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).

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.

Rock solid Ice beat CWB

From Kim Kan of Ice. Photos by Jacky Yeung.

The HKFC ICE/Gai Wu (GAICE) women kicked the season off to a great start with a grueling victory over Causeway Bay this weekend, 10-5. After last year's Grand Championship Final saw an 80 minute battle in the trenches against CWB with the ICE women emerging victorious, CWB was looking to settle the score.As the game opened, it looked like they were heading into a repeat of the Grand Championship final with both sides playing fast and furious defense, but slow to launch any offensive attack. Nerves got the better of both teams as knock-on after knock-on forced the forwards to repeatedly scrum down.

Unfortunately, GAICE found themselves at the mercy of an outside overlap by CWB, bringing the score to 5-0. GAICE quickly answered back with a lovely series of inside ball by the forwards, and after sending a quick ball down the back line and into the hands of speedy winger, Emmy Chan, the score at the end of the first half stood at 5-5.

The second half saw some great improvements by the GAICE scrum and several just-missed opportunities. After a scrum down near the CWB try line with merciless attempts by the GAICE forwards, scrum-half and pitch captain, Fiona Foxon, managed to push the ball over the try line leading the team up 10-5.The game ended with GAICE staunchly defending their try line with the cheers from the Sportsmans' Bar urging them on.

Great team work and determination saw the ball ripped from CWB hands and brought into touch as the final whistle blew. Well done GAICE and good luck against Valley next week.