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