Rugby Academy | 300 players, coaches and Bats fans in HK festival

Close to 300 players, coaches and supporters from the Macau Bats Rugby Club made the trip to Hong Kong last Sunday for the last Hong Kong rugby festival of the season, hosted this time by the Hong Kong Football Club at Happy Valley.

As usual the younger teams took to the field first and the U6 team continued their fine run of  performances by delivering three victories against Hong Kong Football Club (4-2), South China Athletic (2-1) and Tuen Mun Sharks/ Hong Kong East (5-2).

The U7 team had an unlucky defeat against Hong Kong Football Club (4-6) in a game that they could have won but for some unfortunate ball grounding that ruled out a number of scoring opportunities. However, fortunes improved and the team recorded wins against both South China Athletic (6-2) and Tai-Po (4-2).

The U8s also had a very successful campaign, securing three wins against firstly Causeway Bay Monkeys (5-2), edging a thriller against Hong Kong Football Club (4-3) and finally a strong win against Tai-Po (10-5).

Both the U9 and U10s were playing in the first division of each of their age groups and came up against some strong teams. The U9s opened up with a very good 4-3 win against Sai Kung Stingrays and then lost 0-4 to Sandy Bay and 2-6 to Discovery Bay Pirates.

The U10s had a very difficult run, losing their three games against Hong Kong Football Club (1-6), Sai Kung Stingrays (0-6) and Valley Fort (0-7). Despite the losses it was, according to the Bats coach, “the best overall team display we have seen from them this season and the boys have learnt a great deal from playing the top teams.”

The U12s were competing in the final round of the Richard Hawkes Cup and were drawn in a tough group against three division one teams and the top division two team. The Bats played well against a strong HKFC before losing 1-4. They then won 2-0 against Tuen Chung followed by two defeats at the hands of Sandy Bay (1-3) and Sai Kung Stingrays (0-5). This led to the Bats playing USRC Tigers in the plate semi-final. A great performance was given by the Bats and they were unlucky to lose 0-1, with the decisive try being scored in the final play. Saj Fernando, coach of the U12s commented “To be regarded as the seventh best team (out of 24) in their age group is a very good achievement, the team can be proud of their efforts today and the progress that they have made across the season”.

Preparations are now underway for the 4th Annual Macau Bats Rugby Festival which will be held on the 14th April at the TIS playing field in Taipa. Approximately 50 teams have entered to play including clubs from Mainland China and Hong Kong.

Donald Shaw, Hong Kong 

Special to MDT