Round 6 of the Rugbypass.com Men’s Premiership is one of the most even of the season so far, with three clashes that could go either way.

The pick of an impressive crop is the blockbuster between league leaders Societe Generale Valley and Natixis HKFC at Happy Valley (15.00). Other action sees Bloomberg HK Scottish host Herbert Smith Freehills HKCC at Shek Kip Mei and Borrelli Walsh USRC Tigers take on Kowloon at Kings Park, both at 16.30.

A win to the home side would leave Valley very well placed ahead of the two-week international break and HKFC coach Phil Bailey knows that come Saturday, his team is going to have to be cherry ripe.

“They have got a lot of guys in the national team that will be looking to impress in front of the national coach, so that will make it tough,” he said. “It’s three weeks until we play again, it’s important to go into that break with a win. It’s good for the head as it’s a long time to mull over a loss otherwise.”

With two wins and a draw from his side’s first five matches, Bailey knows the importance of staying in touch with a Valley side that is currently seven points ahead on the table. He will look to the likes of in-form pair Mitch Andrews and Dan Falvey to lead the way and has been particularly impressed with the way loose forward Falvey has gone about his business in the opening rounds.

“It’s some of the best rugby I’ve seen him play, it’s just his consistency,” Bailey said.

Valley enter the match on the back of a performance against Kowloon that was a touch below their best.

“We were a little bit off but you have got to give credit to Kowloon,” said coach Andrew Kelly. “They put us under real pressure at the breakdown and we didn’t cope well. It would be great to get a win before the break. Valley and Football Club is quite an old rivalry and we always get a good battle with them. We don’t expect anything less this week.”

Scottish is looking to build a formidable record on its home patch and coach Craig Hammond is preparing to welcome a HKCC side full of run and energy. The Cricketers enter the clash full of confidence after an impressive two-week period that saw the side first wrest the Broony Quaich away from Valley and then retain it in last week’s draw with HKFC.

“Westy (HKCC coach Kevin West) likes to throw the ball around and play good footy,” Hammond said. “Shek Kip Mei is a big pitch, so it probably suits Cricket Club with all of their sevens boys and all their gas, so I’m sure defensively we will have our hands full.”

Scottish went down to HKCC by seven points in the team’s last meeting in the opening round but sit two points above their opponents on the table. Hammond has been working his charges hard on the track and was pleased to see signs of reward for effort in last week’s win over Tigers.

“We scored some really good tries in that first half and it was good to put what we have been working on at training on the park. The best thing is that there are no real standout players; all the boys are doing their job. The boys are working hard and digging deep,” he said.

Kowloon come out of the first round with only one win and is in danger of being marooned at the foot of the table if it can’t start winning soon. In a season where all five of the clubs sitting above it have already shown plenty, there will be no easy matches, but a fighting 24-18 loss to Valley last weekend shows the side is not far off.

“The games we’ve lost have certainly been within our control to effect the result,” coach James Scaysbrook said.

As for this week’s opponent, Scaysbrook knows what to expect on Saturday.

“You know what you are getting from Tigers, you are going to get a very committed performance and you are going to get a very physical performance,” he said. “They will definitely scrap away. Knowing a bit about the opposition is always going to help, but from our point of view we are really concentrating on ourselves and our performance.”