MATCH REPORT – MADAGASCAR 7-38 HONG KONG CHINA

[ 5 Oct 2024] Hong Kong China 15s

Hong Kong China Women's 15s kept their Rugby World Cup qualification dreams alive thanks to a commanding 38-7 victory over Madagascar in their WXV3 round 2 match in Dubai on Friday evening.

The result means Hong Kong China head into next Saturday's clash against the Netherlands with the opportunity to finish in the top 2 in the WXV3 table and a secure a spot at the 2025 Rugby World Cup in England. If Fiji, who have already qualified for next summer's tournament, finish in the top 2 places then the team in 3rd place will qualify (view the full WXV3 standings here)

WXV3 Fixtures and Results

Saturday 28 September, Fiji 38-3 Hong Kong China
Friday 4 October, Madagascar 7-38 Hong Kong China
Saturday 12 October, 18:00 local (22:00 HKT) – Netherlands vs Hong Kong China (Watch live)

MATCH REPORT – HONG KONG CHINA SECURE HISTORIC FIRST WXV3 WIN

Hong Kong China Women were much improved in their second match of WXV3 2024 at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai, running out bonus point 38-7 winners which saw several records tumble. They will have an 8-day turnaround before they face the Netherlands in a potential Rugby World Cup qualifacation decider in both team's final WXV fixture.

Hong Kong China were by far the dominant side against the Lady Makis in their first-ever encounter (and a first-ever African opposition for the Women’s 15s side) with the win secured via some excellent forward dominance and the backs attacked freely. Player of the match Zoe Smith was equally good with the boot, slotting four conversions from the six tries and also managing to cross the line herself.

Captain Pun Wai Yan (PY) ran out for her 19th cap and was part of a pack that exerted dominance and saw a hugely improved lineout and scrum. The backs were complemented by the pairing of fly-half Georgia Rivers and her sibling Gabriella at inside centre, but a number of players really put their hands up.

Both starting second-rows were in great form, with Micayla Baltazar and Roshini Turner winning the aerial dominance but also carrying hard and stealing turnovers. Both also unfortunately left the field with injuries and will be assessed before next week. Shanna Forrest was a nuisance to the opposition, while strong carries from Smith, full-back Sabay Lynam and others pinged the opposition back.

One area of slight concern was the need for more ruthlessness, and both Head Coach Andrew Douglas and Smith who face media after the game on Friday night felt they left too many points out there.

Douglas said, “It was nice to get the five points and put ourselves in a position to go to the next step. There was lots of frustration there too, and we need to not get carried away this coming week. We left a few tries out there in that first half, but we do have to enjoy the win and celebrate that, but at the same time we have a real opportunity now so we have to go and make the most of it.”

First Half: Hong Kong China Show Improvements Throughout

On Friday night at The Sevens Stadium, Hong Kong China got to face the pre-game Madagascar tribal performance for the first time, but as soon as the whistle signalled the game was underway, Hong Kong China looked the more determined.

Last week against Fiji, the side actually entered the opposition's 22-meter area as much as Fiji ventured into theirs, but Fiji managed to capitalise on some ruthless finishes.

Hong Kong China were quick to utilise the rolling maul as an attacking weapon, with Madagascar's repeated infringements allowing Georgia Rivers to kick for touch perfectly several times, and the pack secured most of their own ball.

Scrum-half Jessica Wai On Ho was zipping the ball away quickly at ruck time and the backs often found the edges, but on several occasions the final pass wasn't accurate enough as early waves of attacks didn't yield any points.

Hong Kong China had already been held up once over the try line, and all possession and territory was with the team in blue. Madagascar finally received a yellow card for repeated infringements in the 12th minute. A nice move saw Gabrielle Rivers score Hong Kong China’s first-ever try in WXV history as they pulled the Madagascar defence wide from the scrum in the 15th minute and Zoe Smith nailed the conversion.

A period of 15-20 minutes thereafter saw great steals, solo runs to cut open the Madagascar defence, and several attacks before another could-be try was held up. Shanna Forrest then added a second try off the maul to extend the lead with a converted score of 14-0 and a third unconverted try from another clinical rolling maul via Tanya Dhar for a 19-0 halftime score.

The stats at the break didn't lie; Madagascar had 91 tackles to Hong Kong China’s 52, the girls racked up nearly 3 times as many passes, while the penalty count was 11-2 against Madagascar.

Second Half: Win Secured With Six Tries And Forward Dominance

Zoe Smith’s educated boot and Georgia River's excellent touchfinders were invaluable. There was deja vu at times though of ‘another great touchfinder from Rivers. Another maul. Another advantage. Another final pass that didn't deliver the try it deserved.’

After several phases, Gabrielle Rivers carried well and offloaded to Zoe Smith who scored in the corner, and she converted her own score for a lead of 26-0 and the crucial bonus point that comes with scoring a 4th try in matches in this competition. A third try from yet another rolling maul was scored by Fion Got before some forced and strategic substitutions were made in the second half.

Madagascar had their best period of the game, forcing Hong Kong China to defend for several minutes and they in turn were awarded their first ever WXV try in the 68th minute for a 33-7 lead. In the final minute, full-back Sabay Lynam scored her first Hong Kong China try to make it 38-7 at the final whistle.

Zoe Smith, in her 9th cap and a tally of 13 points, said, “I think we left some of our efforts out there and we should be proud but we want more. I think we were successful with the attack, and launch accuracy is something we had focussed on a lot. Overall we did what we aimed to do and attacked the edge well, but we could have done better with the final passes.”

Douglas was happy with the improvements shown too and is excited for the week ahead as they face the Netherlands next Saturday. “Set-piece wise we showed a lot of improvement and bounce-back this week. We have to monitor the injuries, but it's a big week ahead. We can't change a lot, but our aggression in the contact area will need to improve, and the set piece will need to improve again for the Dutch. We can only focus on ourselves and hopefully be ready come next Saturday.”

Information and photo source : Hong Kong China Rugby