Remembering Bali and creating new friendships
If last Sunday’s thunderous fixture versus Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) was meant to be an amuse-bouche, with a mouth-watering plat principal planned in Malaysia at the TRC tournament next month, and a potential dessert on SCC’s Padang early next year, our HKFC U14 boys will need to work on their appetites!
We welcomed SCC to inaugurate the Dave Kent trophy on Sunday 15th September: Dave was tragically among a number of SCC and HKFC rugby players lost as a result of the Bali bombings, and a close friend of our (ex-) coach, Club member and now SCC coach, Alex Davey. The Bali tragedy was a tragic, but now unifying experience for both Clubs.
On the pitch, a very strong SCC squad provided our U14s a few tough and early season lessons: we played ‘warm-up’ 10s games, followed by a full-bloodied 15-a-side match on our main pitch.
A strong SCC forward pack had our scrum ‘on wheels’, forceful SCC running challenged some of our weaker shoulders, and greater aggression at the breakdown disrupted our patterns of play. SCC were also much more vocal, and clearly had on pitch ‘leaders’ spurring on their players during breaks of play.
On to the positives, we were delighted to host such a strong visiting squad. Our HKFC U14s are rightly considered the strongest in our age group rugby in HK – by some distance – so it was a much-needed pleasure to take on such a challenge. We have welcomed over 15 new players to our squad (mostly from local schools) this season, and were able to introduce them all to some competitive rugby in either 10s or 15s format on the day.
A particular ‘well done’ to new players Clayton L. (whose eye-catching performance stood out in the 10s) and Marcus L. (for re-arranging his Sunday so he could debut in both games) and to stalwarts Milton K. (for never taking a backward step and relishing the physicality), YC C. (for tireless defending), and Quinten Y. (for adding speed to the breakdown off the bench).
Inviting such a strong opposition has enabled us to set our sights much higher for the coming season. We now have a clear blueprint to work on, which is already being implemented via inspirational Head Coaches Jackson Cook and Madison Hunting: scrum surgery, breakdown ballast, leadership lessons, rapier running-lines….
Off the pitch, welcoming a touring team is a special experience for any rugby player, and our HFKC boys duly played ‘excellent hosts’. Not a single grain of fried rice, string of spaghetti, or slice of pizza lasted the sustained assault of 60+ ravenous, rugby fueled teenagers. While the mums compared the qualities of Sportsman’s rose versus SCC’s offering, the dads sunk a few cold lagers, and the boys mixed and attempted to resist their phones – for an hour. We remembered and toasted those lost in Bali, and made new friendships as they would wish us to.
Finally, some ‘thank yous’: to Jacinto Ferreira (for all help arranging the fixture), to our U8s & U9s players and parents (for the inconvenience of switching pitch time), to Steve Jones for his flawless and empathetic refereeing, to our Youth Rugby Chairman Denis Brock and Youth Rugby Committee (for allowing us to use our 24/ 25 entertainment budget), and to our HFKC Rugby Chairman Paul Skurr (for presenting the trophy the morning after Captain’s Dinner).
