Triumph and Disaster

Ladies and Gentlemen

I have neglected the Blog for too, too long and for that you have my apologies. Now that I'm back in the digital saddle, it feels good and I wonder why I couldn't find time to speak to the Blog's 231 unique users (at the last count) since November 20. To tell the truth, the last month has been a trifle frantic for all kinds of reasons. But we're here to talk about rugby and that is what I would like to do. If you'll honour me with your attention, I would like to share a few thoughts about the season so far and what we have to look forward to in 2009.

Golden Browne

Appropos of nothing, I would also like to share this delightful image of that tireless man of action, Daniel Browne, Esq, pictured as he psyched himself up for Select's first ever international in Macau by dreaming about pies and ponies on the ferry. All together, aaaaah.

Two Impostors

Moving on rather, the great Rudyard Kipling famously wrote in If that: "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / And treat those two impostors just the same," as well as managing a lot of other difficult-sounding acts of Victorian fortitude and forbearance, then "Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it / And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!"

That's enough poetry for this afternoon, but I do want to tackle this question of meeting triumph and disaster and treating them the same. I'm all for stoicism, but treating triumph and disaster just the same is a nice ideal but clearly a nonsense. If we didn't respond to our setbacks by feeling pain and stepping up our efforts, or to our triumphs by feeling some sense of satisfaction, we'd hardly be human.

Dig for Victory

To go further, I would say we are challenged to respond differently to adversity and success. And this is the situation we as a Club face at the turn of the season. For all our numbers and the unquestionable talent that exists within the section, we have been outplayed by our ancient rivals Valley across our top three teams this year, with Scorps in particular conspiring to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in a manner that would make Kevin Pietersen and the England cricket team proud.

Being bested by Valley is an uncomfortable fact, but one that we have to confront as a section. There is no point in pretending otherwise, and treating triumph and disaster just the same will do us no good here - we have to respond to this with urgency, with unity and with a relentless sense of purpose. If we had trounced them, pats on the back and pints of bitter might have been in order instead. But we didn't.

The first half of the 2008-09 season should have shaken us out of a sense of entitlement that may have followed our victories last season and the arrival of so many high calibre players before this one. Now we have been reminded that you have to fight like hell to get to the top of any league at any level where the teams are fairly well-matched - and we have to take the lesson to heart.

Renaissance and Rediscovery

I've embarked on a similar rant in the January edition of the Club Magazine so there is no need to inflict any more of this on you here. In any case, I am feeling considerably more upbeat after last weekend. Somehow transformed, in fact.

Scorps beat the PLA 31-19 with some outstanding tries (Chris Howard's and Gavin Bowring's in particular). But this was more than just a fairly convincing victory against a decent second grade team by a Scorps side with more than its fair share of Drags and a smattering of Club players (Tom Bolland was outstanding, by the way, especially in the loose).

From my own perspective, this match was two other things. Firstly, it was a big rallying point for all the boys playing second grade. Both Drags and Scorps have suffered at the hands of Valley and PLA so far and this was the kind of confidence-boosting performance that they can use as the platform for a turnaround.

Secondly, it was the most fun I have had playing this year. It was one of those glorious games that you play with a smile on your face and an extra helping of energy because it's so enjoyable. The first half was very close and I thought it could be a tough old afternoon's work. But when Nick James showed some pure Welsh cheeky genius, throwing not one but two outrageous dummies before offloading to Danny Browne, who put Gav Bowring in to score, I was jumping for joy, grinning like an idiot and fully confident we could do this, and in style.

As that game unfolded, I remembered that rugby can be- and should be - exciting and spontaneous as well as organised and disciplined. But there was more. I felt like we shed the losses and the disappointment we have suffered this season because we were coming back from them in the best possible way. We felt like a team that was hungry for victory and which knew how to win, and that was pretty damn fine, I can tell you.

And when you have that spirit, people feed off it and exceptional things happen. Danny Browne, who was surely built for power rather than speed, joins a 50-yard break and makes a scoring pass. Chris Howard, in his "early 30s", takes a difficult ball and then goes over at full stretch in the corner like Bryan Habana. David Guthrie tackles...

It wasn't that the game became easy and it was very far from perfect - if Scorps had held on to the ball better in the second half in particular, they would have made life a lot easier for themselves. And I know Club have more daunting challenges than the PLA and that the first grade requires you to prepare and play with near-professional focus, but I hope they find that joyous edge of fun that I think we all did in that match. I don't think it means you have to play a loose game; I think it allows you to infuse a structured game with a special dynamism and vitality. And that has to be good for any team at any level.

In with the New

Anyhow, here's to 2009 - more triumph and less disaster.

While we are looking ahead, I have taken the liberty of offering five players to watch in 2009. I have omitted regular Club players, but I think these five guys will make a big impression next year and beyond. This is just a personal view - I'm not trying to influence any selection and I'm aware there are plenty more great players in the section who will impress in the future! Any comments of a non-physically threatening nature would be most welcome as ever.

FIVE FOR 2009

In no particular order:

Hayden Giordine (Dragons): Hugely impressive in the Drags back row since arriving this season. Strength, aggression, a great engine and rugby savvy to spare. Straight from the R. McCaw school of Kiwi flankers. Also the star of the Allen & Overy Professions 7s side. Well, much better than the "ringer" in any case...

Gavin Bowring (Scorpions): Proper pace, heaps of confidence and an intuitive ability to get on to the end of a scoring pass. I expect this chap to grow in composure and terrorise defences for years to come. And he's AQ...

Bobby Dimatteo (Bulls): Ex-gridiron full-back Dimatteo (pictured below) has the physique of a small tank, the strength of an ox and a combative, contact-seeking style. Currently scaring the wits out of the Bulls' opponents as a back row and kick-off return specialist, I have a suspicion his real vocation is at hooker. This is the Bobcat's first year playing the game, though, so he has plenty of time to find his preferred position and learn the subtler arts of rugby union.

David Price (Dragons): Imaginitively-nicknamed Pricey has spent time lurking in the backs but should really stick to 6 or 7, where his speed, tenacity and strong tackling will be most valuable. Pricey has only just been prised away from university but shows a willingness to listen and the origins of a rugby brain. Should spend time observing Hayden.

Rob Toresco (Scorpions): Ex-Princeton football player "Heart Throb" Rob Toresco could become a truly fearsome rugby winger. Like Dimatteo, this is his first season in the game. But a Jason Robinson-esque strength-to-size ratio, tremendous acceleration and good hands mean he has all the DNA of a top quality winger. Check out the Heart Throb's American football skills - can't believe the crowds at these games!

I now expect great swathes of abuse, but that's what your noble pundit has to deal with in life.

Wishing you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Harps

Drags keep spirited Nomads scoreless, rack up 56

Above: Nik Brunner (pictured playing against Drags for Scorps) had a typically robust game for Drags against Nomads, lining up some crunching hits in midfield. "I like it when they run straight at me," he commented after the game.

From the quill of none other than Condor himself

A good win Saturday (December 6) against Nomads 56 - 0 see's us once again on our winning way. The game was never in doubt however everyone on the day knew that we needed to play to our game plan and execute with discipline and structure. On both these points Drags delivered and we never lost our defensive or attacking shape from start to finish. It has to said that this was a very different Nomads to the guys we played earlier in the year. They had an improved forward pack with a few familiar faces in the front row who originally were PLA players on loan to Causeway Bay. So we did have a game on our hands after all. Also Nomads have a great team spirit which was most evident in the second half when they held us scoreless for good 20 min. We could all learn to fight that hard when we are 26 points down. Well done Nomads.

Drags forwards once again dominated from the front with our trusted front row combination of Horse Nolan, our Captain for the day, Alasdair Frost and Richard Gallagher with Adam Harper also joining in for a strong second half display. Overall the report card would reflect a very solid performance from all of them and the Nomads pack was always on the back foot. We had a new pairing in the lock positions with Rob Jones teaming up with Drags debutant Dan Watson. Both players had strong games with Dan in particular jumping well in the line out and both had a number of strong runs with ball in hand. At the back Marcus Neill back from his stint with the 1's led a strong mobile back row with Andrew Corkery and Hayden Giordine playing at eight.

Hayden in particular played well and managed to bag four tries in a clear cut man of the match display. Congratulations Hayden. In the backs finemaster Junior Naylor always had something to say and kept everyone focused on the task at hand. This week we had Shane Wallis back from injury which was welcomed news leading our 7th centre combination for the season in Leon Scott and David Price. On the wings we had the tried a tested combinations of David Guthrie and Callum Nieto with Dan Parr joining us from the 1's chimming in at fullback. The backline combinations worked well and we always looked in control with some strong runs from Shane leading the way. We had tries from Dan Parr and Callum with the rest coming from the forwards. Who it has to be said acted like backs for most of the game. Hayden four tries, Dan Watson, Alistair and Hewittson all running in one try a piece.

In summary a resounding win and true to the game plan we didn't consider a single point. Well done to the whole team including the reserve bench of Gavin Bowering, Steve Mathews, Adam Harper, Bob Toresco and Rupert Clarke. Without fresh legs coming off the bench we would have stalled at forty points I'm sure so everyone played a vital part in getting us over the half centry. Thank you.

Select não falo Português! Rugby a Winner in Macau

Select made history on Saturday November 29 (or at least history this century) by becoming the first 15 a-side team to play in Macau since the handover. Macau had recently beaten international heavyweights Mongolia, Cambodia, Pakistan and Indonesia and were looking to add the higher IRB ranked HKFC Select to the list.

Macau had been given approval to play at the Macau Canidrome Club (or dogtrack to you stay-at-home heathens), and the pitch was well grassed and watered. They kindly acceded to our request to play rolling subs, so as to allow all our tourists to have a run, as you would have expected an avalanche of players to participate in the highlight of the season for any Club player so far this year, especially as Drags and Scorps were not playing.

So 18 players made the trip, to play against the 30 internationals selected by Macau.
The appalling list of excuses included “my missus won’t let me go”, “I need to go to a dinner party” and “I can’t find my passport”. Pathetic, particularly as Matt Semple had endured a 20 hour white knuckle bus ride from Bangkok to Phuket to catch 2 connecting flights to get back to Hong Kong in time

Anyway to the game – Select held up well in the first half and led 6 – 0 at the break. Colin “Tight Hammie” Begg played a short cameo and Brownie had to come out of the front row to play at inside centre. Matt Smith controlled the back line and Yutaka exorted the forwards to “make them suffer”. Tired legs meant the second half was disappointing as the waves of fresh players from Macau took the ball to us. Final score 9 – 24.

After the game it was back to the bars and cafes of Old Taipa for a rich cultural learning experience. Macau were extremely generous hosts, and Select promised to reciprocate when they play in Hong Kong. Players of the Day: 3 points – Yutaka, 2 - Freddie B, 1 – Iain Boothby. And if you want to know more, come to play in Macau next time.

Roll of Honour: James Thomson, Danny Browne, Colin Wong, James Manders, Yutaka Yazawa, Tony George, Rob Gabbe, Howard White, Federico Bogna, Tom Wardell, Iain Boothby, Matt Smith, Colin Begg, Liam Richardson, Chad Snihur, Jason Toms, Matt Semple, Sean Purdie

Meet the Girls #4 - Emma Holland

Ice and Hong Kong fly-half Emma Holland offers her opinions on the redundancy of referees and, well, her favourite men. Curiously she does not mention 'Heart Throb' Rob Toresco. Surely an oversight on her part? AH

Name: Emma Holland

Age: 28

Occupation: Lady of Leisure by day, full-time student by night - unless anyone is looking to hire an engineer?

Nationality: British

Rugby position: Fly-half

Previous rugby clubs: Pennsylvania State University Rugby Team

Favourite things about HKFC rugby: My teammates!

One thing you would change/introduce: more women playing rugby - don't they know what they're missing out on?

Most embarrassing rugby experience: Well, my most recent one would've been at the Asian World Cup Qualifiers. We'd just run out for the first game, Hong Kong were due to kick off, the adrenaline is rushing and the girls are all fired up and raring to go. Both teams are ready, so I take the kick off and one of my teammates lines up an amazing dump tackle on the receiver and drives her back a mile. Suddenly horns and whistles alike start blaring. Apparently you need a referee ON the pitch to start the game... Damn, well, I thought I'd try!

Meat or Veggies? Can't I have both?

Beer or Cocktails? Cocktails. Anything with vodka would suit me just fine

Mint/Prive/Drop or Devils/Mes Amis/Dusk Til Dawn? Surely all of the above? Although there are no guarantees I'll remember any of it by the end of the evening.

Gerard Butler or Orlando Bloom? Neither! I'm thinking Daniel Craig, Matthew McConaughey... I could go on

Cosmopolitan or Erica Jong? I'd take Cosmo any day

Meet the Girls #3 - Royce Chan

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Royce Chan, Ice's outstanding hooker and general enforcer. In the candid interview below, Royce reveals her soft spot for a certain Club physio and her love for the Hong Kong tabloid press. AH

Name: Royce Chan

Age: Get me drunk and I will let you know

Occupation: Assistant Property Officer

Nationality: Chinese

Rugby position: I want to be a scrum-half or fly-half, but coaches insist I'm a hooker

Previous rugby clubs: Luckily I started at HKFC and I'm looking forward to finishing there

Favourite things about HKFC rugby: Wider vision from my lovely team-mates and Mungo (I learned a lot from him)

One thing you would change/introduce: Summer Camp for the younglings

Most embarrassing rugby experience: When I couldn't finish a lap of Happy Valley at a rugby training session...

Meat or Veggies: Meat for sure, although I look like a vegetarian

Beer or Cocktails: Cocktails or shots - except tequila as I want to stay awake longer

Mint/Prive/Drop or Devils/Mes Amis/Dusk Til Dawn? What is this? I like coffee shops!

Gerard Butler or Orlando Bloom? Aiya, don't like either. I like Josh Harnett.

Cosmopolitan or Erica Jong? English is too complicated... I like Apple Daily

Life in the Ice Age

First of all, congratulations to Royce Chan, Kim Kan, and Antje Keim for making the Women's XV National Squad. They will be heading to Singapore in two weeks for two test matches against Singapore, used as a build-up to the Asian World Cup Qualifiers in 2009. Royce Chan will also be one of the Captains of the squad.

After substantial wins over the past two weeks, Ice is now the undefeated champions after Round 1 of the Women's League. According to the schedule, we now have a much needed rest before coming face to face with the ladies of CWB Phoenix again, followed by yet another clash with those known as Valley. So for now we will let things thaw a bit.

Back to the past two weekends. We at Ice decided that it might be best to lump the past two weeks of write-up into one as there really wasn't much to write about due to the bulldozer known as GAICE. The weekend before saw us pitted against the ladies of DeA Tigers at HKFC. For those who saw the game, I'm sure you will all agree it was a sound thrashing, despite the excellent DEA defense. Tries were scored by Kim Kan (x2), Emmy Chan, Fiona Foxon, and Royce Chan brought the score to 27-0.

This past weekend saw us against the combined team of Aberdeen and Kowloon, fondly known as Abaloon. Unlike DEA, whose team consists of mainly petite 18-year-olds, Abaloon has its share of sizable girls. Add the fact that the game is played on the Valley Pitch (a.k.a the Dustbowl) where the pitch becomes a sandstorm if more than one person runs and you can see it presents a big challenge indeed.

In the end though, it was once again our speed and fitness that won us the game. Tries were scored by Ah Ying, Ah Kwan, Royce, Emmy and Monster [Any relation to Animal? A.H.], with one successful conversion from Emma Holland, ending the game at 27-0 (again).

Club hold on against spirited DEA

From JP

Following a good second half demolition of Causeway Bay last week, Club came up a resurgent DEA whose tails were up following their victory over Aberdeen the previous week. Having already beaten DEA soundly in the pre-season Plate Knock-Out Final a few weeks previous, Club were quietly confident that they could repeat the feat up at King's Park on Saturday evening.

DEA started strongly and soon gained the upper hand, however. It was only due to a heroic tap tackle from Danny Parr on the right wing that saved us going down by a try five minutes into the game. The first half was one of the most frustrating 40 minutes of rugby the boys had probably ever played in, with a constant barrage of whistle-blowing from Hong Kong’s finest. Trying to be somewhat diplomatic, I must say I do not have the foggiest what on earth most of the penalties were for.

Naturally, "Left Hook" Rory Hussey was right in the mix and no doubt gave away a few penalties for being an Irish version of Michael Bolton. Tim Griffin stepped up in the heat of the battle and gave us an amusing display when taking on the four foot tall opposition scrum half. Other than that, we were penalized constantly in the scrums for no other reason other than pushing. This was hugely frustrating for the boys as it didn’t allow us to get into a pattern and get through some phases. The DEA line out was working well, helping them stay in the game and enable them to kick a few goals and keep things very tight going into half time. Thankfully we managed to get our noses in front with a superb try from Pat Foreman in open play with the ball changing hands many times and delighting the away crowd of the resident Scorps drunkards!

The second half was a better display albeit frustrating because of our decision making and pressing the panic button when in the final third. Despite that, there were a huge amount of positive factors in the second half as the Piggies stepped it up on the physicality front with the likes of Ridgeway, Watson, Bolland and Washington making some hard yards despite being about as mobile as parking meters. The back row also started to gel and get around the park negating the impact of the DEA back row led by Nigel Clarke who as always had a strong game. In Club's back row, there were solid performances from Marin, Michael Bolton & Tim Edgar.

There was some super stuff in the backs as well with the likes of Jimmy Kibble and Pat Foreman imposing themselves and getting across the gainline, bringing in the pace boys of Perkins, McKee and Raby. Unfortunately, when it came to making our mark from set pieces and finishing in their 22, we failed to deliver.

The good news is that the boys are coming close to gelling and being a much more complete unit, which is just as well with much harder tests to come. With the score at 13-6 with 10 minutes to go, we failed to take one or two kicks at goal that would have put us out of sight. The good news for the crowd and Q’s hernia was that this created a thrilling ending, with DEA camped in our 22 for the final 5 minutes trying to steal a draw from nowhere. Thankfully due to a gutsy defensive display, we held them out and breathed a huge sigh of relief when the whistle blew for full time rather than another penalty against Club! The final spectacle was watching Tim Griffin having a row with a dustbin.

Well done lads – plenty of positives to build on for the impending almighty smash against Valley next week at home.

Rugby Section – bring your vocal cords please and Man Up! Ta, JP

Drags go down fighting against world's largest standing army

From Condor (aka Murray Sargant)

Expectations were once again high as we assembled to leave for darkest Guangzhou in the club lobby. This was a little too early for some on a Saturday but nontheless everyone made it and we bused over to Hung Hom for the first leg of our long journey north. One small detail was that I managed to get everyone to the station a full hour before the train - sorry for that. Not a big issue, I thought, but later in the afternoon that decision did come back to haunt me in the traditional fines session.

On a positive note the extra time did prove somewhat useful as we fuelled up at Starbucks and a couple of the lads purchased remote toy helicopters which they proceeded to fly around the entire station, occasionally divebombing incoming passengers, to everyone's collective amusement. Finally we boarded the train north and we left the relative comfort of Hong Kong and headed across the border into Red China. Spirits were high - for half a dozen guys, this was their first trip to China, and what better way to see it then on a rugby tour?

After what seemed like half a day we finally arrived in Guangzhou and walked the 500 meters to the PLA barracks. The PLA seem to be out in force a we counted 41 players warming up. Marc spoke to the PLA coach only to find out the China national sevens team were in town and would be joining the PLA side this day. It was at this point that we realised it was going to potentially be a long day in the office. With both Marc and I making up the Dragons' 22 players, we were short of depth - not an ideal situation to be in on a hot day in Guangzhou playing against Team China.

Warming up was pretty easy because just putting on your boots raised a sweat, so it didn't take long. The first two minutes of the game were all Drags. We won the first two or three rucks and then shifted the ball out wide. Unfortunately the ball went to ground and, in a blink of an eye, the PLA backs seized the opportunity to counter-attack. They shifted the ball across the park with lightning speed (as you would expect from international sevens players) and raced into the corner for what was the first of five unanswered tries and a very long afternoon.

On the positive side, our scrum was led in the front row by Richard Gallagher, Pete Sheren and Steve "Horse" Nolan and battled well. The Chinese front row was getting a good work out and we always made it hard for the PLA to get the ball out cleanly. Well done to the entire pack led once again by our returning team captain, Marcus Neil, who, for the record, was our man of the match.

In the backs, it wasn't as much fun. The PLA always seemed to having dozens of players willing to run at us and speed to burn on the outside. Junior Naylor played well and Stuart McGraw managed a couple of mini-breaks, but it was prop Richard Gallagher who came the closest to scoring, only to be denied by the referee's forward pass ruling. There were some fantastic try-saving tackles from Simon Shoebridge and Nik Brunner, proving that the Drags spirit was alive and well. Despite the defeat, we can all be proud of the way the team played.

As the afternoon continued, injuries started to be a major factor with Wally pulling his hamstring, Pete Sheren breaking his foot and Gordon Marsden suffering back spasms. Soon our thin bench was used up and we still had 30 minutes to play. With no more reserves to send into action, Marc recruited the services of a Tongan exchange student who happened to be training with the PLA this week. He was an excellent recruit and helped the Drags play in the way we have become used to in the second half. In the end, though, it wasn't enough. At the final whistle, we were 29 points to zero in the red and a very tired and dejected Drags team left the field.

Following last year's close defeat in Guangzhou, this was a stinging loss and one that we all will remember for a long time to come. The fact is that we came up against a very determined PLA side who were the better team on the day. Hats off to Drags, though. We didn't stop trying all afternoon and worked harder than ever to turn things around. It was a defeat, but Marc and I both feel very proud of the way you boys played. We now need to move on and concentrate more than ever on next week and the games ahead.

The trip home was as entertaining as usual with Junior taking control as the fines as both judge, jury and executioner. As international touring rules applied, we obviously can't divulge too many of the details but suffice to say the new boys will remember this trip for many years to come. All of them had a chicken's foot to suck on along with many beers and a hefty supply of plum wine. In short we had a huge and entertaining trip back. Amongst other things we came together as a stronger team because of the experience and that is surely one of the best thing about playing rugby. Marc and I (or should I say Cheetah and Condor) had great fun getting things organised and having the chance to bring a tremendous bunch of lads together on tour in China.

Condor

Nomads feel the Scorpion's sting

I get the feeling Bouch is all at sea with this analogy but what the heck, he's enjoying himself...

Communique

To: Rear Admiral the Lord Adam Harperington-Blogsmythe, KCV A, RSE B, UM with Distinction

From: Commander of HMS Scorpion

Ref: Invasion of Kowloon Peninsula

Sir,

As instructed by Fleet HQ, HMS Scorpion undertook their planned invasion of the Kowloon Peninsula this Saturday last. We encountered some spirited resistance from a local force of Nomads but after several minutes skirmishing, we were able to fire off several successful salvos. As the engagement continued, the crew battled with structure and cohesion for periods whilst also managing to allow the opposition forces to appear as if they could resist. I have advised the crew that this sort of lapse in discipline is not to be tolerated and after the Nomadic force had been defeated by 52 hits to nil, we maintained station and undertook several essential keel-haulings as required by military convention. All members of the crew took their punishment like the men they are.

To be mentioned in dispatches:
Lieutenant Commander Giles Disney-LargeOick, despite his appalling lower middle class accent, the man charged with selecting our forces for this encounter did a more than sterling job and was suitable rewarded after the match. Unfortunately I was unable to formally present him with the MOTB medal as one of the previous crew members has neglected to return it. He will be scrubbing the decks appropriately.

Ensigns Nieto, Beckett, and Bowring and former Captain of the Vessel Shane Farmhand-Wallis performed very well and were responsible for the vast majority of the hits we achieved, for which the command structure were dutifully grateful. It is worth noting that unfortunately Commander Sir Watsonian-Northernbottom was detained in port due to hosting members of the Singaporean navy who had mysteriously arrived for a shared tour of duty. However when informed of the extent of our victory, Sir W-N was extremely pleased.

Once again, the entire for'rard section performed with distinction although our aeriel support group, used when we were at the edge of the battlefield, needed a little work. I fear another trip to HMS TrainingField!

Finally, it is my sad duty to report that certain elements of the for'rard section were forced to retire from the engagement after I had sent in all of the available reserve force. (Able Seaman Frost (very unable at this point) was suitably keel-hauled.) Faced with leaving a hole in the strength of the attack, I was forced into the engagement myself. I am pleased however to report that my intervention didn't cause too much embarrassment and I am grateful to Master Chief Petty Officer Yataka Yazawa-san, on loan from His Imperial Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force, who bailed me out of a potentially nasty surprise when I found myself isolated deep behind enemy lines, attempting to grasp some advantage from Cabin Boy French's bizarre use of the foot as an attacking weapon. Indeed suffice it to say all of the crew found it slightly amusing from one so large.

I am also delighted to inform fleet command that we maintained a small force to lend support to the fleet's primary aircraft carrier group led by HMS Club, who also achieved victory. I am however duty bound to point out that several members of their crew appeared to be from the colonies, who had the affrontery to engage in a social game of rugger this weekend last at Fleet HQ, and heaven forbid, humiliate Fleet's finest. I assure you sir that no such tomfoolery was allowed in our crew and former Captain of Vessel Farmhand-Wallis was the only foreigner we allowed aboard ship, the fact of which we also gleefully reminded him.

I remain, in victory, your humble servant,

Commander Her Britannic Majesty's Ship Scorpion, Sir Andrew Bouchington-Blithertwit, KCV A, NGRY, TWA, T with bar

End Communique

Meet the Girls #2 - Kim Kan

Above: Kim in international action
















Above: On the charge for Ice with trail of opponents in her wake


Name: Kim K. K. Kan (yes, there are alot of Ks in my name)
Age: 27
Occupation: Business Development Executive
Nationality: Chinese/Canadian (or Canasian for short)
Rugby position: Front row (mainly Loose-head), Number 8 and wing on very special occasions (Nigel Hobler is my role model)
Previous rugby clubs: Cornell Women's Rugby Football Club
Favourite things about HKFC rugby: The fact we have a bar within 100m of the pitch, the banter from PT McGee, and the pool of course! [Editor's note: The Sportsman's is much closer. I have researched this.]
One thing you would change/introduce: Spectator attendance to the Ice games!
Most embarrassing rugby experience: The first year I moved back to Hong Kong, I played in the Country of Origin tournament for the "Rest of the World Team" in an exhibition 7s match. I was apparently either really speedy or the opposition was really slow because I managed to score three tries by beating the wingers every time in the first hall. I went for another run up the sideline and was at the try line when I managed to trip over my own feet and knocked the ball forward without anyone else being within 10 meters. Most embarrassingly, there was a collective "Ohhhhhh...." from the full Aberdeen Stadium!
Meat or Veggies? Give me a hunk of bloody meat any day!
Beer or Cocktails? I am a mojito and capirinha fiend, but G&T is my staple.
Mint/Prive/Drop or Devils/Mes Amis/Dusk Til Dawn? I believe a good night out involves all those places plus Solas!
Gerard Butler or Orlando Bloom? Haven't you seen 300? Those abs.....
Cosmopolitan or Erica Jong? Poolside - Cosmopolitan. Otherwise, I prefer interesting reads - Tolkien and Frank Herbert are on the top of my list.

Meet the Girls - Fiona Foxon

We at the Blog are all about the 'One Club' dream and it is with great pleasure that I present the first in a new set of features to you today. You've had 'Meet the New Lads' and even 'Meet the Old Boys' (and what a collection of ne'er-do-wells they were). Now it's the turn of the ladies. May I introduce to you the first personality in our new series of 'Meet the Girls' - the one and only Fiona Foxon.














Above: Fiona surges forward. Her would-be tackler appears content to keep a close eye on her rather than attempting any kind of tackle at this stage.















Above: And this is why. Fiona delivers a mean-looking fend to an Aberdeen tackler.

Name: Fiona Foxon
Age: A lady never tells and a gentleman never asks
Occupation: Marketing and Business Development Executive
Nationality: British and Singaporean, oh and quasi-American...
Rugby position: Scrum-half/Centre
Previous rugby clubs: University of Virginia Women's Rugby Team
Favourite things about HKFC rugby: The pitch, and my teammates!
One thing you would change/introduce: A mandatory post-match drink up with the opposing team, with songs...lots of songs! [Hear, hear! Harps]
Most embarrassing rugby experience: My first 22 drop out. Had no idea what it was and somehow found myself with the ball. People are screaming instructions at me to tap the ball over the line, drop kick it and just get rid of the darn thing. So I did all three, much to the amusement of the ref and the crowd. They called me 23 for the rest of the season.
Meat or Veggies? Meat stuffed with veggies
Beer or Cocktails? Cocktails
Mint/Prive/Drop or Devils/Mes Amis/Dusk Til Dawn? How about Drop/Mes Amis/Dusk Til Dawn [You'd go to Drop first??]
Gerard Butler or Orlando Bloom? No way! Give me Hugh Jackman or Patrick Dempsey any day.
Cosmopolitan or Erica Jong? Not all ladies' rugby players are lessies! Cosmopolitan all the way.

NB: For those of you who are wondering (and I was), Erica Jong is a writer. Wikipedia says that: "Jong is best known for her first novel, Fear of Flying, first published in 1973, which created a sensation with its frank treatment of a woman's sexual desires."

Holed below the waterline

Communique to: Rear Admiral Lord Harperington-Blogsmythe,

From: Commander of HMS Scorpion

Ref: Recent engagement with Imperial Battle Cruiser Dragon

Sir,

It is my solemn duty to report that HMS Scorpion suffered substantial damage at the hands of the Imperial Battlecruiser Dragon this Saturday last.

Upon entering the battle zone, we engaged the enemy but their superior speed in the aft section caused severe damage to our hull.

It is however my pleasure to report that the entire crew stuck to their stations with admirable bravery and devotion to duty. Of particular mention in this dispatch must be the entire for'ard section of the ship which held firm despite the attentions of the enemy, who appeared to be led by a horse!

The battle was short and somewhat sobering, so Sir Watsonian-Nothernbottom and I decided to make for the neutral wet harbour of Sportsmansk, where it seems our foe had also docked. Despite the attention of a particularly annoying pair of the enemy who appeared boringly bald and foreign and variously short and mildly facially hirsute, we were able to surmise that the ship was repairable despite the 62 hits we received.

By way of note, your lordship, we managed to land 7 shots ourselves to what had been previously a virtually impregnable defence. We have therefore made our way to dry dock at HMS TrainingField, where we will attempt to seal leaks before making way to the expected battle across the channel at Kingsypark on Saturday next.

Additional mention in this dispatch must be given to Able-Seamen Wilde and French who battled valiantly despite a severe bout of sea-sickness during a midway lull in the battle.

Yours in expectation of a reversal of fortune,

Commander Her Britannic Majesty's Ship Scorpion, Sir Andrew Bouchington-Blithertwit.

End Communique

Sargant Speaks: Drags demolish Scorps

Murray's inimitable analysis of Drags' victory over our brethren in Scorps, plus a look ahead at Drags' trip to Guangzhou this Saturday. Playing the PLA away always seems to attract superlatives. Dinks once said they had the best lineout in Asia bar the Japanese national team. And Muzz is comparing playing at GZ to playing away at Twickenham or Eden Park. Frankly I think the similarities are limited. I haven't played at either of those stadia myself but I'd be willing to bet they have changing rooms and that you can have a shower without risk of catching typhoid at both. Harps

PS: What he would appear not to mention is the score - it was about 50-7.

Sargant Speaks:

These inter club games are always entertaining and this one was know exception with both teams prepared for a tough encounter. In years gone by we have ended up with both teams having extensive injuries but on this occasion it was a hard but fair contest with the only concern coming from some very mysterious referring decisions. More from him next weekend I suspect as we play PLA. In the first half it started off with both sets of forwards testing each other out. This is always the most difficult time in Drags Vs Scorps clashes as both teams are fresh and looking to make an impact.

Quickly though it became apparent that Drags strength lay in our backline attack with Stewart Magraw cross for the first of four tries. After that it was an entertaining affair with tries coming in from all over the park. The Drags backline was on fire and the passing and inte! rchange between them made the coach Marc Sexton confirm this the best backline display from a Drags team this season.

In all we scored four more tries with Tim Robinson, Richard Gallagher (the only forward to score in the first half) Magraw a second and finally Baz Perkins crossing for a great first half. Five tries to zero. In the second half we expected much of the same but Scorps had different idea's and they came out of the half time break with renewed energy. Some solid forward work from our brothers in Scorps resulted in better field position and inevitably a strong forwards surge ended with a try for Scorps which was well converted by Dave Beckett.

For our part we had a number of outstanding backline drives and continued to score even if it did mean we had to run the entire length of the ground to do it. The "Gas Man" Raby opened up the second half and also lead the kicking game with six conversions in all a solid display. Next to cross was Guy Payne our Captain for the day (congratulations Guy) playing a loose flanking role coming in from out wide, then ! Callum Nieto and finally another two tries for Stewart Magraw.

Man of the match was Baz Perkins for his sublime running skills which broke the Scorps backline on many occasions setting up a number of the tries and also crossing for two others although only one will count as the referee adjudged that Baz dropped the ball over the line. Clearly David Guthrie feels the record should reflect a try saving tackle from him but that shouldn't surprise anyone. No matter what the circumstances Baz had a great game so congratulations. Another Man of the match on debut.

All in all a great win and we continue on as leaders of the division with nex! t weekend being our game of the season against our arch rivals PL A. Last season this fixture was are only loss so it holds a huge challenge for the entire team. This season we want to go undefeated so the game next weekend in Guangzhou is vital. Last year we lost 12-17 in a hard fought contest and I know PLA are fired up to repeat the result this time around. Fact is they have home ground advantage and to say the crowd is hostile is an understatement.

We play in the army grounds and every other soldier comes out to watch and cheer the mighty PLA to a glorious Chinese victory. It's like playing the All Blacks at Eden Park, Wales at Cardiff Arms or England at Twickenham, you get the idea. This is more than a game for them, it's a battle and that's exactly what we have to understand in order to win. We need to take this week at training and the game seriously and as it's an international trip so I do need some help with lo! gistics.

Select storm Typhoons

Above: The Wongster shows us the value of a good body position in the tackle. Yes I know this isn't the game against Typhoons but it's the latest Select picture I have and it's rather good.

From Mr Sean Purdie of the "Mighty" Select



Select 29 - 12 Typhoons

A solid win on the Valley pitch with tries from Alex Smith, Paul Ahearne, Simon Shoebridge, Rob Toresco and Sully. Matt Semple kicked two conversions.

Our player of the day was Nick O’Brien (3 points) who got everywhere and showed what high levels of fitness can do. Other honourable mentions for Paul Ahearne (2 points) for his high work rate, although I saw him on Sunday with a cast on his wrist, and Alex “Smudger” Smith (1 point) and the tackling award

Heinous Crime Division – Tony George, midfield break to set up Sully for a try, then pointing to heaven as Sully lumbered in under the crossbar; Matt Semple – how to drop the ball when over the try line; Colin Wong - putting his name on the teamlist twice.

CBRE Club 41 - 7 Causeway Bay

Above: Pete McKee did some lunges while waiting for the forwards to get on with the lineout
















Above: A bearded and quite possibly mulleted CWB player looks to get rid of the ball as Guy Payn heads in his direction looking focused
















Above: Ollie Jones marked his return to first grade rugby after a serious back injury with some fine ball carrying
















Above: Whose try-line is that Gus? Whoever's it is, the big man looks cool, calm and collected.
Photos: stolen from Ollie Jones's album posted on FaceBook.


Gents

Brevity is indeed the soul of wit, so I will be brief. Not because I necessarily prefer to, but because I have little choice. The fact is, I wasn't there to see this game because I'd rushed off to go and get ready for the Yacht Club ball (which was fantastic, by the way, thanks for asking).

Our sources here at the Blog can be somewhat unreliable too. Some were playing and, as we all know, the way you remember a game you played in is not the way it appears to those looking on. Others were drunk, or just not paying attention, or both. Fortunately Luke Jones, surely one of the finest number sevens to grace our club, watched the game carefully and sent me some rather more lucid comments than either the team manager or assistant coach.

It was, I am told, a disappointing first half in which too many individual errors reduced continuity, compounded by an inability to win our own line out ball. The half-time score flattered CWB somewhat. Club had looked certain to score but an interception from CWB Player-Coach and HK international Semi on his own try line resulted in a penalty try for the Bay. Semi had nudged the ball away and there was a desperate chase for the line between Angus Washington and their tight-head prop (Mr Jones is still trying to work out where all the backs were at this time). The referee adjudged that Washington had blocked the CWB player and a penalty try was awarded to CWB.

Club struck back, however, with Baz Perkins finishing a stunning team try. Ollie Jones, making a welcome return to first grade rugby, also made the scoresheet from Number Eight with that rarest of things in the modern game - a pushover try. Adam Raby's score, Mr Jones assures us, was pure individual class. Confronting an opponent one on one with very little space to work in, he feinted inside, took the outside and left his hapless would-be tackler grasping at thin air.

Hooker Tom Bolland also completed a good team move to score and Perkins crossed again for a second. After scrum half Pete McKee went off with a rib injury in the second half, fly-half James Kibble moved to 9 and Pat Foreman came in to 10. Foreman made a solid contribution, according to our man on the ground, kicking long and accurately for position. Dave Tibbot, who came into the game more in the seecond half, and Mike McKee were outstanding

Club's next game is against DEA Tigers this Saturday at King's Park. Sadly I won't see that either as I will be on my way back from Red China after the Dragons v PLA game in Guangzhou. If anyone is interested in this pilgrimage to one of rugby's frontiers, I would refer you to an old Blog post: http://hkfcrugbysection.blogspot.com/2008/01/fine-day-for-bike-ride-in-downtown.html

Ta ta for now

Harps

Back to Business - A Look Ahead at Saturday

Morning all

Trust you enjoyed the Bledislioe Cup weekend. Not a classic by any means but it was great to be there as rugby geopolitics shifted. I understand that Zinzan Brooke confirmed Kiwi rugby players' reputation for fine public speaking at the Brunch beforehand. It's hard to imagine that he could have been any worse than former Wallaby prop Dan Crowley, who embarked on the Mother of all Rambles at the Sevens Long Lunch - but apparently he was. Crowley is said to work as a motivational speaker these days (specialising in motivating people to fall asleep perhaps?) so there is clearly still hope for the audacious All Black drop-goaler of 1995. Now that I have insulted Australia and New Zealand equally, I feel we can move on. And please understand I wouldn't dream of saying any of this to either of their faces...

In other news, I can reveal that Club Chairman Donough Foley and Captain Tony George have sent their congratulations to US President-elect Barack Obama during a private phone call minutes after Obama's victory had been confirmed. "I told Barack he had the full support of the HKFC rugby section," said Foley. "And I invited him to come for a pint in the Chairman's next time he's over. He's got great potential but he's so young. I told him I would get Woots and Don Rider together and that we could give him a bit of a tutorial on leadership."

It also emerged last night that Ben Stobart's long absence from sight at HKFC was due to him having accepting a last-minute request from the Obama team to persuade undecided voters to cast a ballot in their candidate's favour by talking until they agreed. "It wasn't the way we would like to have done it, but the end justified these extreme means," said an Obama aide.

On to this weekend's fixtures. Club take on Causeway Bay in what should be one of the more straightforward contests in Dvision One. With so many quality players at his disposal, selection will no doubt present a few dilemmas. While Club will look to get into form against CWB, the real highlight of this weekend should be the Dragons v Scorpions clash at 3pm. For those new to the club, derbies like this are always fiery encounters. Some say they waste our energy by turning it inwards. I would say that matches like these are the reason why we play rugby and that the competition we foster internally makes us tougher competitors externally.

However you see this perennial question, though, any notion that the partisanship and individual team spirit of the different teams could be abolished along with their names will surely be shot down once again on Saturday. Drags and Scorps have experienced contrasting starts to their seasons, but the fierce pride felt by each team in a game like this has always been a great equalizer, making club derbies closer games than league table positions would suggest. There is always a personal element to these clashes as well: players in both teams want to prove a point against the man who is selected above or below them. It's a little Darwinian, I grant you, but it makes for cracking games of rugby.

My bet is that Saturday will be a tense encounter, with plenty of physical confrontation. I would expect Scorps to come out firing and try to rattle Drags in the first 20 with some very direct rugby. But I believe Drags' quality and greater structure will enable them to pull away in the second half and I would expect to see the game open up considerably in the last quarter. Sadly I will not be playing any part. A nasty clash of heads on Monday night (well, my face, his head) has left me with 11 neat little stitches above the right eye. For those in need of rugby-related needlework in the future, I can thoroughly recommend the Sanitorium.

In Division 3, Select take on Typhoons on the Valley pitches at 3pm while Sequins meet with Comvita City (whoever they may be) at 'THT' (wherever that may be) in Division 4. Bulls take on CWB in Division 5 (HKFC at 1.30pm) and GaIce will meet DEA (HKFC at 4.30pm.) All this weekend's fixtures in the divisions relevant to us are listed below, with the club games in bold.

Finally, don't forget the Walton Brunch on Sunday!


G4S League Fixtures by Division 2008/09
Week 4 - Saturday 8th November 08

Division 1
DeA Tigers v Synovate HKCC, KP, 6.00pm
CBRE Club v Manulife CWB Rams, HKFC, 6.00pm
InProjects Kowloon v Tradition Valley, SKP, 6.00pm

Division 2
Nomads v Synovate HKCC II, KP, 4.30pm
CBRE Club II DRAGONS v CBRE Club III SCORPIONS, HKFC, 3.00pm
Laxton PLA v Tradition Valley Knights, Guangzhou, 2.30pm

Division 3
DeA II v Synovate HKCC III, KP, 3.00pm
Rouse & Co Typhoons v CBRE Club IV SELECT, HV, 3.00pm
SJM Macau v Tradition Valley Mustangs, SKP, 4.30pm

Division 4
Comvita City v CBRE Club SEQUINS, THT, 3.00pm
Gai Wu J v Manulife CWB Pirates, HV, 4.30pm
InProjects Kln Barbars v Tradition Valley Broncos, SKP,3.00pm
Police v University. PBS, 3.45pm

Division 5
DeA III v Synovate HKCC IV, KP, 1.30pm
CBRE Club VI BULLS v Manulife CWB Marines, HKFC, 1.30pm
InProjects Kln Beavers v Tradition Valley Griffins, SKP, 1.45pm
Police Panthers v University II, PBS, 2.30pm

Women’s 15s Division
Club/Gai Wu v DeA, HKFC, 4.30pm
CWB v Abaloon, THT,4.30pm

Never mind the Bledisloe, the Aussies won the Ashes

Above: the Victorious Aussies. The men on the far left and right were the outstanding players of the team. The two in the middle were pretty average, especially Junior, who obligingly hit a rank long hop bowled by a wheezing English prop forward straight down mid-wicket's throat. In the background, you can see Junior's Dad (Senior?).



Above: Ye Noblest English. Unfortunately we were pants. Messrs Robinson and Nazer were the outstanding batting pair but the only way could have won this match is if we had been allowed to bat against our own bowling.



Above: Tim Robinson makes ready to smash another boundary. Robinson's excellent and rather classical batting was the highlight of the England performance. His bowling was another story - ask him to show you the 'mystery' ball which he runs along his back before delivering it.


Above: "Wait until the price hits 50 and then dump everything you've got." Shane Wallis managed to direct trading operations from the point fielding position. Sadly, this affected his focus on the cricket. He recorded a 24-run over (wide-wide-4-4-4-6, 2 runs and no repeats for wides) to Robinson in game 2 and famously declared that Nazer's bowling would be a "goldmine" only to be castled by the same man shortly afterwards. Of course, Wallis is not the first Aussie to suffer a little from hubris. Who can forget Glenn McGrath's "5-0" comment before the 2005 Ashes (turned out he was a series too early) or the rhetoric from the Australian camp about a 30 point margin of victory in the 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter final?


SOMEWHAT PREDICTABLY, Australia trounced England in the inagural Wahu Hong Kong Ashes Pairs Cricket tournament last Friday (October 31). Australia Captain Junior "AB" Naylor had drafted in some fine players in the form of James Shortis and Gary "Gilly" Hill and their all-round strength was too much for a more modestly-talented England team. In truth, the series resembled all too many real Ashes series of my youth - dominance from the Aussies as they build an unassailable advantage, a brief show of defiance from England, then systematic crushing from the Australians.

After humbly appointing myself England Captain, I tried to find some Brearley-like words of wisdom and encouragement before Ian Ridgeway and I took the field to open the batting in the first game. "Chaps," said I. "Let's try and look for scoring opportunities when they offer us width or anything short. But, above all, the way we should avoid getting out at any cost today is to be run out." Five minutes later I had run Ridgeway out twice in one over, leaving us with an embarrassing negative score at one point (each wicket costed the batting team five runs). I am clearly not the judge of a run that I used to imagine myself. Either that or I am very, very slow these days.

Anyhow, England rallied to an apparently defensible 70 runs from our nine overs (there were six players a side and each pair batted for three overs). The Pom effort was led by Tim Robinson, who found effective support from David Nazer in a 4o-ish run partnership from their three overs. Any notion that this would be adequate was short-lived though. The Aussies marched out with grim intent and began to lash our sorry bowling to all parts, with Junior and Gary in particular running riot. England were cheered by the introduction of Phil Millward, our star bowler and first wicket-taker of the day, but even his pacy and accurate deliveries couldn't entirely stem the tide. The Aussies marched off triumphant, finishing with 90-odd runs from their nine overs.

In the second game, we opted to field first and try and chase them down. The innings started wonderfully for England as Aussie opener Kris Marin obligingly smashed Millward's loosener into Robinson's waiting hands. But the Aussie batting line-up continued to pile on the runs despite some tidy off-breaks from Gordon Marsden and Nazer's "ball of the century" that did for the hapless Wallis (poor chap must have been having a shocking off-day because he was yorked by me shortly afterwards). Australia's more senior players also did their part. John Rogers made a tidy contribution with the bat and in the field and Andy Randall enjoyed himself immensely, hoisting his colleague Millward for a six before being cleaned out by the same bowler to leave battle honours even. Randy also attempted to incapacitate your correspondent by releasing the bat after playing one shot, but I am pleased to report that my self-preservation instincts were as sharp as ever and I was able to jump over the flying blade.

Set an imposing 90-ish to win, the England response started at a fair crack with Robinson punishing the bowling and Nazer defending his wicket to leave us on about 35 after three overs. Millward and Marsden played a solid three overs but about 35 were still required from the final three overs. Fellow loosehead Ian Ridgeway and I marched to the "wicket" vowing not to repeat the run-out debacle of the first game and to smash these Aussies around a bit, what. We never stood a chance. Junior, Shortis and Hill had thoroughly mastered the Gray Nicolls "Wonderball" by that point and were swerving the damn thing around like Lewis Hamilton's racecar. We scored a creditable 28 from our three overs but I must confess that only eight of those came from the bat and we had reason more than once to be thankful that there were no LBWs in this format.

After two highly enjoyable, if slightly one-sided games in the afternoon sun, the teams retired to the Sportsman's for fines and awards. Gary Hill and Phil Millward were named players of the series by the opposition. We hope this "dance-off between cricketing lightweights", to use Mike McKee's memorable phrase, will become established as a regular HKFC Rugby Section event and we may even consider holding it on a weekend day or public holiday next time.

Harps

Sequins sparkle, Bulls falter

From Tim Wright of Bulls

Bulls are taking a bit of time to settle in this season with quite a few changes from last year.

We lost Saturday's against Kowloon match 12-0, which was hugely disappointing because we had about 90% of the possession. No-one could fault the forwards, who rucked and mauled tirelessly, but execution in the backs left a lot to be desired - the most notable incident was when our 11 and 15 collided while trying to collect a clearance from the opposition, allowing the ball to land straight into the hands of the Kowloon chaser who touched down under the posts looking extremely bemused.

With a few of the usual starters returning from injury in the next week or two, there are positive signs, though. The goal from here is converting our domination of territory and possession into points. If we can achieve this then without doubt we could be challenging the best in the league.


Sequins beat Kowloon 27-5 with tries from Simon Aird, Simon Hague, Damien Kelly and Alex Boggis and Steve Thomson.

Meet Kelly Brook

Right, there would appear to be some confusion about who Kelly Brook is among those not lucky enough to be British or those Brits who haven't been back in a while. One or two of the New Lads from Blighty (see profiles) are clearly in something of a lather about her too. So, for the sake of clarity, Kelly Brook is an ex-glamour model turned actress who was with Billy Zane but who is now courting England flyhalf Danny Cipriani (yes, the one who was knocked out by Josh Lewsey at a Wasps training session).
The picture below should explain a lot.

Meet the New Lads #6 - Alasdair Frost

Above: Alasdair was very keen to add the rather disturbing image above, but I told him, why would you want to add that to the comedy breastfeeding one? Anyway, he's clearly an unusual character: our first new lad of 2008/09 to prefer Keira Knightley to Kelly Brook and a rare reader.

Name: Alasdair Frost

Age: 28

Occupation: Veterinary surgeon

Nationality: Scottish

Rugby position: Hooker (open side flanker)

Previous rugby clubs: Edinburgh University, Edinburgh Accies, Durham City

Favourite things about HKFC rugby: The facilities and food

One thing you would change/introduce: Cheerleaders

Most embarrassing rugby experience: Being punched in the face and knocked out right in front of the ref after putting in the slipper on the oposition and having the ref yellow card me for over-zealous rucking.

Steak and chips or Thai food? Thai food

Lager or rum and coke? Lager

Mint/Prive/Drop or Devils/Mes Amis/Dusk Til Dawn? Devils/Mes Amis/Dusk Til Dawn

Kelly Brook or Keira Knightley? Keira Knightley

Reading or music? Reading

Meet the New Lads #5 - Dan Watson

Above: Watson still requires constant supervision

Name: Dan Watson

Age:29

Occupation: HR Manager

Nationality: British

Rugby position: Lock

Previous rugby clubs: St Albans RFC, Tabard RFC, Blackheath RFC, Hertfordshire County

Favourite things about HKFC rugby: The stash

One thing you would change/introduce: I would change Mungo's fitness sessions

Introduce: Fitness sessions with Kelly Brook

Most embarrassing rugby experience: Being shouted at by Griffo in Singapore during my first game for the club. Shortly after giving away his fourth penalty and conceeding six points I'd mentioned that he might want to consider taking a calmer approach to the game. I was politely informed to "f*ck off mate you're new to the club, you don't know anything about rugby and have nothing to say"!

Steak and chips or Thai food? Steak and chips

Lager or rum and coke? Rum and coke

Mint/Prive/Drop or Devils/Mes Amis/Dusk Til Dawn? Devils/Mes Amis/Dusk Til Dawn/Ebeneezers/ditch

Kelly Brook or Keira Knightley? Kelly Brook

Reading or music? Music

Referees need some love

The Chairman would like to make a point about not abusing referees. I know, he stands in the Sequins corner (corner formerly known as Sequins' Corner?) and they're not exactly quiet, but he is right, damnit.

There are two reasons why he is right as I see it:

1. Giving a referee a hard time in a game that you are playing in is totally senseless and almost always counterproductive. And people who imagine that they can intimidate a referee by being constantly in their face are almost always wrong (it takes a maestro like Gregan, van der Westhuizen or Dawson to do that...) Not unreasonably, referees resent being shouted at and are unlikely to act more favourably to the team shouting at them. How many times have you seen a decision reversed because of protests?

Referees will always make mistakes and it will always be hugely annoying when they do. But, to a man, they come to each game with honest and fair intentions and they never, ever deserve to be given a load of witless verbal for human error. If it makes you angry when the referee makes a bad call, show that the game matters to you by upping the effort, not wasting your energy shouting at the poor bloke.

2. To be a little more prosaic, rugby players don't behave in that way. Banter is great and referees enjoy that, but an absolute respect for the referee and his authority lies at the core of rugby union. We have all known that from our earliest days playing the game. Rugby players should have the self-discipline and self-respect not to demean themselves by raging and whingeing at officials like kids in a playground or - dare I say it - premiership footballers. I don't like to lay it on, but the game is bigger than each of us and we will be judged by the kind of game we pass on to the next generation. OK, it's after 1am and that's a bit strong, but I'm standing by it.

Donough's request extends beyond players on the park to members of the section watching the game. Basically we need to keep the comments witty and on the right side of the line (PT can explain where this line is).

Yours in admonition
Harps

Club recapture pride against DEA

Above: If you can't see me, you can't tackle me. You probably can't tackle me anyway. Horse, pictured here against HKCC IIs last weekend, made his Club debut on Saturday. Photo: Jacky Yeung

CBRE Club 26 - 3 DEA Tigers

Club returned to victory on Saturday, overcoming a spirited but rather one-dimensional DEA side in the final act of a knockout competition that the Club players would probably rather forget. Having dispatched Valley in the first round, Club were turned disappointingly turned over by Aberdeen in the semi-final. The form book makes no sense at this stage of the season, though. Club beat Valley and lost to Abedeen. Aberdeen beat Club and were then routed by Valley in the final on Saturday. Frankly this roundabout explains why the knockout cup should be held at the end of the league season - when the teams are more finely honed and consistently closer to the peak of their game - than at the beginning, when the difference between one performance and the next can be somewhat Jekyll and Hyde-like.

Like almost all victories in rugby - with the possible exception of Wales's 2005 Grand Slam - Club's was built on the foundation of a very solid pack. Ian Ridgeway made an impressive debut at loosehead and Stephen 'Horse' Nolan added his not-incosiderable presence at the tighthead side to replace the injured Nigel Hobler. The result was immense pressure on DEA at the set-piece, often forcing their scrum-half to try desperate soccer passes to their unimpressed number 10 and giving Club the most commanding of platforms.

After working hard in training to bring some aggression and nous to their work in the tackle area, Club were able to exercise better control at the ruck than they had against Aberdeen, although the penalty count for ruck infringements was still frustratingly high. Despite the absence of Dan Watson, the forwards were also able to dominate the DEA lineout. Put simply, the Club pack simply had more 'mongrel' than before, with Nathan Johnston and Tim Griffin outstanding in this respect.

Add to this the return of Pete McKee and his long range missile of a pass and it should come as no surprise that Club's backs, pivoting on James Kibble at outside half, enjoyed more space and freedom than they did the previous week. An early score from Kibble was followed up with tries by Johnstone, the tireless Tim Edgar from close in and Andrew Chambers, who ran through to touch down following a neat kick through. Mike McKee added three conversions.

Club's defence was robust throughout, although DEA had no great cutting edge and squandered a number of their better opportunities.

A nasty shoulder injury for Jamie Hood in the second half along with some tactical changes by Coach Quinton Wrigley resulted in the imposing centres pairing of Richard Rouse and Dave Tibbot in the second half. Some enjoyably direct running from this duo will surely give Coach 'Q' another permutation to consider as the season continues.

Indeed, Q and the greybeards of that mysterious cabal known as the selection committee will have quite a balancing act to perform as time goes on, while also being aware that consistency in selection is a proven virtue. The influx of top quality new players this season presents them with this weekly dilemma: they can only name three 'N' players (players not resident in Hong Kong for more than six months) in the squad and there are many more than three Ns who are likely to merit consideration.

Most importantly, though, Club clearly have the depth of talent to sustain a long and hard campaign to retain the league title. Saturday's performance, although by no means the finished article, indicates that Club also have the collective will to bounce back from a bad performance.

Harps

Nomads wander into Dragons' den

Above: Unfortunately Nomads' tackling wasn't this good. Yes I know the photo is from the previous week. But it's a great action shot of Shane and I don't have any from the Nomads game. Photo: Jacky Yeung

Allow Dragons' own Murray Sargant bring you up to speed with a fine performance on Saturday. I have just two things to add:

- The Nomads were a decent bunch of blokes and it was great that we got them back to the Sportsmans for a pint or two. Given the facilities we have, there is no excuse for not doing this every time we play. Teams with Frenchmen in them are always entertaining. When I asked the guy in the beret and the 'Allez France' t-shirt (or similar) where he was from, he didn't get the joke at all. Ah you rozbifs with your ridiculouse comedie Anglaise...

- The dinner in Shaffi's was a classic and we look forward to the next social after the Scorps game. My moment of the dinner came shortly after we arrived when Andy Noble looked around in puzzlement and then said: "What are we going to do about all the civilians in here?"

Now for the Muzzmeister. If you want a summary, here is his own: "In summary we smashed them."

In a one sided encounter Nomads experienced what it was really like to be in the 2nd Division in Hong Kong. To be fair to Nomads in the second half they did start to play better and they never gave up but overall a convincing and emphatic win for football clubs second team.

Right from the get go Nomads new it was going to be a long afternoon. I was still strapping Andy Noble on the side lines when the first try was scored. I would estimate 40 seconds into the game. From that point onwards the flood gates opened and the rampaging Drags forwards were in particularly devastating form.

Lead from the front by Richard Gallagher and Adam Harper we had a field day in the first half. Gallagher in particular made at least five huge barnstorming runs up the middle of the park which earned him our man of the match award. Congratulations Richard. The Drags forwards dominated! and we had fantastic ball again from the lineout all day. Alasdair is throwing superbly and Graham and Ollie are two of the best jumpers in the club based on current form.

From the back row lead well by our fearless leader and captain Marcus Neil the Nomads defenses were breached on nearly every rushing attack. Well done to Hayden Giordine on his Drags debut and for scoring two excellent tries and also two great tries to Ollie Jones demonstrated well how dominating our backrow was on the day. Also with Alex Charter and Graham Fleming in the engine room and jumping in the lineout our lineout and scrum dominated, winning multiple feeds against the head and many of their line outs. In summary we smashed them.

Our new look backline with Rob Naylor (Junior) at scrum with the addition of Stewart McGraw at centre and Tim Robinson at fullback linked well with Leon Scott, Callum and Shane Harmon and the ever vocal general of the Drags backline Robin Bredbury. Robin and Junior both had good games and had to cover more ground than usual on Saturday as more than five of the seven, first half tries were over six phases of play. Also worthy of note was Callum Nieto's superb kicking display in the first half slotting over seven from seven and scoring three tries, so in total a 29 point haul for the day. Well done.

With the second half came some fresh legs, with Junior retiring after a face full of the great valley sand pit. An old Nomad trick that one. Replaced by Andy Noble, Andy was industrious as always and continued to get the ball out to Robin all afternoon. More substitutions with Yutaka Yazawa, David Price, Charles French, Gareth Wilde and Gordon Marsden all coming on in the second half and playing well. To be fair they had all played a full game for Scorps so we appreciated the extra effort for staying around for us after their game.

To be fair to Nomads they stepped up a gear in the second half but still Drags managed five more tries and Robin took over the kicking late in the day to slot our single conversion of the second half. To be fair Callum's second half kicks were all from the side lines with most of the tries coming from out wide.

In the end a great Drags win with a 76 to 0 score line. To date Drags have amassed an impressive 121 points in three games while only conceding the one try. An impressive start to the season.

We now have the weekend off but training is still on this week. Following some southern hemisphere rugby this weekend we will be taking on Scorps in what should b e a huge local darby. Both teams always lift when playing each other so we will have to have our best game for them in two weeks time.

Valley caught in Ice storm

More from Kim Kan at the front line of women's rugby in Hong Kong.


GAICE vs. Valley - 25 October, 2008

It has been decreed since the dawn of HKFC Rugby that we maintain an intense rivalry with those who choose the dark side known as Valley. Any game between HKFC and Valley will usually involve a substantial build-up, interesting banter from both sides, and a hard fought match.This weekend's match against Valley/City was no exception.

Disadvantaged from the outset by Valley's gargantuan size, GAICE was in for a physical match-up. Valley's stiff arms and hard tackles rattled GAICE as soon as the whistle sounded for kick-off, but we quickly learned that the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

GAICE regained our composure and began to drive them back using ourskills, speed, and most importantly, our fitness (Mungo's sessions really paid off!) A great play from fly-half Emma Holland got the ball out to winger Ah-Ying, who drew two defenders and then made a great pass to speedster fullback Aggie Poon. A missed conversation saw the score 5-0. It was only due to an unlucky missed tackle that Valley was able to put points on the board, with the half-time score being 5-7 to Valley.

Committing numerous infringements finally caught up with Valley as they were given a yellow card 30 meters in front of the uprights. Opting for the kick saw Emma Holland slot in a beauty bringing the score 8-7.

In retaliation for a Valley player intercepting one of her passes, Aggie Poon made it her mission to return the favour. In the end, her speed was just too much for Valley to handle and she intercepted the ball during one of their plays, and then dashed down the touch-line to score her second try. Another unsuccessful conversion saw the score at 13-7.

The final nail in the coffin came from a scrum down. Despite our size,GAICE wore Valley down and a tough drive by the forwards saw Royce Chan over the try line, bring the score to 18-7 after a missed conversion. Frustrated and out of breath, Valley still managed to find the wind to continue to argue with the referee over certain calls, resulting in another yellow card for a sizeable newcomer to the HK rugby scene.

Most teams will cite the reason as to why we won is due to the immense individual talent on GAICE. However, it wasn't individual play that got us around this big hurdle (pun intended). It was team camaraderie,coupled with good sportsmanship, which allowed us to keep cool under pressure. There are a few more kinks to work out before we face them again, but at this rate GAICE will once again be the top-team in Hong Kong.

Meet the new lads #4 - Antony Phillips

Shy Antony cites Ben Stobart as one of his early influences

Name: Antony James Phillips

Age: 30. However, I have been told 40 is the new 30 but I have looked 50 for a while.

Occupation: Manager of a sports events company
Nationality: British
Rugby position: Blind Side Flanker

Previous rugby clubs: Saracens, Richmond, Milan

Favourite things about HKFC rugby: No more freezing January training nights in the mud - I might finally cure my longstanding case of Training-itis...

One thing you would change/introduce: Cheerleaders...

Most embarrassing rugby experience: Scoring the winning try in the U15 Yorkshire Cup final in the dying seconds...on the 22 meter line, causing raucous laughter from the oppositon

Steak and chips or Thai food? Steak..Pacific grill all the way baby!!!

Lager or rum and coke? Rum and Coke

Mint/Prive/Drop or Devils/Mes Amis/Dusk Til Dawn? I like my music cheesy so it wil have to be Wan Chai
Kelly Brook or Keira Knightley? Kelly

Reading or music? Books on tape......

Meet the new lads #3 - Tom Bolland

The paparazzi would never leave Bolland alone

Name: Tom Bolland
Age: 24
Occupation: Chartered Surveyor
Nationality: British.
Rugby position: Hooker
Previous rugby clubs: Winchester RFC
Favourite things about HKFC rugby: The showers.
One thing you would change/introduce: Better service in the Sportsmans.
Most embarrassing rugby experience: Mum running on the pitch when I was injured!
Steak and chips or Thai food? Steak and Chips.
Lager or rum and coke? Lager.
Mint/Prive/Drop or Devils/Mes Amis/Dusk Til Dawn? Solas.
Kelly Brook or Keira Knightley? Kelly Brook (with Cipriani!) [WTF? Ed]
Reading or music? Music.