KPMG PREMIERSHIP PINK RUGBY DAY COULD ALSO BE A RED-LETTER OCCASION FOR HK HOPEFULS

26th Oct 2018

Tomorrow’s KPMG Premiership and Hong Kong Rugby Union celebration of Pink Rugby month will double as a final showcase for the city’s elite women’s players aspiring to be included in next month’s tour of Spain and Wales.

Jo Hull, Hong Kong Women’s coach and Head of Women’s Rugby Performance at the HKRU, confirmed that this weekend’s action will be crucial in determining spots in the tour to Europe.  Hong Kong will leave on 7 November before playing Spain (Alicante, 11 Nov.), and Wales (Cardiff Arms Park, 16 Nov.).


“We are absolutely using Pink Rugby day for selection. There are still a couple of spots up for grabs and we want to look at a few key positions and some players coming back from injury. This weekend will be really important for us to confirm that selection,” added Hull.

Hull was encouraged to see that the KPMG Premiership teams are sharpening.

“There has been a disparity in the league early on, between the top and the bottom teams, and we aren’t hiding from that. We are already looking at next year to see what changes we may need to make for the longevity of the Premiership, but I think the games are improving.

“Last weekend, there were really good matches between Tai Po and Football Club, which could impact the top four, and Tigers and Kowloon.”

It is an exciting time for women’s rugby, with the national side the first Hong Kong team of any gender to qualify for a Rugby World Cup in 2017.  A changing of the guard is spurring even more excitement in the ranks, with the Hong Kong coaching team working with a wider training squad of 35 players, including several potential new caps, before finalizing a squad of 26 players for the tour next week.

“We had some key retirements after the World Cup in stalwarts like Royce [Chan Leong-sze], Amelie Seure, Rosie Hopewell-Fong, Adrienne Garvey and Chrissy Gordon. So there are several influential players that aren’t involved in this go.

“After the Rugby World Cup, it was like a new era for us. We have spent the last year intentionally working with new players so I do expect several new caps from this tour,” Hull added.

 

 

KPMG & HKRU helping to kick Breast Cancer into touch

Tomorrow’s KPMG Premiership action is the highlight of a day-long festival of women’s rugby at King’s Park, all in aid of the Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation’s (HKBCF) breast cancer awareness campaign.

All eight KPMG Premiership teams will be in back-to-back action with Plastic Free Seas City Sparkle playing Societe Generale Valley at 15.00, followed by SCAA First Pacific Causeway Bay versus Gai Wu at 16.30, and Transact 24 Tai Po Dragons versus Borrelli Walsh USRC Tigers (18.00), before Kerry Hotel Kowloon play Natixis HKFC wrap matters up starting at 19.30.

In addition to the Premiership matches, eight other women’s games will be held at King’s Park on the day, across National Leagues 1 and 2, with three additional matches played at other venues, as over 500 senior women’s players rally the rugby community to raise awareness of breast cancer.

A donation will be made by the HKRU and KPMG to the Foundation following the completion of tomorrow’s league action.  

The proceeds include a unique fund-raising element from KPMG, long-term title sponsor of the HKRU Women’s Premiership, after they threw down the gauntlet to the Premiership stars to score for their clubs and help kick cancer into touch.

For every try scored in the KPMG Game of the Week in the month of October, KPMG is contributing HK$100 to the campaign.  The clubs have responded in kind, scoring 21 tries in three games of the week to date, with tomorrow’s action yet to come.  The HKRU is supporting the effort with the sale of commemorative pink rugby socks which have been worn by several Premiership club sides, men’s and women’s, throughout Pink Rugby month.

While the objectives of Pink Rugby Day remain extant, the clubs enter tomorrow’s action with narrower goals, as they jockey for positions before a planned split into four-team Premiership and Premiership A competitions after the tour.

There is a familiar feel to the table with perennial rivals Gai Wu and Valley dominating the top spot; both are tied-first with perfect 3-0 records.  Tigers and Phoenix hold tight to third and fourth spots with Tigers having a one-point advantage on the log, 10 points to nine.  The bottom four is headed up by HKFC, who have a one-point advantage over Kowloon, making tomorrow’s head to head an exciting prospect. Tai Po and City are still chasing their first wins although the Dragons have secured two bonus points, giving them a slight buffer over bottom-ranked City.

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