Taking place on consecutive weekends (June 26 and July 3) at Tin Shui Community Rugby Ground, 8 women’s teams kicked-off the first day of competition in the 2021/2022 USFHK Rugby Sevens Competition. The Cup final battle saw EdUHK finally lift their “runners-up” and emerge as winners over PolyU, while CUHK outlasted VTC to claim bronze once again.

In light of the coronavirus situation both days of action took place “behind closed doors” with no admittance for spectators, but it did little to impact the fans and the supporters from watching outside the venue despite temperatures reaching 34 degrees Celsius.

8 institutions in the women’s division and 4 institutions in the men’s qualifier division lined up for an afternoon  of some scintillating rugby sevens action, resulting in a total of 15 games (12 games for women, 3 for men) . PolyU opened the day with a 12-7 win over HKBU, and secured their spot in the Cup final after beating VTC 17-12. EdUHK joined PolyU to the final after a thrilling 14-12 win over CUHK, last year's second runner-up and sweeping LingU with a 48-7

win.

In a pulsating final, Cheung Fong Lin scored EdUHK’s first try of the game giving them a 5-0 lead. The next points of both teams did not come until the second half, when Chung Ka Ling’s try further extended the EdU lead to 10-0. This sparked PolyU into action, and they went back on attack immediately. The competition reached a climax when PolyU’s Wong Sze Ying finally broke through to score and close the gap to 10-5, leaving the game finely poised as it entered the final minutes, with neither side able to add points on the board. The final whistle brought the tussle to a close, with EdUHK sealing a 10-5 victory and capturing the USFHK Rugby Sevens Competition title.

CUHK took their third bronze in a row after a convincing 34-5 win over VTC, while defending champions CityU finished off the podium after an earlier technical forfeit.

Two Men's preliminary games were also held the same afternoon, with VTC and HKU defeating SYU and the HKMU 26-0 and 29-7 respectively to secure their spots in the final eight, who face off back at Tin Shui Wai on the coming Sunday, July 3.

Photographer: Kuman Ko