2nd place finish in the Pool - with the differential of one point seperating Sichuan in 2nd and Hong Kong in 3rd. This means the girls wont be competing for a medal in the playoffs and instead will battle for a best finish of 5th place.
Results and Reaction - Day One
Pool Match 2 - Sichuan 19-12 Hong Kong Women
Hong Kong Women were looking for a first pool match win against Sichuan, and after receiving the kickoff were forced to kick out the 22m and then defend in their our half, as Sichuan scored first under the posts to lead 7-0.
The girls dealt with the restart well, but struggled to exit due to the good line speed of the opposition that forced a few errors.
The girls were fantastic and physical in defending their line, but a knock-on meant possession was given up with under three minutes left in the half. Sichuan kept the ball well and dotted down under the posts to lead 14-0.
Once again the girls collected the restart well but failed to exit, and were punished again to trail 0-19 at halftime.
In the second half, it was our turn to restart, and we made it into the opposition half for the first time and applied great pressure; however, found it tough to punch holes in the Sichuan defence when we had the ball. Two players were denied just short of their try line before the ball was stripped off us.
With six minutes left, Hong Kong had a scrum in a great location and needed to score, but were held up once again by good defence.
An opportunistic unconverted try to Julia Oyana with three minutes left gave the team some hope as we were 5-19 behind.
Chong Ka Yan, not for the first time, saved 7 points and put her body on the line. She then took a quick tap, and an exquisite line from Chloe Chan resulted in a converted try with under a minute and the score, 12-19.
Sichuan won a penalty from the restart with the scrum set to decide the result - they won their put in at the scrum and kicked clear to claim the win.
Gabriella Rivers said that at halftime in the match they spoke about composure. “We didn't start as well as we wanted to, but credit to them as they really came out firing and gave us the heat and controlled the pressure. We needed to stick to our DNA and get depth and width. In the second half, we tried to get back to our basics and who we are as a team.”
Head Coach Andy Vilk said conceding the tries early made it tough. “They were really good quality opposition, and that is the challenge here. When we can keep possession, we can be a dangerous team.
"The quality of teams out here means it is a really good challenge for us, and being in my first National Games is very exciting. We get to play in front of family and friends and the rugby community in a fantastic venue. These multisports events are important as people are discovering the sport for the first time.”
In the other second match in the Pool, Shandong beat Shanghai 36-0, a result that keeps Hong Kong Women's dream alive of making the top 4. Tomorrow they will need to beat Shanghai and hope Shandong beat Sichuan - which would leave second place in the Pool decided on points differential.
Pool Match 1 - Shandong 31-12 Hong Kong Women
Hong Kong Women ran out under the closed roof at Kai Tak Stadium in the second match against a team they knew would be tough - Shandong produces a lot of the Chinese national team 7s players.
Shandong kicked off, but the ball was dropped, and the girls were under immediate pressure as Shandong opened the scoring in the opening 30 seconds with the conversion bouncing over off the upright to lead 7-0.
The girls were much better in the second kick receive, and after patient phase play, Chong Ka Yan set up Julia Mibuy Mba Oyana out wide to beat a defender, and the try was converted by Stephanie Chan for a 7-7 score with 3 minutes gone.
Hong Kong's defence held, and both sides turned over the ball with Mba Oyana nearly breaking through for a second.
Desperate tackles prevented a try from Shandong, and the girls won another turnover with a couple of minutes left. But both teams were finding breaks, but put in excellent defensive hits.
Hong Kong had all the ball for the final two minutes and a great attacking opportunity before the break, but Shandong held out. The half ended at 7-7 with both teams knocking the ball on.
Hong Kong kicked off the second half, and Shandong moved the ball from edge to edge to take the lead within the first minute, 14-7. The opposition did well with ball retention and cleaned up the breakdown, creating one-on-one opportunities, and unfortunately a few tackles were missed tackles as they added a third and a fourth with less than three minutes left, to lead 7-26.
Hong Kong chased the scoreboard in the second half as one of the tournament's favourites scored their 5th try to lead 7-31. However, the girls never gave up and scored one final try via #12 Sabay Lynam to make it a final score of 12-31.
Try scorer Mba Oyana said, “The next game, we just need to go for it. I am so happy I scored, and it was so fun hearing everyone cheer for me. We need to get back together and play our best rugby in the next game. Our goal is to win a medal, so we are going to fight hard to achieve that goal. We need to focus on ourselves - we want to be a quick team, so focus on our offloads and ball carries.
"The atmosphere was amazing, and it's my first time playing at Kai Tak - and to hear my teammates' friends and families has been so heartwarming. I am so excited about how the games progress and see the stadium fill up.”
Maggie Au Yeung added, “We did well in the first half and defended as a team, but we let in some tries and dropped off in our standards in the second half.”
