Crunch Time in Crisp January

Good morning all



Welcome back, happy new year and all of that. I'm sure you will agree this is the very best time of year to be in HK: fresh, clear weather (by our dismal standards) and an invigorating chill in the air. I am beginning to think I might have already been in this fair city too long, though. Temperatures a fraction over 10 degrees celsius hardly put you in danger of frostbite, yet I have started wearing a scarf to work and jogging trousers at training. God only knows what would I would have to wear if I'd been back in England over the last few weeks, where rugby conditions have been like those in the picture below. Better not to think about it.







The rugger's off to an interesting start as well. Club had hoped to hone their gameplan against DEA last weekend and get into their groove before facing up to Valley on Saturday. Unfortunately, DEA hadn't read the script and forced our 1st XV to complete an escape of the kind that would have made Harry Houdini or Steve McQueen proud. Despite having no scrummage to speak of, Nigel Clarke's men were bolstered by the return of several of their leading players and had Club on the rack at 27-15 with three minutes to go.


The fact that Club found themselves in such a perilous situation is worrying: I wasn't able to see the game but I am told that DEA were able to turn over our ruck ball with alarming regularity. But the fact that the team was able to raise its game when staring defeat in the face and find two scores in the dying seconds confirms the strength of character that unquestionably exists within the side. Tries from Dan Watson and Ollie Jones leveled the final scoreline at 27-27, although a last-minute conversion attempt could even have seized an unlikely victory for Club. Amazingly, this was bottom-placed DEA's second draw of the season - they also finished level with HKCC before the break.


Club face a Herculean task against Valley this weekend. Our friendly neighbours are 18 points clear of us at the top of Division one. They have not missed a trick all season, racking up seven wins out of seven and a massive five bonus points. Club will have to find something extra to change the course of this season by beating them on their own ground on Saturday - there is no question of that. Last time the two sides met, Valley played the smarter game - retaining and recycling the ball much better and capitalising on Club's tendency that afternoon to squander good posession and lose discipline. But if Club can find both the driving desire to topple Valley and the clear heads to play to a sensible plan, this game can be theirs. There is so much energy and quality in the Club squad this season. If it can be harnessed, channeled and united, I am certain this team can see off Valley and go all the way in 2009.


Did you know that Dragons are the third-highest scoring team in all of Hong Kong men's rugby so far this season, having accumulated a whopping 300 points? Only Sequins in Division Four with 306 and BMW TPD (?) in Division Six with an incredible 353 have scored more.


But Drags found Scorpions determined to stem the flow last Saturday. After conceding 71 unanswered points in the last encounter between these two sides, Scorps were certainly battling the odds, but a first half display of enormous commitment and some luck (not to mention the siege-gun boot of Mike Glancy at fly-half, who also scored the first try of the match) carried Scorps to a 13-10 advantage at the break. Drags did not make their task any easier by seizing any opportunity to argue with each other throughout the afternoon - I will name no names here! - but their class ultimately shone through. They dominated possession and scored one lovely try in particular through Stevie Matthew that showcased the handling and continuity skills in the team. Although the fire-breathing Dragons threatened to stretch out a lead in the middle of the second half, Scorps had a sting in their tail (get it?), delivering a sharp final quarter to bring the game to a 28-20 close in Drags' favour.


Graham Fleming, Antony Philips, and Alasdair Frost also crossed for Drags, while your correspondent made a tremendous solo run from under his own goal posts, dummied left and right, stepped, jinked, chipped, chased and gathered to score Scorps' second. Actually it was more like I fell over the line from a metre out, but they all count for the same eh?

This game reminded me of the very competitive, combative and hard-fought Scorps v Drags fixtures of my early days in HK - the 2004-2005 season, since you ask. It was fantastic that a genuine Scorps team - albeit with some outstanding newcomers in the ranks - were able to bring this fixture back to a more level playing field.

The afternoon was only marred by injuries to Rob Jones (ankle) and Ian Ridgeway (calf). Scrummages were bizarre all day with four loosehead props in the front row. For the uninitiated, this meant both sides found it hard to secure their own feed cleanly since the two looseheads actually playing at loosehead would always get a drive on, and the two looseheads playing at tighthead weren't able to stop it and hold the scrum steady. Following an hour or more of being bent into all kinds of unpleasant shapes by said Mr Ridgeway, I am resolved to avoid tighthead at all costs in the future and to treat lame excuses from Gary Hamp as to why he can't play there this afternoon (it's my shoulder you see, Harps) with the scepticism they deserve.


That's all for now chaps, see you on Thursday.
Harps

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).

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

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

Club v DEA in (four) pictures

Er, apologies for the non-existent layout of these photos. Frankly the technical side of blogging is a bit much for me (I am still overexcited about putting that incredible panoramic picture by Tim Edgar's friend Bryan up as the banner, even though it is way too wide for the average screen). Anyway, enjoy these photos of Club v DEA kindly provided by Mike McKee. Harps

From top to bottom:

- The lonely life of the goalkicker: Pat Foreman appears to contemplate sticking the ball into row 6
- The less lonely life of a forward: Spizz goes over after an impressive rolling maul
- Club lineout near the DEA line, looks like a good throw from Cowhead
- Ditto

Injury-ravaged Club stand firm against DEA

CBRE Club 20 - 3 DEA Tigers

It wasn't pretty. But, and it's as big a but as Ramsay Carter's, the result was absolutely what mattered. With eight frontline players missing through injury, Club were never going to achieve the kind of fluency they managed earlier in the season. And although DEA were not without their own casualties (including captain and coach Nigel Clarke), this was just the kind of game in which they might have sensed weakness and turned Club over. Club will be relieved to have returned to winning form after their disappointing loss to HKCC Aberdeen the previous weekend, although I feel reasonably certain that coach Quinton Wrigley will feel there was room for improvement in the execution of Club's gameplan.

First the positives. A weakened team stuck together well and played for each other. Tenacious defending meant DEA did not score a try. Pat Foreman showed his versatility (and an enormous boot) by filling in at fly half. Phil Reid, called into the side after Pete McKee broke down in training on Thursday, was a doughty replacement. Alex Gibbs returned to the side in decent nick. And Ben Stobart, who came into the side to deputise for hooker Tom Cameron, showed an accurate throw-in at the line out and good mobility around the park (as well as his ever-surprising ability to wind up opponents with decidedly average banter...). Indeed, the whole side played with commitment and energy; they simply lacked the degree of cohesion and control people have come to expect.

Club will admit that this was not a hugely convincing display and more an example of gritting the teeth and winning ugly than anything else. DEA dominated possession for long periods of the game and were perhaps unlucky not to break through. Their one penalty does not accurately reflect the balance of the game. Both sides were guilty of ill-discipline and both were reduced to 13 men at times. For Club, Tim Edgar was yellow-carded for not rolling away while Stobart was sinbinned for holding on, although it looked more like hands in the ruck to me. Both were perhaps harshly treated, but both were nonetheless booked and two yellow cards within moments of each other left Club dangerously exposed with a two man disadvantage. Oddly, this was when they conspired to play some of their best rugby of the match.

Some good forward pressure enabled loosehead Pete Spizzirri to crash over in the first half, Kris Marin also crossed and Foreman - who was well on target - added two penalties and two conversions. Fixtures at this stage in the season are always affected by injury, but Club will need to rally again and get as many players as possible out of casualty and back on the park before next weekend's clash with a powerful Kowloon team that ran a full-strength Club side close in October. Make no mistake, Club have had a fantastic start to the season with seven wins from eight games and they go into the final match of the first round in a well-deserved first place, 11 points ahead of HKCC. But they will be desperately keen to be sure they do not take the gloss off round one by finishing 2007 with a defeat. Club's strength in depth and ability to draw on the rest of the Club's players will be critical.

Harps

CBRE Club v DEA Tigers
HKFC, 6pm, Saturday 24 November 2007

1. Pete Spizzirri
2. Ben Stobart
3. Nigel Hobler
4. Tim Robinson
5. Tim Griffin
6. Tim Edgar
7. Jared Smith (AQ)
8. Kris Marin

9. Phil Reid
10. Pat Foreman
11. Callum Nieto
12. Richard Rouse
13. Nigel D’Acre
14. Dan Parr
15. Alex Gibbs (AQ)

Replacements

16. Kahn Rudolf
17. Ben Stobart
18. Steve Matthew
19. Duncan Robertson
20. Ramsay Carter
21. Adam Raby (AQ)
22. Troy Hogan

Aberdeen end Club's fine run

CBRE Club 5 - 15 HKCC

Club's amazing run of seven unbeaten matches came to a disappointing end on Saturday when a highly motivated Abderdeen team, stengthened by imported players in key positions, outmuscled a weakened Club side and added injury to insult by adding to HKFC's list of casualties. Club remain nine points ahead of Valley in second place, but will need to raise their game now that chasing pack has the scent of blood.

To achieve this, Club's strength in depth will be vital because a long list of key players are now sidelined by injury, including Rob Mills, James Kibble, Rory Hussey, Mike McKee and Andrew Chambers.

All good teams lose from time to time - even great ones do (need I mention the 2007 All Blacks?). What counts, of course, is how a team responds - whether it turns in on itself and implodes or comes back with a stronger sense of unity and ready to fight. Club should not beat themselves up too much about losing one game, but they should burst a collective blood vessel to be damn sure they come back stronger. Captain Nigel D'Acre and hooker Tom Cameron struck the right note after the game when they asked the team to stick together in the evening after the game: if you win together, you have to lose together and the shared experience of both is what binds you together and makes you a better unit.

The manner of the defeat was disappointing indeed, and that if nothing else should sting Club into doing better next time. The scrum came under pressure on the engage and when Abderdeen put the wheel on, often with devastating effect. Regardless of whether you think that law allowing a team to gain the put-in if they can twist a scrum through 180 degrees is easily the most brainless law in rugby (and I do), teams have to be able to defend against it at this level. Club were found wanting and must work hard to address this. To add to the problems in the scrum, lineout possession was not as reliable as ususal either. With so much potentially quality ball choked at source, the backs came into the game under pressure and without momentum, making it easier for Aberdeen to pick off isolated ball carriers. Kibble battled away admirably at fly half, but he was too often a solitary figure.

Despite Abderdeen's dominance, they were only able to put away one penalty in the first half to lead 3-0 at the break. However, they made their possession count in the second half with two tries, including one, embarrassingly, from a disrupted five metre defensive Club scrum. Club answered in the last 10 minutes with an unconverted score from Richard Rouse, but it was too little, too late.

In many ways, Abderdeen's victory was a lesson in making pressure count. They were more physical and more aggressive, putting Club on the back foot from the word go. And, having put themselves in the box seat, they did not ease up until the end. In truth, they did to Club what Club have done to many other teams this season. Clearly, what Club need to do is rediscover the aggression and intensity that allowed them to put this kind of squeeze on Abderdeen, Valley and Kowloon et al earlier on. With a diminished pool of players, it will be tough. But that is when Champions really emerge.

Harps

CBRE Club v Synovate HKCC
HKFC, 6pm, Saturday 17 November

1. Adam Harper (rep. Rudolf, 50 mins)
2. Tom Cameron
3. Pete Spizzirri
4. Angus Washington
5. Tim Griffin
6. Tim Edgar
7. Jared Smith (AQ)
8. Kris Marin

9. Peter McKee
10. James Kibble
11. Callum Nieto
12. Richard Rouse
13. Nigel D’Acre
14. Pat Foreman
15. Mike McKee (AQ)

Replacements

16. Kahn Rudolf
17. Ben Stobart
18. Steve Matthew
19. Tim Robinson
20. Ed Johnson
21. Adam Raby (AQ)
22. Timothy John Robinson

In Glorious Technicolour

Above: Gus demonstrates his sporting nature by turning his back to the opposition and offering them the ball. A fat bloke attempts to assist. (Picture: Brian van Langenberg)

Above: Nice shot of life at the coal face. Note the look of concentration on Tim Edgar's face; he's seen the ball at the DEA 8's feet and is preparing to fling himself at their No. 10 in the manner of Lewis 'Mad Dog' Moody. The Club backs are up nice and flat. (Picture: Brian van Langenberg)

ANYWAY, there you go. It's great to finally get some photos of us on the blog. These were kindly provided by Tim Edgar's friend, which is why they are a bit Edgar-centric. I really want lots more photos - they make this blog so much more interesting than my usual waffle. Please send 'em to me at adam.harper@asia.ing.com and I will publish the b*ggers, every one.

More to come ahead of tomorrow's games...

Harps

The Boks are Back; the Blog is Back

Allow me to start off by congratulating South Africa on their historic achievement in winning a second world cup. So much has been said about the final already that I don't propose to add to it beyond saying that the most complete, tactically astute and determined team in the tournament won it and they deserve massive credit. Nearly two months of 3am kick-offs and amusing rugby emails have left me mentally weak, as Stobart might say, but I can in all seriousness hardly wait for RWC 2011 in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Mr James Cook was even talking about organising a HKFC tour. God help us if the ABs don't win.

Back to Hong Kong, centre of the known universe. My blogging blockage of late has been largely caused by the massively time-consuming business of entertaining one set of parents in HK; I even resorted to making my Dad referee a tense encounter between Valley and Kowloon in Division 5 to keep him occupied. But here I am, back at the keyboard, with apologies for the hiatus.

Last weekend's fixture list was curtailed because of byes for Scorps and for the Drags, who were meant to be playing the PLA but were informed that the Chinese army boys couldn't make it because they were planning an invasion (or couldn't get visas, whichever). Club played DEA Tigers at HKFC, Select played Valley and I think I am right in saying that Bulls rather sadly broke their winning streak with a shock loss against those old bruisers from Police. We can satisfy the rugby world's curiosity concerning these games if Centurion Cooper and Mr Riordan would like to let me have details.

CBRE Club 22-10 DEA TIGERS

I am happy to report, however, that Club marched on, stretching this season's unbeaten record for another week in the face of a stiff challenge from DEA. As Coach Quinton Wrigley predicted, Club's fitness was key, allowing them to outlast DEA's intense initial challenge and go on to control the game. Club managed some lovely interplay in attack between backs and forwards, with James Kibble, Richard Rouse, Rob Mills and Rory Hussey standing out, but the victory was built on a bedrock of aggressive defence and solid set-piece play. With several key players - including prop Pete Spizzirri, lock Tim Griffin , flanker Kris Maren and Captain Nigel D'Acre - missing, Club did well to keep their shape and impose themselves against tough opposition. Captain for the day Andrew Chambers said afterwards that Club had showed some real 'mongrel,' as Aussies like to say.

Hussey, Rouse and newcomer Pat Foreman crossed for Club's three tries, while Mike McKee kicked two conversions and a penalty. Club were perhaps unlucky not to cross again for a fourth try and a bonus point, as notable Valley-lover and Club-critic Alvin Sallay was kind enough to point out in the Sunday Morning Post, but they will be happy to remain the only unbeaten team in Dvision One ahead of next Saturday's clash with Kowloon.

CBRE Club v DEA TIGERS
Saturday 20 October 2007, 6.00pm, HKFC

1. Adam Harper
2. Tom Cameron
3. Nigel Hobler
4. Angus Washington
5. Steve Matthew
6. Tim Edgar
7. Rory Hussey
8. Rob Mills

9. Peter McKee
10. James Kibble
11. Dan Parr
12. Richard Rouse
13. Pat Foreman
14. Andrew Chambers
15. Mike McKee

Replacements

Damian Babis, Laurence Denvir, Ben Stobart, Tim Robinson, Rob Naylor, Adam Raby, Sean Byrne