Hong Kong Premiership round nine: Valley edge Scottish in thriller
Societe Generale Valley again showed why they are the five-time reigning grand champions in the Old Mutual International Men’s Premiership on Saturday, defeating Bloomberg HK Scottish 41-39 in a thriller.
Elsewhere, Herbert Smith Freehills HKCC’s troubles worsened with an 87-17 hammering at the hands of Natixis HKFC, while Kowloon downed the in-form Borrelli Walsh USRC Tigers 27-22.
Valley refused to lie down at Shek Kip Mei despite falling behind in the dying stages and it was Ben Rimene who was the hero, with the fly half slotting a drop goal to win the match after his side put together a phenomenal string of phases.
“It was fantastic ball retention, I’d like for that to be our stock standard during games,” Valley coach Andrew Kelly said.
Valley opened the scoring in the ninth minute, with hooker Dayne Jans cashing in after a strong line-out drive. Fly half Ben Rimene’s extras gave Valley a 7-0 lead, however the hosts were quick in response, with Gregor McNeish banging over a penalty to open their account.
Valley’s cause was not helped by a yellow card to winger Ruan Duplooy and Scottish capitalised on their advantage, with skipper Kane Boucaut scoring on 15 minutes for an 8-7 advantage.
The tries came freely for the next 15 minutes, with Thomas Lamboley dotting down to put Valley in front before Shea Turnerand Kyle Sullivan found the line for Scottish to put them in front 22-14. The scoring halted in the lead up to the break and remained 22-14 in favour of Scottish at half-time.
Valley’s forwards made a strong statement early in the second half, pressuring Scottish on their line.The sustained effort paid off as prop Taukiha’amea Koloamatangi put his name on the score sheet, barging over from close range to draw his side back within a point after Rimene’s third conversion.
McNeish replied with a penalty but it was again Rimene in the thick of the action, with the Hong Kong veteran scoring his side’s second try in the opening ten minutes of the half. He was again on target from the tee to increase his points total for the match to 13 and hand his side a 28-25 lead.
Soon after, Scottish prop Jack Parfitt found himself in the bin after infringing in the scrum and all of sudden the hosts were well and truly up against it heading into the final quarter. It quickly got worse, with second rower Alessandro Nardoni also yellow carded and Valley extending their lead through a try to Carl Marks.
Scottish were not done though and showed the value of stringing some phases together, piercing the Valley defence to allow Boucaut to cross after some slick passing. The ever-reliable McNeish slotted the conversion to bring his side within a point with 15 minutes to play.
The tries kept flowing right to the end, with Valley replacement Roger Ng touching down in the corner before Conor Hartley burst free to score for Scottish.
The conversion attempts looked to have proved critical, with Rimene missing for Valley and Sam Vaevae on target for Scottish to give the hosts a one point lead with only minutes to play. But Rimene had the last laugh, slotting the winning drop goal after Valley edged forward relentlessly with phase after phase of desperate rugby.
“Everyone is elated now but we were definitely poor in areas. We conceded a try when they were down to 13 men, things like that. These are pressure points that you have to make the most of, and to let in a try then is just not on; but in saying that, the spirit to win in the last minute was brilliant, so I’m delighted.”
For Scottish coach Craig Hammond, it was a case of so close yet so far: “It’s frustrating, there’s no consistency. We fought our way back into the game and I’d hate to think how many phases we defended right at the end.I’m sure if you were watching at home it was a pretty good game, but I thought we could have taken the five points and climbed back up the ladder.”
Comments on RugbyPass
smith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
36 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
9 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
36 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
36 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
36 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
36 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
36 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
36 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
36 Go to comments