KPMG WOMEN’S PREMIERSHIP RETURNS FOR ROUND TWO

07th Oct 2016

Following a highly competitive opening weekend and a short break for the first HKRU Women’s Super Series action of the season, the KPMG Women’s Premiership returns to the pitches for another exciting installment of premier women’s sport this weekend.

Round two sees SCAA First Pacific CWB Phoenix take on CPM Gai Wu Falcons (So Kon Po, 16.30), while Societe Generale Valley host Kowloon (Happy Valley 8, 16.30). Natixis HKFC Ice make their season debut when they host Premiership debutants Comvita City Sparkle at Sports Road (18.30). Borrelli Walsh USRC Tigers are on bye this weekend.

Based on their historic form and strong showing in week one - when they beat Phoenix 45-7, Valley should comfortably handle the challenge from a battling Kowloon XV. Kowloon conceded 56 points to Tigers, the highest margin of defeat in the opening round.

The other afternoon tie should prove compelling as two fixtures of the local women’s game meet for the first time this season with Phoenix hosting Falcons in what promises to be a high-flying encounter.

After the heavy loss to Valley in the season opener, Phoenix coach Ocean Chow is instilling a message of patience noting that his squad is primarily drawn from last year’s National League 1 team.

“We are focusing on rebuilding and making the most of our opportunities when they come. In the first half against Valley it was close, we matched them all the way, but in the second half we didn’t have enough fitness, and fell away. That’s something we’ve been working on and will continue to work on,” Chow said.

The challenge only gets tougher as Phoenix back up their opening match against last year’s double champions Valley with this weekend’s tie against Grand Championship runners-up Gai Wu.

“This season we hope to improve all of our players. We have another hard game against Gai Wu and it will be another opportunity to test ourselves and grow,” Chow added.

“They are a strong team, of course, but we match them for size and we have a very quick backline. Falcons have done well for the last couple of seasons, especially because of their good team spirit but we also have a very good team spirit,” said Chow.

Gai Wu coach “Sailo” Lai Yiu-pang is looking forward to the opportunity to run out his full-strength side after missing four players to Asian Sevens Series duty for Hong Kong on the opening weekend.

“We have our Hong Kong players back and we have had a good week of training so I will be looking to see how we transition that from practice to the pitch, particularly in defence. We have been working hard on our tackling for the last two weeks and I am expecting the girls to show some results from that emphasis,” said Lai.

Spoiled for choice, Lai will look to offer more opportunities for his up and coming players against Phoenix before bringing on the Hong Kong stars in the second half. “I want to give an opportunity for some of the less experienced players to play, especially some of our young forwards,” said Lai.

Lai respects Causeway Bay’s talent. “They have some really good new girls coming through now. I watched some of their players in the Super Series and their fullback [Abigail Chan who will play in the centres on Saturday] is really strong and quick. If we don't pressure them and bottle them up their backline could cause some real problems,” Lai added.

Natixis HKFC Ice meanwhile will be anticipating their season debut after placing fourth overall on their Premiership debut last season. After a solid pre-season Coach David Wigley is confident of meeting or beating last year’s strong finish saying, “We want to build on the foundation we set last year. The Premiership is going to be very competitive this season and we would consider finishing with the same or better placing as a good result.

“We worked really hard in the pre-season. We had a tour to Singapore and a couple of good games and we have really focused on individual skills over the summer. Most importantly we are applying a ‘growth mindset’ to the season - it’s not about the goal, it’s about the journey,” Wigley said.

That journey begins on Saturday when Ice open their campaign against Comvita City in a match that could prove tricky for City as they continue to try to find their footing at elite level. “City are a tight package. We played them two years ago in National League 1 and all of the games were very close. They are a tough side and we expect another tough game but hopefully the home advantage will give us the edge,” said Wigley.

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