Bats flap wings in Hong Kong

Macau Bats Rugby Club have had a busy period recently, starting with the U14s playing Hong Kong Football Club and Singapore Saints at the end of November. Two difficult games against top calibre opponents resulted in two defeats, however the team put up very creditable performances, particularly bearing in mind, that this was the first competitive games these players had played in almost four years.

The following weekend saw the Bats host Tuen Man Sharks at U9 and U11 age groups and a successful day saw the Bats edge the series.

The Bats then travelled to TaiPo, Hong Kong for the Flying Kukris rugby festival. This saw the first appearance of the U6 team with a number of high scoring games – a 2-3 loss to Sandy Bay was followed by a 2-2 draw with the Kukris, a 4-4 draw with Sai Kung Stingrays before signing off with a rollercoaster 5-4 win over Causeway Bay Monkeys. 

The U7s had a mixed day, a narrow 1-2 loss to Aberdeen was followed by a convincing 3-1 win over Sai Kung Stingrays, a 1-3 reversal against Shatin Shapei and a close 3-2 win over USRC Tigers.

Meanwhile the U8s were steamrolling over all comers, a convincing 8-0 win against San Kung Stingrays was followed by a 5-0 win over Valley Fort, 7-0 over HKFC and the same score against Tin Shui Wai Eagles.

The U9s kept their strong run of performances going with another four wins in their section, beating Tigers (5-0), Sai Kung Stingrays (4-0), HKFC (7-0) and Kukris (7-2). The U10s came close to matching that with 3 wins and a draw from their games. While the U11s were debuting in the top division, two wins over USRC Tigers (7-1, 5-1) gave them a great start and despite two losses against HKFC (1-5) and Sai Kung Stingrays (0-5) this was a very good first performance at the higher level and bodes well for future tournaments.

The U12s, playing in Sandy Bay, lost 0-3 against HKFC; won 3-1 against Tigers, and secured two 3-3 draws against Discovery Pirates and Causeway Bay Monkeys to round off a busy and productive day. Donald Shaw, MDT, Hong Kong