Natixis HKFC beat Bloomberg HK Scottish Kukris 31-12 in a key KPMG Premiership match last night. That result puts the Sports Roaders in the top four after next month’s split in the league into major and minor KPMG Premierships. 

The top three sides punished their opponents with Societe Generale Valley beating SCAA First Pacific Causeway Bay Phoenix, 74-5, while Borrelli Walsh USRC Tigers scored 18 tries to beat Transact24 Tai Po Dragons 104-0; Gai Wu’s convincing 34-7 win over Kerry Hotel Kowloon paled in comparison.

With one round remaining, defending league champions Valley are imposing their will on the competition so far. Their 6-0 record includes a bonus point from every game, for a perfect 30 from 30 points, and sole possession of first place.

Tigers and Falcons are caged in tied-second, with equal 5-1 records and point totals (25), although Tigers have the head-to-head and, perhaps, mental edge after beating Gai Wu 53-0 in the last round.  The Tigers may finally see some breathing space with Gai Wu having to match up against Valley next Saturday.  Ever patient, Falcons coach Lai Yiu-pang will know his side has done enough once again to get to the business end of the season in striking range of another league title.

With Tigers up next, and only four points on the table separating the teams before kick-off, it was a must win affair for Football Club’s chances of a top four spot, and they showed it.

Back rower Sophie Short helped her side jump out to a 12-0 first quarter lead after her opening try in the 7^th minute.  Eight minutes later, Aileen Ryan, playing at fly half today, added a second five-pointer with winger Lara Carolan notching the conversion to complete the run.

Kukris refused to go away however, and earned their first points when Lau Wai-yi crashed over for a try in the 27^th minute to bring her side back into it, trailing 12-5.

Ten minutes later, Football Club’s Iris Chan was handed a yellow card and Scottish exploited their numerical superiority ruthlessly. The pressure told when Ng Suet-ying scored in the 40^th minute with Fung Yuen-ting’s conversion sending Scottish into the break with all of the momentum after having levelled the score at 12-all.

Credit to Club then that they produced a complete performance in the second half, growing stronger as the game wore on.

Kukris held up to the onslaught well in the third quarter but the floodgates opened late as Club’s youth brigade turned up the heat.

National Age Grade player Lucia Bolton collected her second try of October at a key time to push Club back ahead 19-12 ahead the final quarter, with Ryan converting.  Carolan added her second try in two weeks in the 65^th minute, with her opposite winger Rachel Fong the icing the cake in the 80^th minute as Club ran out 31-12 victors.

Valley scored 13 tries on Causeway Bay with emerging Hong Kong sevens star Jess Eden nabbing a double hat trick with three in either half. 

Tigers had two players with four tries each in their 18-try win over Dragons; Cheung Hoi-ying did most of her damage late with a hat-trick in the second half to add to a single try before the break, while Winnie Siu put in a balanced effort with a brace on either side of half time. Centre Tyler Botha was also busy, scoring a first-half brace and collecting a yellow card, before completing the hat trick in the second stanza.

Despite the wide margins, the minor Premiership is likely to return parity to the table although HK Scottish will enter as the early favourites after threatening a top four appearance in their debut Premiership season.